Babelism
/ˈbeɪ.bəl.ɪz.əm/noun
Confused or unintelligible speech, especially speech involving many different languages or voices.
Did you know?The biblical story of Babel links the name to Hebrew balal, “to confuse,” but the historical name Babylon probably comes from Akkadian Bāb-ilim, “Gate of God.”
Etymological Timeline
2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Bāb-ilim
““Gate of God,” the name associated with the ancient city of Babylon”
1st Millennium BCE
Biblical Hebrew
Bāvel
“Babel or Babylon; Genesis connects the name by wordplay with balal, “to mix or confuse””
4th–3rd Century BCE
Ancient Greek
Bაბილών (Babilṓn)
“Babylon, the famous Mesopotamian city”
16th Century
English
Babel
“A place or situation marked by confusion of languages or voices”
19th Century
English
Babelism
“Confused, unintelligible, or multilingual speech”
Explore more surprising origins