Babylon

The English Babylon comes from <a title="Ancient Greek" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek">Greek</a> Babylṓn (<a class="extiw" title="wikt:Βαβυλών" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%92%CE%B1%CE%B2%CF%85%CE%BB%CF%8E%CE%BD">Βαβυλών</a>), a transliteration of the <a title="Akkadian language" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_language">Akkadian</a> Bābilim (<a title="Cuneiform" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform">cuneiform</a>: <a class="extiw" title="wikt:𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%92%86%8D%F0%92%80%AD%F0%92%8A%8F%F0%92%86%A0">𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠</a> KA2.DIG̃IR.RAKI).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-FOOTNOTESayce1878182-6">[6]</a>[<a title="Wikipedia:Verifiability" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability">not in citation given</a>]

<a title="Archibald Sayce" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Sayce">Archibald Sayce</a>, writing in the 1870s, considered Bab-ilu or Bab-ili to be the translation of an earlier <a title="Sumerian language" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_language">Sumerian</a> (formerly thought to be in the obsolete "<a title="Turanian languages" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turanian_languages">Turanian</a>" language-family) name Ca-dimirra, meaning "gate of god",<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-7">[7]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-Sayce1878p182-8">[8]</a> based on the characters KAN4 DIĜIR.RAKI (corresponding to the Sumerian phrase kan diĝirak "god's gate") or perhaps based on other characters.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-9">[9]</a>

According to Professor <a title="Dietz-Otto Edzard" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietz-Otto_Edzard">Dietz-Otto Edzard</a>, the city was originally called Babilla, but by the time of the <a title="Third Dynasty of Ur" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Dynasty_of_Ur">Third Dynasty of Ur</a>, through a process of etymological speculation, had become Bāb-ili(m) meaning "gate of god" or "god's gate"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-10">[10]</a> (Bab-<a title="El (deity)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_(deity)">Il</a>). The "gate of god" translation is increasingly viewed as a <a title="Folk etymology" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_etymology">folk etymology</a> to explain an unknown original non-Semitic placename.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-11">[11]</a> Linguist <a title="Ignace Gelb" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignace_Gelb">I.J. Gelb</a> suggested in 1955 that Babil/Babilla is the basis of the city name, of unknown meaning and origin, as there were other similarly-named places in <a title="Sumer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer">Sumer</a>, and there are no other examples of Sumerian place-names being replaced with Akkadian translations. He deduced that it later transformed into Akkadian Bāb-ili(m), and that the Sumerian Ka-dig̃irra was a later translation of that, rather than vice versa.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-Gelb_1955-12">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-Lambert2011-13">[13]</a>

In the <a title="Bible" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible">Bible</a>, the name appears as Babel (<a title="Hebrew language" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language">Hebrew</a>: <a class="extiw" title="wikt:בבל" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%91%D7%9C">בָּבֶל</a>&lrm; Bavel, <a title="Tiberian vocalization" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberian_vocalization">Tib.</a> בָּבֶל Bāḇel; <a class="mw-redirect" title="Classical Syriac language" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Syriac_language">Classical Syriac</a>: ܒܒܠ&lrm; Bāwēl, <a title="Aramaic language" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic_language">Aramaic</a>: בבל&lrm; Babel; in <a class="mw-redirect" title="Arabic language" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language">Arabic</a>: بَابِل&lrm; Bābil), interpreted in the <a title="Book of Genesis" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis">Book of Genesis</a> to mean "<a class="mw-redirect" title="Confusion of tongues" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confusion_of_tongues">confusion</a>",<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-14">[14]</a> from the verb bilbél (<a class="extiw" title="wikt:בלבל" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%9C">בלבל</a>, "to confuse").<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-15">[15]</a> The modern English verb, to babble ("to speak meaningless words"), is popularly thought to derive from this name, but there is no direct connection.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-16">[16]</a>

Ancient records in some situations use "Babylon" as a name for other cities, including cities like <a title="Borsippa" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borsippa">Borsippa</a> within Babylon's sphere of influence, and <a title="Nineveh" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineveh">Nineveh</a> for a short period after the Assyrian sack of Babylon.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-17">[17]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon#cite_note-Dalley2005-18">[18]</a>

Babylon

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