Advertisement
gehenna (n.)
"hell," 1620s (earlier "a place of torture," 1590s), from Church Latin gehenna (Tertullian), from Greek geenna, from post-biblical Hebrew gehinnom "Hell, place of fiery torment for the dead," figurative use of the place name Ge Hinnom "the Valley of Hinnom," southwest of Jerusalem, where, according to Jeremiah xix.5, children were sacrificed to Moloch. Middle English had gehenne (late 15c.) from French gehenne.
updated on December 07, 2020
Advertisement
Advertisement
Dictionary entries near gehenna
geek
geeky
geese
geezer
gefilte fish
gehenna
Geiger counter
geisha
geist
gel
*gel-