# Baal
## English
### Alternative forms

* Baʿal, Ba'al
* Baʻl

### Etymology

From Late Latin Baal (as in the Vulgate) and Ancient Greek Βάαλ (Báal); from Hebrew בַּעַל (bá`al, “lord, husband, owner”), Phoenician 𐤁𐤏𐤋 (bʿl, “lord, master, owner”) and Ugaritic 𐎁𐎓𐎍 (baʿlu, “lord, owner”), all from Proto-Semitic *baʿl- (“owner, lord, husband”).

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈbeɪəl/, /ˈbeɪl/, /ˈbɑːl/
* (US) IPA: /ˈbeɪəl/, /ˈbeɪl/, /ˈbɑl/, /bɑˈɑl/
* Rhymes: -eɪəl, -eɪl, -ɑːl
* Homophones: bail, bale; boll (some US speakers); ball, bawl (some US speakers)

### Proper noun

Baal (countable and uncountable, plural Baals or Baalim)
* (mythology, biblical) A storm and fertility god of the Phoenician and Canaanite pantheons, reckoned as chief of the gods by the 1st millennium BC.
* (mythology, biblical, sometimes lowercase) Various other Baalim, understood as distinct patron gods or as local patron aspects the great god Baal.
* (Christianity) One of the demons or fallen angels of Satan.

#### Usage notes

The latinized spelling and anglicized pronunciation is still used for the expanded senses, but modern scholarship increasingly notes the ayin of the original name by spelling it Baʿal or Ba'al and pronouncing it more in line with the original Hebrew form. Misunderstood as a solar deity by 19th century scholarship; misunderstood as a collective term for various patron gods by 19th and 20th century scholarship prior to the discovery of inscriptions at Ugarit showing these to have been understood as aspects of a single divinity, whose worship gradually supplanted that of El. These aspects are sometimes distinguished by epithets: Baalberith, Beelzebub, Beelzebul, etc.
The Hebraic plural Baalim is particularly used for its appearances in the Bible, where it may refer to gods or idols of the god. The anglicized plural is more common in other contexts.

#### Derived terms

* Baal-gad
* Baalism, Baalist
* Baalite
* Baalzebub

#### Related terms

* Bel
* Beelzebub, Beelzebul
* Baal-Shem-Tov

#### Translations
### References

* ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "Baal, n. Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1885.
* ↑ Wells, John C. (2008) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd edition, Longman, →ISBN
* ↑ Merriam-Webster Online. "baal". 2015.
* ↑ Webb's Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide. "Baal". Steven Webb (Riverside), 2012.

### Anagrams

* AABL, Alba, Bala, LABA, alba, blaa, laab

## Dutch
### Etymology

First attested as barla around 850. Compound of bar (“barren, bare”) and lo (“light forest”). Compare Baarle-Hertog, Baarle-Nassau, Baarlo, Bahr, Barlo and Hoog-Baarlo.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baːl/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: Baal
* Rhymes: -aːl
* Homophone: baal

### Proper noun

Baal n
* A hamlet in Lingewaard, Gelderland, Netherlands

#### Derived terms

* Klein Baal

### References

* van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN

## German
### Etymology

From Latin Baal, from Ancient Greek Βάαλ (Báal), from Hebrew בַּעַל (baʿal), from Proto-Semitic *baʿl-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baːl/
* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

Baal m (strong, genitive Baals or (optionally with an article) Baal or Baales, plural Baale or Baalim)
* Baal (Semitic heathen god)

## Hunsrik
### Alternative forms

* paal (Wiesemann spelling)

### Etymology

Borrowed from French bal.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɔːl/
* Rhymes: -ɔːl
* Syllabification: Baal

### Noun

Baal m (plural Beel)
* ball (formal dance)

#### Derived terms

* baale

### References

* André Kuster-Cid, Eduardo Fausto Kuster Cid (2018) “baile”, in Dicionário renano-hunsrik: português (in Portuguese), Vitória: Cousa, →ISBN, page 30, column 1
* Piter Kehoma Boll (2021) “Baal”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português (in Portuguese), 3rd edition, Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 17, column 2

## Italian
### Proper noun

Baal m
* Baal

### Anagrams

* Alba, alba

## Latin
### Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Βάαλ (Báal), from Biblical Hebrew בַּעַל (Báʿal), from Proto-Semitic *baʿl-.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈba.al/, [ˈbäːɫ̪]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈba.al/, [ˈbäːäl]

### Proper noun

Baal m (indeclinable)
* Baal

### Anagrams

* alba

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew בעל.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈba.al/
* Rhymes: -aal
* Syllabification: Ba‧al

### Proper noun

Baal m pers
* (mythology, biblical) Baal (storm and fertility god of the Phoenician and Canaanite pantheons)
* (figuratively) false god

#### Derived terms

* baalizm

### Further reading

* Baal in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Saterland Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian *bal, from Proto-West Germanic *ballu, from Proto-Germanic *balluz. Cognates include West Frisian bal and German Ball.
The sense "social gathering for dancing" is a semantic loan from German Ball, from French bal.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /baːl/
* Hyphenation: Baal
* Rhymes: -aːl

### Noun

Baal m (plural Bale)
* ball (round object)
* ball (social gathering for dancing)

#### Derived terms

* Foutbaal

### References

* Marron C. Fort (2015) “Baal”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN