Forms
Ziggurat
(among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians) a temple of Sumerian
origin in the form of a pyramidal tower, consisting of a number of
stories and having about the outside a broad ascent winding round the
structure, presenting the appearance of a series of terraces.
   The social structure of our summer world was as fixed and hard of
   climbing as a *ziggurat.*
   -- John Banville, The Sea
   After talking for a moment about the new strawberry bed, a kind of
   earthen *ziggurat* in the middle of the garden, Alice hung up,
   unable to tell them after all.
   -- Jane Smiley, Duplicate Keys
Born in 1877, /ziggurat/ is derived from the Assyrian /ziqquratu/
meaning "height," or "pinnacle."Return to home