| / English Dictionary |
ZION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("Zion" is a kind of...):
fictitious place; imaginary place; mythical place (a place that exists only in imagination; a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Jewish republic in southwestern Asia at eastern end of Mediterranean; formerly part of Palestine
Synonyms:
Israel; Sion; State of Israel; Yisrael; Zion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Instance hypernyms:
country; land; state (the territory occupied by a nation)
Meronyms (parts of "Zion"):
Mount Carmel (a mountain range in northwestern Israel near the Mediterranean coast)
Dead Sea (a saltwater lake on the border between Israel and Jordan; its surface in 1292 feet below sea level)
Negev; Negev Desert (a desert in southern Israel)
Haifa; Hefa (a major port in northwestern Israel)
Tel Aviv; Tel Aviv-Jaffa; Tel Aviv-Yalo (the largest city and financial center of Israel; located in western Israel on the Mediterranean)
Gomorrah; Gomorrha ((Old Testament) an ancient city near the Dead Sea that (along with Sodom) was destroyed by God for the vice and depravity of its inhabitants)
Sodom ((Old Testament) an ancient city near the Dead Sea that (along with Gomorrah) was destroyed by God for the wickedness of its inhabitants)
Caesarea (an ancient seaport in northwestern Israel; an important Roman city in ancient Palestine)
capital of Israel; Jerusalem (capital and largest city of the modern state of Israel (although its status as capital is disputed); it was captured from Jordan in 1967 in the Six Day War; a holy city for Jews and Christians and Muslims; was the capital of an ancient kingdom)
Golan; Golan Heights (a fortified hilly area between southern Lebanon and southern Syria)
Gaza; Gaza Strip (a coastal region at the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean bordering Israel and Egypt)
Galilee (an area of northern Israel; formerly the northern part of Palestine and the ancient kingdom of Israel; the scene of Jesus's ministry)
West Bank (an area between Israel and Jordan on the west bank of the Jordan river; populated largely by Palestinians)
Accho; Acre; Akka; Akko (a town and port in northwestern Israel in the eastern Mediterranean)
Meronyms (members of "Zion"):
Israeli (a native or inhabitant of Israel)
Domain member region:
al-Asifa; al-Fatah; Fatah (a Palestinian political and military organization founded by Yasser Arafat in 1958 to work toward the creation of a Palestinian state; during the 1960s and 1970s trained terrorist and insurgent groups)
Fatah Tanzim; Tanzim (a terrorist group organized by Yasser Arafat in 1995 as the armed wing of al-Fatah; serves a dual function of violent confrontation with Israel and serves as Arafat's unofficial militia to prevent rival Islamists from usurping leadership)
Kach; Kahane Chai (a terrorist organization founded for Jewish defense; fights antisemitism and hopes to restore the biblical state of Israel)
PFLP-GC; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization that conducted several attacks in western Europe)
15 May Organization (a terrorist organization formed in 1979 by a faction of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine but disbanded in the 1980s when key members left to join a faction of al-Fatah)
Iz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions; Qassam Brigades; Salah al-Din Battalions (the military arm of Hamas responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks on Israel)
kibbutz (a collective farm or settlement owned by its members in modern Israel; children are reared collectively)
moshav (a cooperative Israeli village or settlement comprised of small farms)
Haganah (the clandestine military wing of the Jewish leadership during the British rule over the mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948; became the basis for the Israeli defense force)
IDF; Israeli Defense Force (the ground and air and naval forces of Israel)
sayeret; Sayeret Mat'kal; Sayeret Matkal (Israel's elite secret commando unit responsible for counterterrorist and top secret intelligence gathering and hostage rescue missions)
A'man (the Israeli military intelligence which produces comprehensive national intelligence briefings for the prime minister and the cabinet)
Mossad (the Israeli foreign intelligence agency)
General Security Services; Shin Bet (the Israeli domestic counterintelligence and internal security agency)
Holonyms ("Zion" is a part of...):
Middle East; Mideast; Near East (the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Originally a stronghold captured by David (the 2nd king of the Israelites); above it was built a temple and later the name extended to the whole hill; finally it became a synonym for the city of Jerusalem
Example:
the inhabitants of Jerusalem are personified as 'the daughter of Zion'
Synonyms:
Sion; Zion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Instance hypernyms:
hill (a local and well-defined elevation of the land)
Holonyms ("Zion" is a part of...):
capital of Israel; Jerusalem (capital and largest city of the modern state of Israel (although its status as capital is disputed); it was captured from Jordan in 1967 in the Six Day War; a holy city for Jews and Christians and Muslims; was the capital of an ancient kingdom)
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