GOLEM
What does "GOLEM" mean?
In Jewish folklore, an artificial being made of clay and brought to life by magic or a sacred word.
Meanings
- A creature of clay or mud animated through ritual, especially in Jewish legend. Legend says a rabbi shaped a golem from river clay to guard the ghetto.
- A mindless servant or automaton acting only on orders, with no will of its own. He treated his interns like golems, expecting blind obedience. figurative
Did you know?
- The golem of Prague is attributed to Rabbi Judah Loew (the Maharal), who died in 1609 - but the story attaching the golem to him only became widespread in the early 1800s, two centuries later.
Word origin
From Hebrew 'gōlem', meaning 'shapeless mass' or 'unformed thing'; the word appears once in the Hebrew Bible (Psalm 139:16) to describe an unfinished embryo.
Remember it
GOLEM is clay made whole: God's breath plus mud equals a moving statue. The 'O' is the round lump of clay before it walks.
A little poem
A word stamped on a brow of clay,
it lifts, it guards, it will not stray-
until you scratch one letter away.
tercet
What it teaches
A thing built to obey will never warn you when the order is wrong.
Quick facts
What does GOLEM mean?
In Jewish folklore, an artificial being made of clay and brought to life by magic or a sacred word.
Is GOLEM a valid word?
Yes — GOLEM is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is GOLEM?
GOLEM has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does GOLEM come from?
From Hebrew 'gōlem', meaning 'shapeless mass' or 'unformed thing'; the word appears once in the Hebrew Bible (Psalm 139:16) to describe an unfinished embryo.
What can GOLEM teach us?
A thing built to obey will never warn you when the order is wrong.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.