Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Origin: Tower of Babel, (in the Bible) tower in ancient Babylon whose builders made God angry, so he made them unable to understand each other's speech

babel

 noun
     
Related topics: Colours and Sounds
ba‧bel [singular, uncountable]
C the confusing sound of many voices talking together:
a babel of French and Italian
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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