Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Moloch"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Moloch
king, the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom
children were sacrificed by fire. He was the consuming and
destroying and also at the same time the purifying fire. In Amos
5:26, "your Moloch" of the Authorized Version is "your king" in
the Revised Version (comp. Acts 7:43). Solomon (1 Kings 11:7)
erected a high place for this idol on the Mount of Olives, and
from that time till the days of Josiah his worship continued (2
Kings 23:10, 13). In the days of Jehoahaz it was partially
restored, but after the Captivity wholly disappeared. He is also
called Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5, etc.), Milcom (1 Kings 11:5,
33, etc.), and Malcham (Zeph. 1:5). This god became Chemosh
among the Moabites.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Moloch \Mo"loch\, n. [Heb. molek king.]
1. (Script.) The fire god of the Ammonites in Canaan, to whom
human sacrifices were offered; Molech. Also applied
figuratively.
2. (Zo["o]l.) A spiny Australian lizard ({Moloch horridus}).
The horns on the head and numerous spines on the body give
it a most formidable appearance.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
Moloch
n 1: a tyrannical power to be propitiated by human subservience
or sacrifice: "the great Moloch of war"; "duty has
become the Moloch of modern life"- Norman Douglas [syn:
{Moloch}]
2: god of the Ammonites and Phoenicians to whom parents
sacrificed their children [syn: {Moloch}, {Molech}]
3: any lizard of the genus Moloch
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