Hypertext Webster Gateway: "heap"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Heap
When Joshua took the city of Ai (Josh. 8), he burned it and
"made it an heap [Heb. tel] for ever" (8:28). The ruins of this
city were for a long time sought for in vain. It has been at
length, however, identified with the mound which simply bears
the name of "Tel." "There are many Tels in modern Palestine,
that land of Tels, each Tel with some other name attached to it
to mark the former site. But the site of Ai has no other name
'unto this day.' It is simply et-Tel, 'the heap' par
excellence."
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Heap \Heap\, n. [OE. heep, heap, heap, multitude, AS. he['a]p;
akin to OS. h?p, D. hoop, OHG. houf, h?fo, G. haufe, haufen,
Sw. hop, Dan. hob., Icel. h?pr troop, flock, Russ. kupa heap,
crowd, Lith. kaupas. Cf. {Hope}, in Forlorn hope.]
1. A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of persons.
[Now Low or Humorous]
The wisdom of a heap of learned men. --Chaucer.
A heap of vassals and slaves. --Bacon.
He had heaps of friends. --W.Black.
2. A great number or large quantity of things not placed in a
pile. [Now Low or Humorous]
A vast heap, both of places of scripture and
quotations. --Bp. Burnet.
I have noticed a heap of things in my life. --R. L.
Stevenson.
3. A pile or mass; a collection of things laid in a body, or
thrown together so as to form an elevation; as, a heap of
earth or stones.
Huge heaps of slain around the body rise. --Dryden.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Heap \Heap\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Heaped}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Heaping}.] [AS. he['a]pian.]
1. To collect in great quantity; to amass; to lay up; to
accumulate; -- usually with up; as, to heap up treasures.
Though he heap up silver as the dust. --Job. xxvii.
16.
2. To throw or lay in a heap; to make a heap of; to pile; as,
to heap stones; -- often with up; as, to heap up earth; or
with on; as, to heap on wood or coal.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
heap
n 1: a collection of objects laid on top of each other [syn: {pile},
{mound}, {cumulus}]
2: (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent:
"a batch of letters"; "a deal of trouble"; "a lot of
money"; "he made a mint on the stock market"; "it must
have cost plenty" [syn: {batch}, {deal}, {flock}, {good
deal}, {great deal}, {hatful}, {lot}, {mass}, {mess}, {mickle},
{mint}, {muckle}, {peck}, {pile}, {plenty}, {pot}, {quite
a little}, {raft}, {sight}, {slew}, {spate}, {stack}, {tidy
sum}, {wad}, {whole lot}, {whole slew}]
3: a car that is old and unreliable; "the fenders had fallen
off that old bus" [syn: {bus}, {jalopy}]
v 1: bestow in large quantities; "He heaped him with work"; "She
heaped scorn upon him"
2: arrange in stacks; "heap firewood around the fireplace";
"stack your books up on the shelves" [syn: {stack}, {pile}]
3: fill to overflow; "heap the platter with potatoes"
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