Delilah

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Delilah \De*li"lah\, n.
     The mistress of Samson, who betrayed him (--Judges xvi.);
     hence, a harlot; a temptress.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           Other Delilahs on a smaller scale Burns met with during


           his Dumfries sojourn.                    --J. C.
                                                    Shairp.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Delilah
       n 1: (Old Testament) the Philistine mistress of Samson who
            betrayed him by cutting off his hair and so deprived him
            of his strength
       2: a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive [syn:
          {enchantress}, {temptress}, {siren}, {femme fatale}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  19 Moby Thesaurus words for "Delilah":
     Aspasia, Jezebel, Messalina, Phryne, Thais, adventuress, courtesan,
     demimondaine, demimonde, demirep, femme fatale, harem girl,
     hetaera, houri, odalisque, seductress, temptress, vamp, vampire
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Delilah
     languishing, a Philistine woman who dwelt in the valley of Sorek
     (Judg. 16:4-20). She was bribed by the "lords of the
     Philistines" to obtain from Samson the secret of his strength
     and the means of overcoming it (Judg. 16:4-18). She tried on
     three occasions to obtain from him this secret in vain. On the
     fourth occasion she wrung it from him. She made him sleep upon
     her knees, and then called the man who was waiting to help her;
     who "cut off the seven locks of his head," and so his "strength
     went from him." (See {SAMSON}.)
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Delilah, poor; small; head of hair