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
    2: god of the Canaanites and Phoenicians to whom parents
       sacrificed their children [syn: Moloch, Molech]
    3: any lizard of the genus Moloch

Moloch \Mo"loch\, prop. n. [Heb. molek king.]
   1. (Script.) The fire god of the Ammonites in Canaan, to whom
      human sacrifices were offered; Molech. Also applied
      figuratively.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Zool.) A spiny Australian lizard (Moloch horridus). The
      horns on the head and numerous spines on the body give it
      a most formidable appearance.
      [1913 Webster] Molokane

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.