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el1
/el/, n.Informal. See elevated railroad.[by shortening]el2/el/, n.ell1.el3/el/, n.the letter l.
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IChief deity of the western Semites.In ancient texts from Ras Shamra in Syria, El was the husband of the mother goddess Asherah and father of all the gods except Baal. He was often depicted as an old man with a white beard and wings. The writers of the Hebrew scriptures used El as a synonym for Yahweh (the God of Israel) or as a general term for deity.II(as used in expressions)Abd el KrimAmarna Tell elBen Ali Zine el AbidineEl CidCordobés ElEl Alamein Battles ofRepublic of El SalvadorEl IncaEl ChacoGreco ElHodna Chott elLissitzky ElEl LisitskyEl Hajj Malik El ShabazzNimeiri Gaafar Mohamed elRif ElSadat Muhammad Anwar elFerdinand the Catholic Spanish Fernando el CatólicoPopular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Río de Oro* * *
▪ Semitic deitythe general term for “deity” in Semitic languages as well as the name of the chief deity of the West Semites. In the ancient texts from Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) in Syria, El was described as the titular head of the pantheon, husband of Asherah, and father of all the other gods (except for Baal). His most common epithet was “the Bull,” but he was also sometimes called “Creator/Possessor of Heaven and Earth.” Although a venerable deity, he was not active in the myths, which primarily concerned his daughters and sons.He was usually portrayed as an old man with a long beard and, often, two wings. He was the equivalent of the Hurrian god Kumarbi and the Greek god Cronus. In the Old Testament, El is commonly used as a synonym for Yahweh and less commonly as the general term for “deity.”* * *
Universalium. 2010.
