Meanings
plural Pisgahs
- attributivefigurativelyoftenA glimpse of a distant sight; an overview of a situation; a position that affords a view.
Although the development of this work, complex and compelling in its own right, lies beyond the scope of the present study, a “Pisgah view” of Billy Budd[…] discloses its presentation, among many other things, of a sharply drawn retrospective allegory of Melville’s rhetorical career.
1992, Bryan Collier Short, Cast by Means of Figures: Herman Melville's Rhetorical Development, page 153
- The name of a mountain in the Bible. Usually refers to biblical Mount Pisgah or Mount Nebo.
On Pisgah, Moses surveyed the whole land of Canaan, and although he was advantaged by the height of the place and the clearness of his eyes,[…] yet much of miracle must needs be admitted in so plain and far discovery.
1869 [1650], Thomas Fuller, A Pisgah Sight of Palestine and the Confines Thereof, page 701 more example
—With swimming glance, Like him who erst from Pisgah's cliff descried The unenter'd land of promise,—he survey'd That emerald shore where slept in hallow'd graves His ancestors, where rose in beauteous strength The city of his joy,—
1827, Lydia Sigourney, Poems, On reading the Life of Quincy, by his Son, page 135 - Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, United States.
- A town in Jackson County, Alabama, United States.
- A city in Harrison County, Iowa.
- A ghost town in Navarro County, Texas.
- Willoughby State Forest in Vermont, United States.
- Former name of Killington Peak, Vermont, United States.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Hebrewפסגּה
- EnglishPisgah
From Biblical Hebrew פסגּה (Piṣgāh), a name for the peak of Mount Nebo, meaning literally “top of a mountain; summit”.
More words from Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Pisgah. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pisgah
“Pisgah.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pisgah. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pisgah,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pisgah.
Source: Pisgah on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.