aceldama

a·cel·da·ma
A1C3E1L1D2A1M3A1
UK, US/əˈsɛldəmə/UK, US/əˈkɛldəmə/

proper noun

The potter's field, said to have lain south of Jerusalem, purchased with the bribe which Judas took for betraying his master, and therefore called the field of blood.

OriginAncient Greek Ἀκελδαμάχ ← Aramaic חקל →
First used 17th c.Scrabble 13
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Meanings

aceldama1

nounaceldama (plural aceldamas)

plural aceldamas

  1. alternativeAlternative form of Aceldama.

Aceldama2

proper noun
  1. The potter's field, said to have lain south of Jerusalem, purchased with the bribe which Judas took for betraying his master, and therefore called the field of blood.
nounAceldama (plural Aceldamas)

plural Aceldamas

  1. A field of bloodshed, a place of slaughter.First known use 17th c.

    Our own trenches had been knocked silly, and all the area of attack had been turned into an Aceldama.

    1928, Edmund Blunden, Undertones of War, Penguin, published 2010, page 42
    1 more example

    […] a regiment already for some hours glorified and hallowed to the ear of all London, as lying stretched, by a large majority, upon one bloody aceldama […]

    1849, Thomas de Quincey, The English Mail-Coach

Origin

  1. Aramaicחקל“field”
  2. Ancient GreekἈκελδαμάχ
  3. EnglishAceldama

From Ancient Greek Ἀκελδαμάχ (Akeldamákh), from Aramaic חקל (“field”) + דמא (“blood”).

More words from Ancient Greek, Aramaic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Hindi हकलदमा
  • हकलदमा (hakaldamā)the potter's field purchased with the bribe which Judas took for betraying his master
Cite this entry
APA

aceldama. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aceldama

MLA

“aceldama.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aceldama. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aceldama,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aceldama.

Source: aceldama on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.