ziggurat

plural ziggurats · alternative ziggarat · alternative zigurat · alternative ziqqurat · alternative ziqqurrat · alternative zikkurat · alternative zikurat

1. archaeologyA temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories

   It would be uplifting to think that the ziggurat was the first expression of Near Eastern civilization, for then one could speak about humanity's fascination with the heavens, of the human quest for communion with the infinite.

   1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 159

2. Any building with similar style or shape.

   He works in an old ziggurat of an office building.