Moloch

[moh-lok, mol-uh k] /ˈmoʊ lɒk, ˈmɒl ək/

noun
1.
a deity whose worship was marked by the propitiatory sacrifice of children by their own parents. II Kings 23:10; Jer. 32:35.
2.
anything conceived of as requiring appalling sacrifice:
the Moloch of war.
3.
(lowercase) a spiny agamid lizard, Moloch horridus, of Australian deserts, that resembles the horned lizard.
/ˈməʊlɒk/
noun
1.
a spiny Australian desert-living lizard, Moloch horridus, that feeds on ants: family Agamidae (agamas) Also called mountain devil, spiny lizard
/ˈməʊlɒk/
noun
1.
(Old Testament) a Semitic deity to whom parents sacrificed their children

Canaanite god said to have been propitiated by sacrificing children (Lev. xviii:21), from Latin Moloch, from Greek Molokh, from Hebrew molekh, from melekh “king,” altered by the Jews with the vowel points from basheth “shame” to express their horror of the worship.
Moloch [(moh-lok, mol-uhk)]

A Canaanite idol who demanded the sacrifice of first-born children. The Old Testament prophets railed against the worship of Moloch by the Israelites.

Note: Moloch also appears as one of the fallen angels in Milton’s Paradise Lost and as a malevolent figure in other allegorical works of literature.

Note: By extension, a “Moloch” is something that has the power to exact extreme sacrifice.

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.