Tubal-cain

or Tu·bal·cain

[ too-buhl-keyn, tyoo- ]

noun

1. the son of Lamech and Zillah: the progenitor of metalworkers. Genesis 4:22.

Tubal-cain

/ ˈtjuːbəlˌkeɪn /

noun

1. Old Testament a son of Lamech, said in Genesis 4:22 to be the first artificer of metals

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tubal-cain¹

From Late Latin Thubalcain, from Greek Thóbal, from Hebrew Tūbhal-qayin “Tubal the smith,” equivalent to Tūbhal, a geographic and ethnic name of uncertain meaning + qayin “smith” in Hebrew and cognate languages

Example Sentences

He calls it Tubal-Cain, a name taken from a descendant of Cain found in Genesis in the Bible.

From Washington Times

Here, as played by the fiercely swaggering Ray Winstone, Tubal-Cain is not only the thug chieftain of the city sinners, leading the charge on the ark, but also the man Noah saw kill his own father.

From Time

From Genesis 4 the movie borrows the character of Tubal-Cain, “the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.”

From Time

Tubal-Cain may be a brute and a deceiver, but his nemesis is, at least potentially, a genocidal lunatic.

From New York Times

But Tubal-Cain is also something of a humanist, or at least a proponent of the idea that humanity, for all its cravenness and corruption, might be worth saving.

From New York Times