delilah means the mistress of Samson who betrayed him to the Philistines. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 74 out of 100.
delilah is pronounced /dɪˈlaɪlə/.
Why “delilah” is a great word
DELILAH — [Proper Noun, Noun] A name from Biblical Hebrew דְּלִילָה (d'līla), rooted in דלל (dalal, "to hang down, to be low, to weaken"), thus meaning "[she who] weakened." The figurative use as a common noun for a treacherous woman is attested from the 1590s. Unlike "femme fatale," a general archetype of dangerous allure, or "temptress," which emphasizes seduction, "Delilah" specifies a narrative of intimate, ruinous betrayal where trust itself is the weapon. It is the conspiratorial whisper in the lamplit chamber, the shears moving through miraculously heavy hair, and the cold satisfaction of trading a secret for silver—the name has become the crime, an eternal shorthand for the trusted hand that knows precisely where to place the blade.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hebrew דְּלִילָה (d'līla, “[she who] weakened”).
name
- The mistress of Samson who betrayed him to the Philistines.“And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.”
- A female given name from Hebrew of Biblical origin.“"Leila!" she said enigmatically. "Have you seen her?" / "I went to her flat last week with Dad—he likes her." / "Delilah is her real name, you know. All men like her. And Captain Fort is her lover."”
noun
- A beautiful, cunning and treacherous woman; a femme fatale.“He shall burst the bands of this Delilah, as Sampson burst the two new cords with which the Philistines had bound him, and shall slaughter the infidels, even heaps upon heaps. But concerning this foul witch, who hath flung her enchantments over a brother of the Holy Temple, assuredly she shall die the death.”
- A libertine; a harlot; a woman of loose morals.“About twenty-three years ago the town talked about Richepin having deserted hearth and home, wife and child, to devote himself to a Delilah in the person of a famous actress.”