Death of the gates of Hell
Preserved but no longer current.
She sprang full- grown from the head of Satan. ... Woman to the waist, and fair, But ending foul in many a scaly fold Voluminous and vast, a serpent armed With mortal sting. ^Paradise Lost, ii, 650-653.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Death of the gates of Hell” mean?
She sprang full- grown from the head of Satan. ... Woman to the waist, and fair, But ending foul in many a scaly fold Voluminous and vast, a serpent armed With mortal sting. ^Paradise Lost, ii, 650-653.
Is “Death of the gates of Hell” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.