The Garden of Eden
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
See EDEN. The name as applied to Mesopotamia, with its vast sandy deserts, is nowadays somewhat ironical; but it is traditionally supposed to be its "original site.
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 “The Garden of Eden” mean?
See EDEN. The name as applied to Mesopotamia, with its vast sandy deserts, is nowadays somewhat ironical; but it is traditionally supposed to be its "original site.
Is “The Garden of Eden” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.