Gilead

Meaning

1. A male given name from Hebrew in occasional use.
2. A suburb of Sydney in the Campbelltown council area, New South Wales, Australia.
3. An illiberal and oppressive place, especially on matters related to women's rights, reproduction, or sex (from the theocratic dystopia in Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale).
4. A region east of the Jordan river.

Etymology / origin

From Hebrew גִּלְעָד (gilʻád). For sense 3, the fictional Gilead theocracy from "The Handmaid's Tale" named itself as such because it presented its oppressive policies as "healing" for a fertility crisis.

Sources

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