from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Dagon \Da"gon\ (d[=a]"g[o^]n), [Heb. D[=a]gon, fr. dag a fish:
cf. Gr. Dagw`n.]
The national god of the Philistines, represented with the
face and hands and upper part of a man, and the tail of a
fish. --W. Smith.
[1913 Webster]
This day a solemn feast the people hold
To Dagon, their sea idol. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
They brought it into the house of Dagon. --1 Sam. v. 2.
[1913 Webster]
from
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Dagon
little fish; diminutive from dag = a fish, the fish-god; the
national god of the Philistines (Judg. 16:23). This idol had the
body of a fish with the head and hands of a man. It was an
Assyrio-Babylonian deity, the worship of which was introduced
among the Philistines through Chaldea. The most famous of the
temples of Dagon were at Gaza (Judg. 16:23-30) and Ashdod (1
Sam. 5:1-7). (See {FISH}.)