Phoenician

[ fi-nish-uhn, -nee-shuhn ]

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Phoenicia.
2. the extinct Semitic language of the Phoenicians.

adjective

1. of or relating to Phoenicia, its people, or their language.
2. noting or pertaining to the script used for the writing of Phoenician from the 11th century b.c. or earlier and from which were derived the Greek, Roman, and all other Western alphabets.

Phoenician

/ fəˈniːʃən; -ˈnɪʃɪən /

noun

1. a member of an ancient Semitic people of NW Syria who dominated the trade of the ancient world in the first millennium bc and founded colonies throughout the Mediterranean
2. the extinct language of this people, belonging to the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family

adjective

1. of or relating to Phoenicia, the Phoenicians, or their language

Word History and Origins

Origin of Phoenician¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; Phoenicia, -an

Example Sentences

But those targets are incredibly close to the Baalbek temples and Roman ruins in Tyre, a major port of the Phoenician Empire around 2,500 years ago.

From BBC

In antiquity, the Phoenicians brought techniques for making a light-bodied wine to Marseilles.

From Salon

The common name of the dyestuff, Tyrian purple, derives from the habitat of the mollusks, which the Phoenicians purportedly began harvesting in the 16th century B.C. in the city-state of Tyre in present-day Lebanon.

From New York Times

Remember, Pieret doesn’t even know what he’s stolen—he thinks the heads are Phoenician, not Iberian.

From Literature

Scholars believe the area was first settled by the Phoenicians and emerged as a key Roman empire outpost from the second to fifth century.

From Seattle Times