Achaean

[ uh-kee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Achaea or the Achaeans.
2. (in the Iliad ) Greek.

noun

1. an inhabitant of Achaea.
2. a Greek, especially a member of the Achaean League.
3. a member of one of the four main divisions of prehistoric Greeks, believed to have occupied the Peloponnesus and to have produced the Mycenaean culture. Compare Aeolian ²( def ), Dorian ¹( def 2 ), Ionian ( def 3 ).

Achaean

/ əˈkaɪən; əˈkiːən /

noun

1. a member of a principal Greek tribe in the Mycenaean era
2. a native or inhabitant of the later Greek province of Achaea

adjective

1. of or relating to Achaea or the Achaeans

Word History and Origins

Origin of Achaean¹

1560–70; < Latin Achae ( us ) (< Greek Achaiós, perhaps reflected in Hittite Ahhiyawa, a country alluded to in records of the late 2nd millennium b.c.) + -an

Example Sentences

We cannot tell how long previous to his own date the poet supposes the Achaean heroes to have existed.

From Project Gutenberg

Sir John is not sure that Achaean spear-heads were not of copper, for they twice double up against a shield.

From Project Gutenberg

In Achaean Pharae he found some thirty squared stones, named each after a god.

From Project Gutenberg

But Achilles was an Achaean, and the same is true of most of the other chief heroes.

From Project Gutenberg

Achilles is the only one of the chief Achaean leaders who can be referred to Thessaly.

From Project Gutenberg