Canaanite

American  

[key-nuh-nahyt] / ˈkeɪ nəˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a member of a Semitic people that inhabited parts of ancient Palestine and were conquered by the Israelites and largely absorbed by them.

2. a group of Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Phoenician, spoken chiefly in ancient Palestine and Syria.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Canaan, the Canaanites, or the Canaanite group of languages.

Canaanite British  

/ ˈkeɪnəˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a member of an ancient Semitic people who occupied the land of Canaan before the Israelite conquest

2. the extinct language of this people, belonging to the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family

3. (in later books of the Old Testament) a merchant or trader (Job 40:30; Proverbs 31:24)

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Other Word Forms

• Canaanitic
  adjective
• Canaanitish
  adjective
• pre-Canaanite
  noun
• pre-Canaanitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Canaanite

1350–1400; Middle English ≪ Greek Kananī́tēs; see Canaan, -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The IAA identified the jugs as Canaanite, a people who resided in the lands abutting the eastern Mediterranean.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 20, 2024

Scattered along the coast of the Levant were the great Canaanite commercial centers, which dispensed strategic and utilitarian raw materials and manufactured goods to the Aegean region and beyond.

From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2024

Later, Judeans within the Persian Empire, who were from the Canaanite kingdom of Judah and followers of Judaism, incorporated many Zoroastrian ideas into their own religious traditions.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

It’s unusual to have a full sentence of Canaanite writing.

From NewsForKids.net • Nov. 15, 2022

The scarabs, oil lamp, mortars, and seal were all Canaanite.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler