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Canaanite

[ key-nuh-nahyt ]
/ ˈkeɪ nəˌnaɪt /
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noun
a member of a Semitic people that inhabited parts of ancient Palestine and were conquered by the Israelites and largely absorbed by them.
a group of Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Phoenician, spoken chiefly in ancient Palestine and Syria.
adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of Canaan, the Canaanites, or the Canaanite group of languages.
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Origin of Canaanite

1350–1400; Middle English ≪ Greek Kananī́tēs;see Canaan, -ite1

OTHER WORDS FROM Canaanite

Ca·naan·it·ish [key-nuh-nahy-tish], /ˈkeɪ nəˌnaɪ tɪʃ/, Ca·naan·it·ic [key-nuh-nit-ik], /ˌkeɪ nəˈnɪt ɪk/, adjectivepre-Ca·naan·ite, noun, adjectivepre-Ca·naan·it·ic, adjective

Words nearby Canaanite

camwood, can, Cana, Canaan, Canaan dog, Canaanite, Canaanitic, Canace, Canad., Canada, Canada Act
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Canaanite in a sentence

  • They renounced the civilized life of the nation at that time and reverted to the pre-Canaanite life.

    Folkways|William Graham Sumner

  • Zimrida of Lachish must be distinguished from another Canaanite of the same name who was governor of Sidon.

    Patriarchal Palestine|Archibald Henry Sayce

British Dictionary definitions for Canaanite

Canaanite
/ (ˈkeɪnəˌnaɪt) /
noun
a member of an ancient Semitic people who occupied the land of Canaan before the Israelite conquest
the extinct language of this people, belonging to the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family
(in later books of the Old Testament) a merchant or trader (Job 40:30; Proverbs 31:24)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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