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Etruscan

[ih-truhs-kuh n]
adjective
  1. pertaining to Etruria, its inhabitants, civilization, art, or language.
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noun
  1. an inhabitant of ancient Etruria.
  2. the extinct language of Etruria, not known to be related to any other language. Abbreviation: Etr.
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Also E·tru·ri·an [ih-troo r-ee-uh n] /ɪˈtrʊər i ən/.

Origin of Etruscan

1700–10; < Latin Etrusc(us) of Etruria + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for etruscan

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The latter was both an Etruscan and a Roman deity, the goddess of memory.

    History of Religion

    Allan Menzies

  • A number of examples of bridgework have been found in the old Etruscan tombs.

  • The saturae contained an Etruscan element, but atellans were entirely Etruscan.

    Folkways

    William Graham Sumner

  • Certainly it must have been a considerable town in the Etruscan period.

    New Italian sketches

    John Addington Symonds

  • It is by the subject chiefly that the Etruscan vases are distinguished from the Greek vases.

British Dictionary definitions for etruscan

Etruscan

Etrurian (ɪˈtrʊərɪən)

noun
  1. a member of an ancient people of central Italy whose civilization influenced the Romans, who had suppressed them by about 200 bc
  2. the non-Indo-European language of the ancient Etruscans, whose few surviving records have not been fully interpreted
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Etruria, the Etruscans, their culture, or their language
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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

Word Origin and History for etruscan

Etruscan

n.

1706, from Latin Etruscus "an Etruscan," from Etruria, ancient name of Tuscany, of uncertain origin, but containing an element that might mean "water" (see Basque) and which could be a reference to the rivers in the region.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper