Euphrates

[yoo-frey-teez]

noun

a river in SW Asia, flowing from E Turkey through Syria and Iraq, joining the Tigris to form the Shatt-al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. 1700 miles (2735 km) long.

Related formsEu·phra·te·an, adjectivetrans-Eu·phra·tes, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for euphrates

Contemporary Examples of euphrates

And then there is the ISIS video of Crawford splashing in the Euphrates as if he were a kid again.
ISIS Has a Bigger Coalition Than We Do
Michael Daly
October 15, 2014
First, I sketched out a long oscillating ribbon running from the top left to the bottom right of the page: the Euphrates.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi
Elliot Ackerman
January 21, 2014
And like civilization itself, it might all start on the banks of the Euphrates.
The Revolt in Syria Could Easily Spread to Other Middle East Countries
Kenneth M. Pollack
January 31, 2012
He is the author of a blog called “ From the Potomac to the Euphrates” on CFR.org.
Why Washington Can't Stop Egypt's Revolution
Steven Cook
January 29, 2011

Historical Examples of euphrates

The Sumerians take possession of the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Between the Euphrates and the trench was a narrow passage, twenty feet only in breadth.
Anabasis
Xenophon
On board the Euphrates Wickham had been abnormally interested in Cressley.
A Master of Mysteries
L. T. Meade
He retreated to Kurna, where the Tigris joins the Euphrates.
New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915
Various
Their general had only a small body-guard as he fled toward the Euphrates.
Peter the Hermit
Daniel A. Goodsell

British Dictionary definitions for euphrates

Euphrates

noun

a river in SW Asia, rising in E Turkey and flowing south across Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris, forming the Shatt-al-Arab, which flows to the head of the Persian Gulf: important in ancient times for the extensive irrigation of its valley (in Mesopotamia). Length: 3598 km (2235 miles)

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 euphrates

Euphrates

Old English Eufrate, from Greek Euphrates, from Old Persian Ufratu, perhaps from Avestan huperethuua "good to cross over," from hu- "good" + peretu- "ford." But Kent says "probably a popular etymologizing in O.P. of a local non-Iranian name" ["Old Persian," p.176]. In Akkadian, purattu.