Hittite

American  

[hit-ahyt] / ˈhɪt aɪt /

noun

1. a member of an ancient people who established a powerful empire in Asia Minor and Syria, dominant from about 1900 to 1200 b.c.

2. an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of Indo-European, preserved in cuneiform inscriptions of the second millennium b.c.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Hittites or their language.

Hittite British  

/ ˈhɪtaɪt /

noun

1. a member of an ancient people of Anatolia, who built a great empire in N Syria and Asia Minor in the second millennium _bc

2. the extinct language of this people, deciphered from cuneiform inscriptions found at Boǧazköy and elsewhere. It is clearly related to the Indo-European family of languages, although the precise relationship is disputed

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adjective

1. of or relating to this people, their civilization, or their language

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• post-Hittite
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Hittite

1600–10; < Hebrew ḥitt ( īm ) Hittite (compare Hittite Khatti ) + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Archaeological digs for Hittite antiquities aimed to provide the new republic with a past rooted even more deeply than Greece and Italy.

From New York Times • May 25, 2023

They were frequently put to work in agricultural settings to free Hittite citizens for military service.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Early in Hittite history, enslaved people had been relatively rare, but they became more numerous later on as the number of war captives rose.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Possibly as a demonstration of military might or simply to seize an opportunity, the Hittite army descended into Mesopotamia and took the city of Babylon.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

If so, the continuation of Hittite history will have to be sought among the remains at Jerablus and other middle Euphratean sites, rather than in those at Boghaz Keui.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various