Hittite

[ hit-ahyt ]

/ ˈhɪt aɪt /

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noun

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

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

adjective

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

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Origin of Hittite

1600–10; <Hebrew ḥitt(īm) Hittite (compare Hittite Khatti) + -ite¹

OTHER WORDS FROM Hittite

post-Hittite, adjective

Words nearby Hittite

hit the nail on the head, hit the road, hit the roof, hit the sack, hit the spot, Hittite, Hittitology, hit up for, hit upon, hit wicket, Hitzig

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Hittite in a sentence

Maybe you can tell the Ecuadorians that Israel deserves Hebron because Abraham bought land there from Ephron the Hittite.
Happy Now, Bibi?|Peter Beinart|December 8, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hittite.
The Prophet Ezekiel|Arno C. Gaebelein
Probably a young Hittite with indifferent teeth proclaimed that his desire was to fight the Amalekites and not to eat them.
Adventures and Enthusiasms|E. V. Lucas
The Egyptian power was falling to pieces, and Palestine was threatened by Hittite invaders from the north.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce

In the Hittite system of hieroglyphic writing, the boot with upturned end occupies a prominent place.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce
The highlands of Cappadocia and the ranges of the Taurus seem to have been the cradle of the Hittite race.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce

British Dictionary definitions for Hittite

Hittite

/ (ˈhɪtaɪt) /

noun

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

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

adjective

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

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