Midianite

American  

[mid-ee-uh-nahyt] / ˈmɪd i əˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a member of an ancient desert people of northwest Arabia near the Gulf of Aqaba, believed to have descended from Midian.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Midianites.

Etymology

Origin of Midianite

Midian + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Midianite

After all, Moses was born Jewish, adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in the Egyptian palace, then lived as a Midianite shepherd for many decades of his adult life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

After this much for geography, we may view the monarch of Midianite mountains in the beauty and the majesty of his picturesque form.

From The Land of Midian — Volume 2 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

Note that Gideon's visit to the Midianite camp was on 'the same night' on which his little band was left alone after the ordeal by water.

From Expositions of Holy Scripture Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and First Book of Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings chapters I to VII by Maclaren, Alexander

We see the Midianite and Ishmaelite caravan passing Dothan—still known by its ancient name—with their bales of spicery from Gilead for the dwellers in the Delta, and carrying away with them the young Hebrew slave.

From Patriarchal Palestine by Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)

This total of thirty-eight is not far short of the forty traditional Midianite settlements preserved by the mediaeval Arab geographers.

From The Land of Midian — Volume 1 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir