Palestine

[pal-uh-stahyn, pal-uh-steen]

noun

1. Biblical Name Canaan. Also called Holy Land. an ancient country in southwest Asia, on the east coast of the Mediterranean.

2. a disputed region made up of parts of an ancient country in southwest Asia, especially the Gaza Strip and the West Bank: a British mandate from 1923 to 1948; divided between Israel, Jordan, and Egypt in 1948; Jordanian and Egyptian parts occupied by Israel in 1967, with limited Palestinian self-administration beginning in 1994.

3. a city in eastern Texas.

Palestine

/ ˈpælɪˌstaɪn /

noun

1. Also called: the Holy Land.  Canaan. the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in which most of the biblical narrative is located

2. the province of the Roman Empire in this region

3. the former British mandatory territory created by the League of Nations in 1922 (but effective from 1920), and including all of the present territories of Israel and Jordan between whom it was partitioned by the UN in 1948

Palestine

1. Historic region on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, comprising parts of modern Israel, Jordan, and Egypt (see also Egypt).

Known as the Holy Land, it is a place of pilgrimage for several religions, including Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Israel, the homeland of the Jews (see also Jews), was established in Palestine in 1948. The Palestine Liberation Organization, under Yasir Arafat, is committed to establishing a Palestinian state, which would include territory on the West Bank and Gaza Strip now partially occupied by Israel. (See Arab-Israeli conflict , intifada , Oslo Accord , Palestinian Authority .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Palestine¹

First recorded in 1540–60; from Latin Pal(a)estīna, Palaestīnē, from Greek Palaistī́nē; perhaps through Aramaic pəlishtāʾin (plural) “Philistines,” from Hebrew pĕlishtīm; philistine ( def. )

Example Sentences

An alleged Palestine Action member attacked a police officer with a sledgehammer, fracturing her back during an organised break-in at an Israeli defence firm, a court heard.

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By 1939, Hungary’s crackdown against Jews—and Senesh’s emerging identity as a Zionist—led her to emigrate to the British Mandate for Palestine.

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The stark reality of the civilians under constant fire, and in a much worse position than Jacir, motivated her team to continue with “Palestine 36.”

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He wants the militant group to keep its weapons so that it remains capable of standing up to Israel “until rights are restored to their owners and Palestine is recognised as a land.”

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The other complaint characterized an unauthorized teach-in on Palestine, led by a dozen teachers, as biased “indoctrination” that excluded an Israeli perspective of the conflict.

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