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• Palmyra
  Palmyra

  noun

  an ancient city in central Syria, NE of Damascus: reputedly built by Solomon.
• palmyra
  palmyra

  noun

  a tall tropical Asian palm, Borassus flabellifer, with large fan-shaped leaves used for thatching and weaving; grown also for its edible seedlings

Palmyra

American  

[pal-mahy-ruh] / pælˈmaɪ rə /

noun

1. an ancient city in central Syria, NE of Damascus: reputedly built by Solomon.

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Palmyra ¹ British  

/ pælˈmaɪrə /

noun

1. Biblical name: Tadmor.  an ancient city in central Syria: said to have been built by Solomon

2. an island in the central Pacific, in the Line Islands: under US administration

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palmyra ² British  

/ pælˈmaɪrə /

noun

1. a tall tropical Asian palm, Borassus flabellifer, with large fan-shaped leaves used for thatching and weaving; grown also for its edible seedlings

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Etymology

Origin of palmyra

C17: from Portuguese palmeira palm tree (see _palm ²); perhaps influenced by _Palmyra , city in Syria

Example Sentences

Washington blamed the attack on a lone IS gunman in Syria's Palmyra.

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

Syrian security forces arrested five suspects in an operation in the city of Palmyra in response to the attack, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

The significance of the great Syrian heroine Queen Zenobia, who once ruled Palmyra in the Roman era, seems to have been downplayed.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2025

Leo Brent Bozell IV, 44, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol and among the first to reach the Senate floor during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege.

From Seattle Times • May 17, 2024

We rented a car and six hours later entered Palmyra.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover