Palmyra

[pal-mahy-ruh]

noun

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

Palmyra

¹

/ 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

palmyra

²

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Palmyra¹

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

Example Sentences

It includes clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was built at Dura Europos.

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The Islamic State group blew up several temples and other structures at Palmyra, claiming that they were idolatrous.

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Attacks were reported near Homs and Palmyra, as well as on the coastal city of Latakia, Sana said late on Monday.

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

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At least 36 people have been killed and 50 others injured in Israeli air strikes on residential buildings and an industrial area in the central Syrian town of Palmyra, Syrian state media report.

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