Phoenician

American  

[fi-nish-uhn, -nee-shuhn] / fɪˈnɪʃ ən, -ˈni ʃən /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Phoenicia.

2. the extinct Semitic language of the Phoenicians.

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adjective

1. of or relating to Phoenicia, its people, or their language.

2. noting or pertaining to the script used for the writing of Phoenician from the 11th century b.c. or earlier and from which were derived the Greek, Roman, and all other Western alphabets.

Phoenician British  

/ fəˈniːʃən, -ˈnɪʃɪən /

noun

1. a member of an ancient Semitic people of NW Syria who dominated the trade of the ancient world in the first millennium _bc and founded colonies throughout the Mediterranean

2. the extinct language of this people, belonging to the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family

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adjective

1. of or relating to Phoenicia, the Phoenicians, or their language

Etymology

Origin of Phoenician

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; Phoenicia, -an

Example Sentences

The Al-Bass site is centred on a necropolis that dates back three millennia to Tyre's time as a major Phoenician city and was still in use until the Arab conquests of the 7h Century.

From Barron's

The great stories of exploration and trade and imperial rivalry are here, from the Phoenician sailors who plied the ancient Mediterranean to the 17th-century Dutch who traded in the East Indies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Between Del Toro’s two rampaging performances here and in this year’s “The Phoenician Scheme,” I’m convinced there’s nothing nicer than gliding in his wake as he barges through the world.

From Los Angeles Times

May’s “The Phoenician Scheme” marked their seventh collaboration.

From Los Angeles Times

With “The Phoenician Scheme,” Anderson is celebrating the art of the spiel, the capitalism that artists are supposed to be against.

From Los Angeles Times