adjective
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of or relating to the Greek astronomer Ptolemy or to his conception of the universe
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of or relating to the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt from the death of Alexander the Great (323 bc ) to the death of Cleopatra (30 bc )
Etymology
Origin of Ptolemaic
1665–75; < Greek Ptolemaikós of Ptolemy, equivalent to Ptolema ( îos ) Ptolemy + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dating to the Ptolemaic Period, it consists of four mummies and a mummified dog placed on top of one another.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
The two-foot-tall antiquity, most likely chiseled during ancient Egypt’s Ptolemaic Dynasty, was a rare find.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2024
Those same experts also expend a lot of energy explaining how the final Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt and a Hellenistic descendent might also be a Black person.
From Salon ● May 11, 2023
Cleopatra’s death ushered in the start of Roman rule in Egypt as it marked the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
The Ptolemaic system, like those of Plato and Aristotle, claimed that the moon, the sun and all the planets circled around the earth.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
