a member of a nomadic tribe descended from Esau (Genesis 36:12), dwelling in the desert between Sinai and Canaan and hostile to the Israelites: they were defeated by Saul and destroyed by David (I Samuel 15–30)
Amalekite in American English
(ˈæməˌlekait, əˈmælɪˌkait)
Word forms: nounplural -ites or esp collectively -ite
noun
1.
a member of the tribe of Amalek. Gen. 36:12
adjective
2.
of or pertaining to the Amalekites
Word origin
[‹ Heb ʻămālēqamalek + -ite1]-ite is a suffix of nouns denoting esp. persons associated with a place, tribe, leader,doctrine, system, etc. (Campbellite; Israelite; laborite); minerals and fossils (ammonite; anthracite); explosives (cordite; dynamite); chemical compounds, esp. salts of acids whose names end in -ous (phosphite; sulfite); pharmaceutical and commercial products (vulcanite); a member or component of a part of the body (somite)