a member of a nomadic tribe of Arabs that fought the Israelites: Num. 31, Judg. 6-8
Word origin
< Heb midhyān, name of a son of Abraham (see Gen. 25:2) + -ite1
Midianite in American English
(ˈmɪdiəˌnait)
noun
1.
a member of an ancient desert people of northwest Arabia near the Gulf of Aqaba, believed to have descended from Midian
adjective
2.
of or pertaining to the Midianites
Word origin
[midian + -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)