Phoenician

Phoe·ni·cian

P0252100 (fĭ-nĭsh′ən, -nē′shən)adj. Of or relating to ancient Phoenicia or its people, language, or culture.n.1. A native or inhabitant of ancient Phoenicia.2. The Semitic language of ancient Phoenicia.

Phoenician

(fəˈniːʃən; -ˈnɪʃɪən) n1. (Peoples) 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 Mediterranean2. (Languages) the extinct language of this people, belonging to the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic familyadj (Historical Terms) of or relating to Phoenicia, the Phoenicians, or their language

Phoe•ni•cian

(fɪˈnɪʃ ən, -ˈni ʃən)

n. 1. a member of a Semitic people of Phoenicia, prominent in Mediterranean history from c1100 to c625 b.c. as merchants and colonizers. 2. the extinct western Semitic language of the Phoenicians. adj. 3. of or pertaining to Phoenicia, its people, or their language. [1350–1400]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Phoenician - a member of an ancient Semitic people who dominated trade in the first millennium B.C.Semite - a member of a group of Semitic-speaking peoples of the Middle East and northern Africa
	2.	Phoenician - the extinct language of an ancient Semitic people who dominated trade in the ancient worldCanaanitic, Canaanitic language - a group of Semitic languagesPunic - the Phoenician dialect of ancient CarthagePhenicia, Phoenicia - an ancient maritime country (a collection of city states) at eastern end of the Mediterranean
Adj.	1.	Phoenician - of or relating to or characteristic of Phoenicia or its inhabitants

Translations

Φοίνικας

Phoenician

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
www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/430phoenicia.html

Phoenician

the language of the Phoenicians, spoken from the second or first millennium B.C. to the early first millennium A.D. in Phoenicia and in Phoenician settlements in the Mediterranean, including Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia, Massalia, Spain, and North Africa. In North Africa, Late Phoenician, or Punic, survived until the Arab conquest in the eighth century A.D. In Phoenicia itself, the language died out in the second century A.D. Phoenician is represented by inscriptions dating from the middle of the second millennium B.C to the second century A.D. in Phoenicia and to the third and fourth centuries A.D. in the western Mediterranean.

Phoenician belongs to the Canaanite subgroup of the Semitic languages. Its morphology and lexicon are similar to those of Hebrew. The alphabet used indicates that only 22 of the 29 consonants common to the Semitic languages were retained, a result of the loss of the opposition between certain sibilants and between uvular and pharyngeal fricatives. However, transcriptions in foreign languages show that certain consonant distinctions not reflected in the writing system were preserved in early Phoenician or in some dialects. The greatest differences between Phoenician and other Semitic languages were in the vowel system: Proto-Semitic *a and *ā became Phoenician ō (Hebrew ā) and ū (Hebrew ō), respectively, as in Phoenician labōn (“white”) and lašūn (“tongue,” “language”). Phoenician used the Byblos pseudo-hieroglyphic script and, later, the Phoenician alphabet.

REFERENCES

D’iakonov, I. M. Iazyki Drevnei Perednei Azii. Moscow, 1967.
Shifman, I. Sh. Finikiiskii iazyk. Moscow, 1963.
Friedrich, J. Phönizisch-punische Grammatik. Rome, 1951.
Jean, C. F., and J. Hoftijzer. Dictionnaire des inscriptions sémitiques de l’ouest. Leiden, 1965.

Phoenician

Phoe·ni·cian

Phoenician

Phoe•ni•cian

Phoenician

Phoenician

Phoenician

REFERENCES

Phoenician

Words related to Phoenician

noun a member of an ancient Semitic people who dominated trade in the first millennium B

Related Words

noun the extinct language of an ancient Semitic people who dominated trade in the ancient world

Related Words