I. ˈkānəˌnīt noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Greek Kananitēs, from Kanaan, Chanaan + -itēs -ite
1. in the Bible
a. : a member of a pre-Israelite people of Palestine which dwelt in the lowlands of Canaan — distinguished from Amorite
b. : any pre-Israelite inhabitant of Palestine : amorite 1b
2.
a. : a member of a Semitic people which settled in Palestine and Syria subsequent to the Amorites, dwelt in various independent cities each of which had its separate Baal cult, and were ultimately absorbed by the Israelites and Aramaeans
b. : the Semitic language spoken by this people, closely allied to Phoenician, and known principally from glosses in the Tell el-'Amarna letters of approximately 1400 B.C.
3. : the various languages of the Canaanitic subgroup of the Semitic subfamily sometimes regarded as constituting merely dialects of a single language
II. adjective
Usage: usually capitalized
: of or relating to Canaan, any of the peoples known as Canaanites, or the Canaanite language
III. noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Greek Kananitēs
: cananaean