I. noun
also chal·dae·an kalˈdēən
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Latin Chaldae us Chaldean, astrologer (from Greek Chaldaios, from Chaldaia Chaldea, region of ancient Babylonia) + English -an
1.
a. : one of an ancient Semitic people that originally occupied the low alluvial land about the estuaries of the Tigris and Euphrates and that gradually became the dominant people of Babylonia
b. : the original Semitic language of the Chaldeans — called also neo-Babylonian
2. : a person versed in the occult arts (as astrology and sooth-saying)
3. : a member of a Uniate church in Iraq and Iran converted from Nestorianism in the 16th century
II. adjective
also chaldaean (ˈ) ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷
Usage: usually capitalized
: of or belonging to Chaldea or to the language, culture, or occult arts of the Chaldeans