/fi nish"euhn, -nee"sheuhn/ , n.
1. a native or inhabitant of Phoenicia.
2. the extinct Semitic language of the Phoenicians.
adj.
3. of or pertaining to Phoenicia, its people, or their language.
4. noting or pertaining to the script used for the writing of Phoenician from the 11th century B.C. or earlier and from which were derived the Greek, Roman, and all other Western alphabets.
[ 1350-1400; ME; see PHOENICIA, -AN ]