Hittite

UK: /ˈhɪtaɪt/ US: (hit′īt)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Hit•tite  (hit′īt), n. 

1. Language Varieties, Language Varieties, Ancient History a member of an ancient people who established a powerful empire in Asia Minor and Syria, dominant from about 1900 to 1200 b.c.
2. Language Varieties an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of Indo-European, preserved in cuneiform inscriptions of the second millennium b.c. Cf. Hieroglyphic Hittite.

adj. 

3. Ancient History, Language Varieties of, pertaining to, or belonging to the Hittites or their language.

• Hebrew ḥitt(īm) Hittite (compare Hittite Khatti) + -ite¹
• 1600–10

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Hittite / ˈhɪtaɪt/ noun

1. a member of an ancient people of Anatolia, who built a great empire in N Syria and Asia Minor in the second millennium bc
2. the extinct language of this people, deciphered from cuneiform inscriptions found at Boǧazköy and elsewhere. It is clearly related to the Indo-European family of languages, although the precise relationship is disputed

adjective

1. of or relating to this people, their civilization, or their language