Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hittite

/ˈhɪ.taɪt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.49 in modern English

Syllables
Hit-tite
IPA
/ˈhɪ.taɪt/
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person of the Hittite Kingdom, a Bronze Age kingdom of Anatolia.

name

An ancient Indo-European language of the Anatolian branch, attested from the 16th century BC until the 13th century BC.

adj

Of or relating to the Hittite people.

adj

Of or relating to the Hittite language.

adj

Of or relating to the Hittite Kingdom, located in central Anatolia (modern Turkey), that flourished from about 1800 to 1400 B.C.E.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew חִתִּי (ḥittî), from Hittite 𒄩𒋾 (ḫati), perhaps ultimately an exonym related to Hatti. In reference to the Indo-European-speaking people of Asia Minor (as opposed to the Biblical Hittites), this term was first used in the early 20th century in confusion with the neighboring Hattites (Hattic) whose language was recorded in discovered texts as [script needed] (ḫattili). It is now known that the Hittites called themselves 𒉈𒋗𒈨𒉌𒌍 (ne-šu-me-né-eš /⁠nešumeneš⁠/, “people from the city of Nesha”), hence the much less used alternative name Nesite or Neshite.

Word Breakdown

  • Root: חִתִּי, 𒄩𒋾

Inflected Forms

Hittites (plural) Hitt. (alternative, abbreviation)

Derived Forms

Phrases

Questions

How do you pronounce hittite?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɪ.taɪt/.
What does hittite mean?
A person of the Hittite Kingdom, a Bronze Age kingdom of Anatolia.
Where does hittite come from?
From Biblical Hebrew חִתִּי (ḥittî), from Hittite 𒄩𒋾 (ḫati), perhaps ultimately an exonym related to Hatti. In reference to the Indo-European-speaking people of Asia Minor (as opposed to the Biblical Hittites), this term was first used in the early 20th century in confusion with the neighboring Hattites (Hattic) whose language was recorded in discovered texts as [script needed] (ḫattili). It is now known that the Hittites called themselves 𒉈𒋗𒈨𒉌𒌍 (ne-šu-me-né-eš /⁠nešumeneš⁠/, “people from the city of Nesha”), hence the much less used alternative name Nesite or Neshite.

How to pronounce hittite

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hittite”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɪ.taɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hittite”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “hittite” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.