Amorite
/ˈæm.ə.raɪt/noun
A member of an ancient people who lived in parts of Syria and Mesopotamia and are mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible.
Did you know?In Mesopotamian texts, Amurru was both an Amorite people-name and the name of a western storm-god associated with mountains, wilderness, and nomadic life.
Etymological Timeline
3rd Millennium BCE
Sumerian
Martu
“A Sumerian designation for western peoples, including groups later identified with the Amorites.”
Early 2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Amurrū
“The Amorite people or the western region and peoples known to Mesopotamian scribes.”
2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Amurru
“A name for the Amorite population and, in religious contexts, the western storm-god and his land.”
1st Millennium BCE
Hebrew
אֱמֹרִי (ʾĔmōrî)
“Amorite; the biblical ethnonym for an ancient population of Canaan and surrounding regions.”
Late Antiquity
Greek
Amorraioi
“The Amorites, as rendered in Greek biblical and historical traditions.”
Modern English
English
Amorite
“An ancient Near Eastern people, their language, or anything relating to them.”