Blemmyan
/ˈblɛm.i.ən/noun
Relating to the Blemmyes, an ancient people associated with Nubia and the eastern Egyptian desert, or a member of that people.
Did you know?Medieval European maps and manuscripts portrayed the Blemmyes as headless people with faces on their torsos, although classical sources originally described them as a real people from northeastern Africa.
Etymological Timeline
Late Antiquity
Greek
Βλέμμυες (Blémmyes)
“The name used for a people living in or near Nubia and the eastern Egyptian desert; the ultimate origin of the name is uncertain.”
1st Century
Latin
Blemmyae
“The Latin ethnonym used by Pliny the Elder and later writers for the Blemmyes.”
4th–6th Century
Late Latin
Blemmyae
“A name applied both to an African people and, increasingly in fantastical traditions, to supposedly headless beings.”
Medieval Period
Medieval Latin
Blemmyae
“A legendary race depicted in encyclopedias, travel literature, and maps as having faces in their chests.”
Modern English
English
Blemmyan
“An adjective or noun relating to the Blemmyes, especially in historical, anthropological, or mythological writing.”