Edomite
/ˈiː.də.maɪt/noun
A member of an ancient people who inhabited Edom, south of ancient Judah.
Did you know?The Edomites were known to Greek and Roman writers as Idumaeans, and Herod the Great was descended from an Idumaean family.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
ʾadm
“Red or reddish; the reconstructed root behind related Northwest Semitic forms”
Iron Age
Biblical Hebrew
ʾĔdōm
“Edom, the region and people traditionally associated with Esau; the name is connected with “red””
Iron Age
Biblical Hebrew
ʾĔdōmî
“An Edomite, literally a person belonging to Edom”
3rd–2nd Century BCE
Greek
Ἰδουμαῖος (Idoumaios)
“Idumaean or Edomite, the Greek form used for the people of Edom”
Classical Latin
Latin
Idumaeus
“Idumaean or Edomite”
16th Century
English
Edomite
“A member of the ancient Edomite people”