# Palestine

Pronunciation: US say "PAL-uh-styn" /ˈpæləˌstaɪn/; UK

## Proper noun

1. A country in Western Asia, officially the State of Palestine, made up of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip; it is widely but not universally recognized as a state.
   - Simple: A country in the Middle East made up of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
   - _The United Nations granted Palestine non-member observer state status in 2012._
   - _Citizens of Palestine carry travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority._
2. The historical and geographical region on the eastern Mediterranean, roughly between the sea and the Jordan River and sometimes extending east of it, traditionally identified with the biblical Holy Land.
   - Simple: The old region by the eastern Mediterranean, around modern Israel and the Palestinian territories, often called the Holy Land.
   - _Geographers describe Palestine as the land bridge connecting Africa and Asia._
   - _Numerous empires fought to control Palestine because of its strategic location._
3. The territory west of the Jordan River that Britain governed under a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1948, now Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza; at first the mandate also included Transjordan.
   - Simple: The land Britain ruled from 1920 to 1948, which is now Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
   - _British forces established control over Palestine after the collapse of Ottoman rule._
   - _Immigration policy in Palestine was set by the British colonial administration._
4. Any of four Roman and Byzantine provinces in the eastern Mediterranean.
   - Simple: Any of four old Roman and Byzantine provinces in the eastern Mediterranean region.
   - _The emperor Hadrian renamed the province of Judea as Palestine after a major revolt._
   - _Byzantine administration later split Palestine into Prima, Secunda, and Salutaris._

## Proper noun

5. The stretch of southern Mediterranean coastline once settled and ruled by the Philistines, around cities such as Gaza and Ashkelon. Also called Philistia. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Philistia, the ancient land along the coast where the Philistine people lived.

## Noun

6. A Philistine: a member of the ancient people of Philistia along the southeastern Mediterranean coast. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old, no-longer-used word for a Philistine, a member of an ancient people of the eastern Mediterranean coast.

## Other meanings

- (proper noun) A city in East Texas serving as the county seat of Anderson County.
- (proper noun) An unincorporated community in Wirt County, West Virginia.
- (proper noun) A village in Crawford County, Illinois, near the Wabash River.
- (proper noun) A village in Darke County, Ohio.
- (proper noun) A small town located in St. Francis County in eastern Arkansas.
- (proper noun) A rural township located in Woodford County in central Illinois.
- (proper noun) A community in Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
- (proper noun) An unincorporated community in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana.
- (proper noun) An unincorporated community in Harrison Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana.
- (proper noun) A township in Story County, Iowa.
- (proper noun) A township in Cooper County, Missouri.
- (proper noun) An unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
- (proper noun) A town that formerly existed in Indiana’s Lawrence County, within Shawswick Township.
- (proper noun) A community in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada.
- (proper noun) A village in Over Wallop parish, Test Valley district, Hampshire, England.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5** — The name reached Middle English as Palestyne, through Old English Palestina and Latin Palaestīna (the Roman province of Palestine). Latin took it from Ancient Greek Παλαιστίνη (Palaistínē, "Philistia and the surrounding region"), which probably came, by an uncertain route, from Hebrew פְּלֶשֶׁת (p'léshet, "Philistia, land of the Philistines"). A people-name written P-l-s-t or P-r-s-t appears in five Ancient Egyptian inscriptions (from about 1170 BCE to around 900–850 BCE), and "Palas(h)tu" or "Pilistu" appears in seven Assyrian inscriptions; both are traditionally taken to be cognate.
**Meaning 6** — Ancient Greek Παλαιστινὸς (Palaistinòs) passed into Latin as Palaestinus, from which English took the word. Its Middle French cognates were palestin and Palestin.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/palestine (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).