Hittite

[hit-ahyt] /ˈhɪt aɪt/

noun
1.
a member of an ancient people who established a powerful empire in Asia Minor and Syria, dominant from about 1900 to 1200 b.c.
2.
an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of Indo-European, preserved in cuneiform inscriptions of the second millennium b.c.
Compare .
adjective
3.
of, relating to, or belonging to the Hittites or their language.
/ˈhɪtaɪt/
noun
1.
a member of an ancient people of Anatolia, who built a great empire in N Syria and Asia Minor in the second millennium bc
2.
the extinct language of this people, deciphered from cuneiform inscriptions found at Boǧazköy and elsewhere. It is clearly related to the Indo-European family of languages, although the precise relationship is disputed
adjective
3.
of or relating to this people, their civilization, or their language

c.1600, “of or pertaining to an Indo-European people whose empire (c.1900-700 B.C.E.) covered much of modern Turkey and Syria,” from Hebrew Hitti “Hittite” (plural Hittim), from Hittite Hatti. The biblical use (cf. Gen. xv:20, etc.) refers to Canaanite or Syrian tribes that probably were genuine scions of the Hittites. They were called khita or kheta in Egyptian.