Chaldee

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. An ancient Semitic language closely related to Hebrew, used in parts of the Old Testament ; of or relating to the ancient region of Chaldea or its inhabitants
2. The Aramaic tongue found in certain books of the Bible and in later Jewish writings ; pertaining to the old Mesopotamian land of Chaldea or its people
3. A Semitic dialect of Aramaic used in sections of Scripture and rabbinical texts ; describing the ancient Babylonian region of Chaldea and the people who lived there

Etymology: Chaldee names the ancient region of Chaldea, a land in southern Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq. The people of that region, the Chaldeans, were famed in classical times as astrologers and star-watchers, and the name became attached to their language. In English, "Chaldee" today refers mainly to Chaldean or Aramaic, the tongue used in parts of the Hebrew Bible such as the book of Daniel and in several other Old Testament passages. The word reached English through Middle French "Chaldee," which in turn came from the Latin "Chaldaea," the Latinised form of the Greek name for the region. The Latin adjective "chaldaeus" gave the adjective sense, meaning relating to Chaldea or its people and language. Because the name crossed through Latin and French, English speakers often met it first in learned or biblical contexts rather than in everyday speech.

Synonyms: Chaldean