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Syria

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Sýria

English

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Map showing the location of Syria (sense 1) in green
Arab Syria (sense 2) in the 9th century

Etymology

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From Middle English Sirie, from Latin Sȳria, from Ancient Greek Σῠρῐ́ᾱ (Sŭrĭ́ā), apheretic form of Ἀσσυρία (Assuría, “Assyria”), from Akkadian 𒀾𒋗𒊏𒅀 (Aššūrāyu), from 𒀸𒋩 (Aššur, “Assur”).

The land corresponding to modern Syria was originally called Aram by its ancient inhabitants, the Arameans. After the Assyrian conquest of Aram, the Greeks applied the name Syria to this territory. Over time, Syria came to denote the broader Levant, while Assyria referred to Mesopotamia. Herodotus (5th century BCE) was among the earliest Greek authors to consistently distinguish Syria and Assyria.[1] After his time, some classical writers occasionally blurred the distinction.[1] Nevertheless, educated writers and administrative usage gradually preserved the distinction, with Syria referring to the Levant and Assyria to Mesopotamia.

Pronunciation

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  • enPR: sĭrʹē-ə, IPA(key): /ˈsɪɹi.ə/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Hyphenation: Syr‧ia
  • Rhymes: -ɪɹiə

Proper noun

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Syria

  2. A country in West Asia in the Middle East. Official name: Syrian Arab Republic. Capital: Damascus.
    • 2011 December 31, “Syrian opposition group: More than 5,800 died in 2011”, in CNN‎[1]:
      Representatives of the Syrian National Council and the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria signed an agreement late Friday in Cairo for a transition in a post-Assad era, the NCB said on its Facebook page.
  4. (historical) A historical region of West Asia, extending from modern-day southeast Turkey to the north, the Euphrates and Arabian Desert to the east, the Sinai Peninsula to the south, and the Mediterranean sea to the west.
    Synonyms: Greater Syria, Levant, Syria-Palestine
    • 1866, Carl Ritter, translated by William L. Gage, Comparative Geography of Palestine and the Sinaitic Peninsula‎[2], volume II, New York: D. Appleton and Co., page 11:
      The belt which runs along the eastern frontier from north to south, traversing all Syria from the extreme limits of the Taurus to the Sinai desert, is not remarkable for any marked grandeur in its physical features, and is tolerably uniform in its characteristics, being made up to a considerable extent of a broad plateau of steppe land, rock and sand and debris being freely intermingled in its formation, and forming an immeasurable succession of high plains, whose effect is manifest in the course of the Euphrates, which has been driven to the eastward thereby, and removed from the immediate neighbourhood of the Mediterranean Sea.
  6. (historical) An ancient Roman province between 64 BCE and 198 CE.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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countries in Asia (appendix)edit

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joseph, John (2000), The modern Assyrians of the Middle East, Brill, page 21:
    Randolph Helm's researches show that Herodotus “conscientiously” and “consistently” distinguished the names Syria and Assyria and used them independently of each other. To Herodotus, writes Helm, “Syrians” were “the inhabitants of the coastal Levant, including North Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistia”; he “never [emphasis Helm’s] uses the name ‘Syria’ to apply to Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is always called ‘Assyria’ ... [and its] inhabitants ‘Assyrians’.” The clear distinction made by Herodotus, comments Helm, was “lost upon later Classical authors, some of whom interpreted [Herodotus’] Histories VII.63 as a mandate to refer to Phoenicians, Jews, and any other Levantines as ‘Assyrians’.”

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Latin

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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    Borrowed from the Ancient Greek Σῠρῐ́ᾱ (Sŭrĭ́ā, “Syria”).

    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Syria f sg (genitive Syriae); first declension

    1. (historical) Syria (a historical region of West Asia, extending from modern-day southeast Turkey to the north, the Euphrates and Arabian Desert to the east, the Sinai Peninsula to the south, and the Mediterranean sea to the west)
    2. (historical) Syria (an ancient Roman province between 64 BCE and 198 CE)
    3. (transferred sense) Assyria
    4. (New Latin) Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)

    Declension

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    First-declension noun, singular only.

    singular
    nominative Syria
    genitive Syriae
    dative Syriae
    accusative Syriam
    ablative Syriā
    vocative Syria

    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    Further reading

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    • “Sȳrĭa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • “Syria”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
    • “Syria”, in The Perseus Project (1999), Perseus Encyclopedia‎[3]
    • “Syria”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “Syria”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

    Malay

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    Malay Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia ms

    Etymology

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    Unadapted borrowing from English Syria.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈsiria/ [ˈsi.rja]

    Proper noun

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    Syria (Jawi spelling سيريا)

    1. (Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)

    Synonyms

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    • (Indonesian, Indonesian Malay) Suriah

    Derived terms

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    See also

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    countries in Asia: negara-negara di Asia (appendix)edit

    Norwegian Bokmål

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    Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia no

    Proper noun

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    Syria

    1. Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)
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    Norwegian Nynorsk

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    Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia nn

    Proper noun

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    Syria

    1. Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)
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    Old English

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    Old English Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia ang

    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Latin Syria.

    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Syria m

    1. Syria

    Declension

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    Weak:

    singular plural
    nominative Syria —
    accusative Syrian —
    genitive Syrian —
    dative Syrian —

    Polish

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    Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia pl

    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Syria f

    1. Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)

    Declension

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    Declension of Syria
    singular
    nominative Syria
    genitive Syrii
    dative Syrii
    accusative Syrię
    instrumental Syrią
    locative Syrii
    vocative Syrio

    Derived terms

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    adjective
    nouns

    Further reading

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    • Syria in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
    • Syria in Polish dictionaries at PWN

    Portuguese

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    Proper noun

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    Syria f

    1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of Síria

    Swahili

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    Swahili Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia sw

    Etymology

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    Borrowed from English Syria.

    Proper noun

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    Syria

    1. Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)
      Synonyms: Siria, Shamu (proscribed)

    Derived terms

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    Welsh

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    Welsh Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia cy

    Pronunciation

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    Proper noun

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    Syria f (not mutable)

    1. Syria (a country in West Asia in the Middle East)

    Coordinate terms

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    countries in Asia: gwledydd Asia (appendix)edit

    Derived terms

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    Mutation

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    Mutated forms of Syria
    radical soft nasal aspirate
    Syria unchanged unchanged unchanged
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