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n- an ancient kingdom on the Mediterranean, in the region of modern Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.
Word Origin and History
Phoenician
1387, from M.Fr. phenicien, from L. Phoenice, from Gk. Phoinike, perhaps lit. "land of the purple" (source of purple dye). Identical with phoenix (q.v.), but the relationship is obscure. |
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murex snails-
murex trunculus
murex brandaris |
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Costly and labor-intensive dyes Tyrian purple (or royal purple) and Tekhelet were historically made by the ancient Phoenicians using mucus from the hypobranchial gland of two species commonly referred to as "murex", Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus, which are the older names for Haustellum brandaris and the Hexaplex trunculus.
This dye was used in royal robes, other kinds of special ceremonial or ritual garments, or garments indicating high rank. It featured prominently in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the clothing of the High Priest (or Kohen Gadol) officiating there; it is sometimes still used by Jews today in the ritual fringes (tzitzit) on four-cornered garments |
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| the gland in the murex snail that contains the purple dye. |
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| n- Chemistry -any of a large number of synthetic dyes derived from aniline, usually obtained from coal tar. This is a synthetic organic dye. |
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n- 1. a subfamily of Afroasiatic languages that includes Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Phoenician.
adjective- 2. of or pertaining to the Semites or their languages, esp. of or pertaining to the Jews |
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| n-a soft coal, usually dark brown, often having a distinct woodlike texture, and intermediate in density and carbon content between peat and bituminous coal. |
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n- 1. any plant of the genus Linum, esp. L. usitatissimum, a slender, erect, annual plant having narrow, lance-shaped leaves and blue flowers, cultivated for its fiber and seeds.
2. the fiber of this plant, manufactured into linen yarn for thread or woven fabrics. |
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| n- 1. Architecture. any of a number of closely spaced supports for a railing. |
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Word Origin & History
balustrade
1644, "row of balusters," from Fr. balustrade, from It. balaustrata "provided with balusters," from balaustro "pillar," from balausta "flower of the wild pomegranate," from Gk. balaustion (perhaps of Sem. origin, cf. Aram. balatz "flower of the wild pomegranate"). Staircase uprights had lyre-like double curves, like the calyx tube of the pomegranate flower. |
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| The Uraeus is a symbol for the goddess Wadjet, one of the earliest of Egyptian deities, who often was depicted as a cobra. |
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n- 1. a braid, esp. of hair or straw.
2. a pleat or fold, as of cloth.
v- (used with object) 3. to braid, as hair or straw.
4. to make, as a mat, by braiding.
5. to pleat. |
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n- Also, pendent. 1. a hanging ornament, as an earring or the main piece suspended from a necklace.
2. an ornament suspended from a roof, vault, or ceiling. |
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n- 1. an upright stone slab or pillar bearing an inscription or design and serving as a monument, marker, or the like.
2. Architecture. a prepared surface on the face of a building, a rock, etc., bearing an inscription or the like.
3. (in ancient Rome) a burial stone.
4. Botany. the central cylinder or cylinders of vascular and related tissue in the stem, root, petiole, leaf, etc., of the higher plants. |
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n- 1. Archaeology. a passageway into an ancient subterranean tomb.
2. a racetrack in ancient Greece. |
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| n- Classical Antiquity. a meteorite or stone held sacred or believed to be of divine origin. |
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n- 1. a building or other shelter, often of a stately or sumptuous character, enclosing the remains or relics of a saint or other holy person and forming an object of religious veneration and pilgrimage.
2. any place or object hallowed by its history or associations: a historic shrine.
3. any structure or place consecrated or devoted to some saint, holy person, or deity, as an altar, chapel, church, or temple.
4. a receptacle for sacred relics; a reliquary.
v- (used with object) 5. to enshrine |
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n- 1. an elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform, at which religious rites are performed or on which sacrifices are offered to gods, ancestors, etc.
2. Ecclesiastical. communion table. |
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–noun 1. the chanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power.
2. the formula employed; a spell or charm.
3. magical ceremonies.
4. magic; sorcery.
5. repetitious wordiness used to conceal a lack of content; obfuscation: Her prose too often resorts to incantation.
synonyms:
4. witchcraft, black magic, wizardry. |
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"It is provided by the Rhodian Law that where merchandise is thrown overboard for the purpose of lightening a ship, what has been lost for the benefit of all must be made up by the contribution of all." Expanded explanantion of this Maritime Law.
http://duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-383/Lex-Rhodia-The-Ancient-Ancestor-of-Maritime-Law-800-BC.aspx |
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topeth
(where humans were scrificed in Phoenician rituals) |
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| Topheth, from Heb. toph "a drum," because the cries of children here sacrificed by the priests of Moloch were drowned by the noise of such an instrument; or from taph or toph, meaning "to burn," and hence a place of burning, the name of a particular part in the valley of Hinnom. |
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