Main Entry: Mel·chite

Variant(s): or Mel·kite \ˈmel-ˌkīt\

Function: noun

Etymology: New Latin Melchita, from Middle Greek Melchitēs, from Syriac malkāyā, from malkā king

Date: 1615

1 : an Eastern Christian chiefly of Syria and Egypt adhering to Chalcedonian orthodoxy in preference to Monophysitism
2 : a member of a Uniate body derived from the Melchites