Hittite

noun

Hit·​tite ˈhi-ˌtīt 

1

: a member of a conquering people in Asia Minor and Syria with an empire in the second millennium b.c.

2

: the extinct Indo-European language of the Hittites see Indo-European Languages Table

Hittite adjective

Examples of Hittite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Supporting evidence includes Hittite records mentioning warfare with Wilusa, their name for Troy. — Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026

Cuneiform tablets suggest the textile industry was highly sophisticated during the Bronze Age, the Old Assyrian Colony Period, and the Hittite Empire; however, physical traces rarely survive, as per a study. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 22 Feb. 2026

In the Late Bronze Age, when a combination of earthquakes, drought, and trade disruption ended the Egyptian, Mycaenaean, and Hittite empires, those who survived began to get healthier and taller, Kemp writes. — Linda Kinstler, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2025

With further analogues in Scythian, Latvian, and Hittite, many researchers now think that the early Indo-Europeans prayed to a sky father known as something like Dyeus Puhter. — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025

Per Anatolian Archaeology, ancient rock tombs found in Şanlıurfa usually date to the late Hittite and Roman periods. — Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2025

Indeed, one of the most famous stories about him is his depravity in condemning a soldier, Uriah the Hittite, to a brutal death so that David could take Uriah’s wife, Bat-Sheva, as his own. — Jacob F. Love, The Conversation, 5 Feb. 2025

Recall the biblical story of King David and his soldier Uriah the Hittite. — Mark Lilla, Harper's Magazine, 2 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Hebrew Ḥittī, from Hittite ḫatti

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Hittite

• Indo-Hittite