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