Mycenaean

adjective

My·​ce·​nae·​an ˌmī-sə-ˈnē-ən How to pronounce Mycenaean (audio)
variants or less commonly Mycenian
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of Mycenae, its people, or the period (1400 to 1100 b.c.) of Mycenae's political ascendancy
2
: characteristic of the Bronze Age Mycenaean culture of the eastern Mediterranean area
Mycenaean noun

Examples of Mycenaean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web During Greece’s Mycenaean age, determining whether or not someone was falling in love required little decryption. Serena Coady, Glamour, 19 Sep. 2024 Egypt’s hieroglyphs and the Mycenaean script known as Linear B were also notoriously indecipherable—until the Rosetta Stone and a British genius produced working keys. Ariel Sabar, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2024 During an excavation of two early Mycenaean buildings discovered on the Greek island of Aegina, archaeologists unearthed several pottery fragments with residue of 3,600-year-old Tyrian purple dye, according to a study published June 12 in the journal PLOS One. Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 26 June 2024 In this workshop, ancient Greeks produced the vibrant pigment known as Mycenaean purple—or, as the Romans called it, Tyrian purple. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2024 For those excited by history, Messinia is a thrill a minute: Neolithic settlements, Mycenaean palaces, classical temples, Byzantine churches, medieval castles, and Ottoman fortresses are scattered all around. Rachel Howard, Travel + Leisure, 26 Apr. 2024 Heavy on sculpture, pottery and jewelry, it is divided into seven collections: Neolithic and Cycladic, Mycenaean, Geometric and Archaic Sculpture, Classical sculpture, Roman and Hellenistic sculpture, pottery, and the Thira frescoes. David Unsworth, Fox News, 20 Apr. 2024 From the 13th century B.C.E. to the 13th century C.E., Mycenaean, Phoenician, Roman and Byzantine ships would have sailed from this strategic location. J. Besl, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024 Latin, for instance, existed around 2,050 years ago, Old Icelandic about 800 years ago, and Mycenaean Greek about 3,350 years ago. Kurt Kleiner, Discover Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Mycenaean.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Mycenaean was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near Mycenaean

Cite this Entry

“Mycenaean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mycenaean. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

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