palestinian

palestinian — adjective

1. connected with the region known as Palestine, or with its people, language, or c

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

connected with the region known as Palestine, or with its people, language, or culture.

Example

Layla cooked a Palestinian dish called maqluba for her classmates.

modifies a noun: Palestinian + [cuisine/cultural noun]

The museum opened a new exhibition of Palestinian embroidery from the 1940s.

Palestinian + art/craft noun

Common collocations
  • Palestinian culture
  • Palestinian cuisine
  • Palestinian family
  • Palestinian poetry
  • Palestinian embroidery

Usage Note

Always written with a capital P. Used to describe people, places, food, language, art, or events linked to Palestine; does not by itself state a political position.

Common Mistakes

She cooks palestinian food.
She cooks Palestinian food.
names of peoples and their adjectives are always capitalised in English.
a Palestine writer
a Palestinian writer
use the adjective form, not the place name, before a noun.

palestinian — noun

Word family

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a young Palestinian
  • Palestinian and Israeli
  • Palestinians abroad

Prepositions

Etymology

SemiticGreekLatinEnglish

Built from the place name 'Palestine' plus the adjective ending '-ian', meaning 'belonging to'. 'Palestine' itself comes through Latin Palaestina from Greek Palaistinē, which the Greeks borrowed from a Semitic name for the coastal region — related to the older term for the Philistines. The use of 'Palestinian' for a person from this region became common in English in the 20th century.