egyptian

IPA/iˈdʒɪp.ʃən/
KK[ɪdʒˈɪpʃən]IPA/iˈdʒɪp.ʃən/

egyptian — adjective

  • egyptianpositive
  • more egyptiancomparative
  • most egyptiansuperlative

1. connected with the North African country called Egypt, or with the people who li

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

connected with the North African country called Egypt, or with the people who live there.

Example

Asher brought back beautiful Egyptian cotton towels from his holiday in Cairo.

collocation: Egyptian cotton

The museum is hosting an exhibition of ancient Egyptian art next spring.

collocation: ancient Egyptian / Egyptian art

Common collocations
  • Egyptian cotton
  • Egyptian art
  • Egyptian culture
  • ancient Egyptian
  • modern Egyptian
  • Egyptian government

Grammar Patterns

Egyptian + noun

Usage Note

Commonly placed before a noun to describe where something comes from (Egyptian food, Egyptian music). The same word form is also used as a noun to refer to a person from Egypt — see the noun entry below.

Common Mistakes

I bought an Egypt cotton dress.
I bought an Egyptian cotton dress.
use the adjective form Egyptian, not the country name Egypt, before a noun.

egyptian — noun

Word family

  • Egypt
    noun (place)A2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Egyptian is the standard adjective for anything connected to the modern nation of Egypt or its ancient civilisation. Egypt-related is a more informal, broad term used when the connection feels indirect or temporary (e.g., an Egypt-related conference topic). Nile Valley is a geographic label that overlaps with Egyptian history but specifically refers to the region along the river, including parts of Sudan — it is narrower and used mostly in archaeology or geography contexts. For everyday use, Egyptian covers both the modern country and its ancient past without confusion. Example: 'She studies Egyptian history' (covers all periods), whereas 'She studies Nile Valley civilisations' suggests a geographic, pre-modern focus.

Egyptian ↗Egypt-relatedNile Valley

Common collocations

Phrases

  • ancient Egyptian
  • modern Egyptian

Etymology

Ancient EgyptianGreekLatinEnglish

The word Egyptian comes through Latin (Aegyptius) and Greek (Aigyptios) from the ancient Greek name for Egypt, Aigyptos. The Greek name itself is thought to derive from the ancient Egyptian phrase Hwt-Ka-Ptah ('Temple of the Ka of Ptah'), which was the name for the city of Memphis. English has used Egyptian as both an adjective and a noun since at least the 1500s.

First known use

14th century

14th century, in the meaning defined above Noun