Ptolemaic
/ˌtɒl.əˈmeɪ.ɪk/US/ˌtɑl.əˈmeɪ.ɪk/
Ptolemaic adjective: of or pertaining to the Ptolemy dynasty of pharaohs, the Ptolemies, rulers of Hellenistic Egypt.
Adjective
Ptolemaic (not comparable)
- Of or pertaining to the Ptolemy dynasty of pharaohs, the Ptolemies, rulers of Hellenistic Egypt.
- Of or pertaining to the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy.
Synonyms of Ptolemaic
Origin of Ptolemaic
Via Latin Ptolemāicus from Koine Greek Πτολεμᾱϊκός (Ptolemāïkós) from Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaîos), a proper name derived from Epic Greek πτόλεμος (ptólemos), variant of Ancient Greek πόλεμος (pólemos, “battle, war”); equivalent to Ptolemy + -ic.
Words formed from Ptolemaic
Questions about Ptolemaic
- What does Ptolemaic mean?
- Ptolemaic means of or pertaining to the Ptolemy dynasty of pharaohs, the Ptolemies, rulers of Hellenistic Egypt.
- What part of speech is Ptolemaic?
- Ptolemaic is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce Ptolemaic?
- Ptolemaic is pronounced /ˌtɒl.əˈmeɪ.ɪk/ (UK).
Words near Ptolemaic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Ptolemaic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Ptolemaic.wav.
Cite this entry: “Ptolemaic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ptolemaic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
