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
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Berio wonders whether Arcturus functioned as a celestial beacon across multiple cultural spheres—Minoan, Mycenaean, and Egyptian. Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025 The exhibition will showcase over 230 works of art and artifacts from Messenia, an epicenter of the Mycenaean civilization that flourished in Late Bronze Age Greece – according to the announcement. James Powel, USA Today, 22 May 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for Mycenaean

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Mycenaean was in 1598

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Cite this Entry

“Mycenaean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mycenaean. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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