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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Mes·o·po·ta·mi·a

Audio Help [mes-uh-puh-tey-mee-uh] Pronunciation Key

–noun

an ancient region in W Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers: now part of Iraq.

—Related forms

Mes·o·po·ta·mi·an, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Mesopotamia

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mes·o·po·ta·mi·a Audio Help (měs'ə-pə-tā'mē-ə) Pronunciation Key
An ancient region of southwest Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. Probably settled before 5000 B.C., the area was the home of numerous early civilizations, including Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria. It declined in importance after Mongol invaders destroyed its extensive irrigation system in A.D. 1258.

Mes'o·po·ta'mi·an adj. & n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Mesopotamia

ancient name for the land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in modern Iraq), from Gk. mesopotamia (khora), lit. "the country between two rivers," from fem. of mesopotamos, from mesos "middle" + potamos "river" (see petition). In 19c. the word was used in the sense of "anything which gives irrational or inexplicable comfort to the hearer," based on the story of the old woman who told her pastor that she "found great support in that comfortable word Mesopotamia" ["Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable," 1870]. The place was called Mespot (1917) by British soldiers serving there in World War I.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

mesopotamia
noun
the land between the Tigris and Euphrates; site of several ancient civilizations; part of what is now known as Iraq

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
Mesopotamia [(mes-uh-puh-tay-mee-uh)]

A region of western Asia, in what is now Iraq, known as the “cradle of civilization.” Western writing first developed there, done with sticks on clay tablets. Agricultural organization on a large scale also began in Mesopotamia, along with work in bronze and iron (see Bronze Age and Iron Age). Governmental systems in the region were especially advanced (see Babylon and Hammurabi). A number of peoples lived in Mesopotamia, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Hittites, and Assyrians.