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Mes·se·ni·a

(mĭ-sēnē-ə, -sēnyə)

An ancient region of southwest Greece in the Peloponnesus on the Ionian Sea. It fought a series of wars against Sparta c. 736 to 371 BC. The Romans conquered the area in 146 BC.

Mes·seni·an adj. & n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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