Proto-Sinaitic

Not to be confused with Proto-Sinitic.

From proto- +‎ Sinaitic.

Proto-Sinaitic

1. An ancient consonantal script (abjad), found in a small corpus of about 40 inscriptions and fragments dating to the Middle Bronze Age, the vast majority from Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. It was written by speakers of a Semitic language or languages, possibly Canaanite, who repurposed Egyptian hieroglyphs to write Semitic consonants. It is considered the earliest trace of alphabetic writing and the common ancestor of both the Ancient South Arabian script and the Phoenician alphabet.

   Hyponym: Proto-Canaanite

2. (collective term): Referring to several early consonantal scripts (abjads) used in Egypt and the Levant during the Bronze Age adapted from Egyptian hieroglyphs using acrophonic spelling to write a Semitic language or languages, possibly Canaanite. Considered collectively as early traces of alphabetic writing and as evidence for a common ancestor of the Phoenician and Ancient South Arabian scripts.

   Synonym: Early Alphabetic

Proto-Sinaitic (comparative more Proto-Sinaitic, superlative most Proto-Sinaitic)

1. Describing the script or scripts known as Proto-Sinaitic (plural Proto-Sinaitic)
   1. (specific term) describing only the form of this script found in the Sinai Peninsula.
   2. (collective term) describing all extant forms and variants of this early script found throughout Egypt (Sinai and Nilotic Egypt) and the Levant (Canaan)

   Synonym: Early Alphabetic