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Mem·phis

(mĕmfĭs)

1. An ancient city of Egypt south of Cairo. Reputedly founded by Menes, the first king of united Egypt, it was the chief city of the Nile delta until the foundation of Alexandria. Its remains include an extensive necropolis.

2. A city of southwest Tennessee on the Mississippi River near the Mississippi border. Established and named (1819) by Andrew Jackson on the site of a fort built in 1797, it was an important Union base after its capture by federal troops in 1862 during the Civil War. Memphis is today a major port and a tourist center famous for its associations with blues music.

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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