palestine

noun

1. Also called Holy Land. Biblical name Canaan. an ancient country in SW Asia, on the E coast of the Mediterranean.
2. a former British mandate (1923–48) comprising part of this country, divided between Israel, Jordan, and Egypt in 1948: the Jordanian and Egyptian parts were occupied by Israel in 1967.
3. a city in E Texas.

noun

1. Also called: the Holy Land, Canaan the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in which most of the biblical narrative is located
2. the province of the Roman Empire in this region
3. the former British mandatory territory created by the League of Nations in 1922 (but effective from 1920), and including all of the present territories of Israel and Jordan between whom it was partitioned by the UN in 1948

from Latin Palestina (name of a Roman province), from Greek Palaistine (Herodotus), from Hebrew Pelesheth “Philistia, land of the Philistines.” Revived as an official political territorial name 1920 with the British mandate. Under Turkish rule, Palestine was part of three administrative regions: the Vilayet of Beirut, the Independent Sanjak of Jerusalem, and the Vilayet of Damascus. In 1917 the country was conquered by British forces who held it under occupation until the mandate was established April 25, 1920, by the Supreme Council of the Allied Powers at San Remo. During the occupation Palestine formed “Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (South),” with headquarters at Jerusalem. Historic region on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, comprising parts of modern Israel, Jordan, and Egypt (see also Egypt).