The English name Beirut is an early transcription of the Arabic name  (). The same name's transcription into French is , which was sometimes used during Lebanon's French occupation. The Arabic name derives from Phoenician ''be'rūt'' ( ). This was a modification of the Canaanite and Phoenician word , meaning "the wells", in reference to the site's accessible water table. The name is first attested in the 14thcenturyBC, when it was mentioned in three Akkadian cuneiform tablets of the Amarna letters, letters sent by King Ammunira of ''Biruta'' to  or  of Egypt. ''Biruta'' was also mentioned in the Amarna letters from King Rib-Hadda of Byblos.