Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
 
Help

Semitic

 - 3 dictionary results

Se⋅mit⋅ic

[suh-mit-ik]
–noun
1. a subfamily of Afroasiatic languages that includes Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Phoenician.
–adjective
2. of or pertaining to the Semites or their languages, esp. of or pertaining to the Jews.

Origin:
< NL sēmīticus, equiv. to sēmīt(a) Semite + -icus -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Semitic
Se·mit·ic   (sə-mĭt'ĭk)   
adj.  
  1. Of or relating to the Semites or their languages or cultures.

  2. Of, relating to, or constituting a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic language group that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic.

n.  
  1. The Semitic languages.

  2. Any one of the Semitic languages.


[New Latin Sēmiticus, from Sēmita, Semite, from Late Latin Sēm, Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Semites, from Greek, from Hebrew Šēm.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

Semitic [(suh-mit-ik)]

A descriptive term for several peoples of the Middle East and their descendants, including Jews and Arabs (see Arab-Israeli conflict). Today the term is mainly applied to Jews. (See anti-Semitism.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Semitic on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: