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aramaic

 - 3 dictionary results

Ar⋅a⋅ma⋅ic

[ar-uh-mey-ik]
–noun
1. Also, Aramean, Aramaean. a northwest Semitic language that from c300 b.c.–a.d. 650 was a lingua franca for nearly all of SW Asia and was the everyday speech of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Palestine. Abbreviation: Aram Compare Biblical Aramaic.
–adjective
2. pertaining to Aram, or to the languages spoken there.
3. noting or pertaining to the alphabetical, or perhaps syllabic, script used for the writing of Aramaic from about the ninth century b.c. and from which were derived the Hebrew, Arabic, Armenian, Pahlavi, Uighor, and many other scripts, probably including Brahmi.

Origin:
1825–35; < Gk aramaî(os) of Aram + -ic, modeled on Hebraic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Ar·a·ma·ic   (ār'ə-mā'ĭk)   
n.  A Semitic language originally of the ancient Arameans but widely used by non-Aramean peoples throughout southwest Asia. Also called Aramean, Chaldean.
Ar'a·ma'ic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Aramaic 
northern branch of Sem. language group, 1834, from biblical land of Aram, roughly corresponding to modern Syria, probably related to Heb. and Aram. rum "to be high," thus originally "highland."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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