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semite - 5 dictionary results

Sem⋅ite

  [sem-ahyt or, especially Brit., see-mahyt]
Use semite in a Sentence
–noun
1. a member of any of various ancient and modern peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including the Akkadians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs.
2. a Jew.
3. a member of any of the peoples descended from Shem, the eldest son of Noah.
Origin:
1870–75; < NL sēmīta < LL Sēm (< Gk Sm < Heb Shēm Shem ) + -īta -ite 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Sem·ite   (sěm'īt')   
n.  
  1. A member of a group of Semitic-speaking peoples of the Near East and northern Africa, including the Arabs, Arameans, Babylonians, Carthaginians, Ethiopians, Hebrews, and Phoenicians.
  2. A Jew.
  3. Bible A descendant of Shem.

[Back-formation from Semitic.]
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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Semite

Sem"ite\, n. One belonging to the Semitic race. Also used adjectively. [Written also Shemite.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Semite [(sem-eyet)]

Someone who belongs to the Semitic peoples. The Semites are supposedly descended from the biblical Shem, the eldest son of Noah.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Semite 
1847, "Jew, Arab, Assyrian, Aramæan," from Mod.L. Semita, from L.L. Sem "Shem," one of the three sons of Noah (Gen. x:21-30), regarded as the ancestor of the Semites (in the days when anthropology was still bound by the Bible), from Heb. Shem. Semitic (1813 of languages, 1826 of persons) is probably from Ger. semitisch (first used by Ger. historian August Schlözer, 1781), denoting the language group that includes Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Assyrian, etc. In recent use often with the specific sense "Jewish," but not historically so limited.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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