Aryan

American  

[air-ee-uhn, air-yuhn, ar-] / ˈɛər i ən, ˈɛər yən, ˈær- /

Also Arian

noun

1. Ethnology. a member or descendant of the prehistoric people who spoke Indo-European.

2. (in Nazi doctrine) a non-Jewish Caucasian, especially of Nordic stock.

3. (formerly) Indo-European.

4. (formerly) Indo-Iranian.

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adjective

1. of or relating to an Aryan or the Aryans.

2. (formerly) Indo-European.

3. (formerly) Indo-Iranian.

Aryan British  

/ ˈɛərɪən /

noun

1. (in Nazi ideology) a Caucasian of non-Jewish descent, esp of the Nordic type

2. a member of any of the peoples supposedly descended from the Indo-Europeans, esp a speaker of an Iranian or Indic language in ancient times

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of an Aryan or Aryans

adjective

1. archaic Indo-European

Other Word Forms

• non-Aryan noun
• pre-Aryan adjective
• pseudo-Aryan adjective

Etymology

Origin of Aryan

First recorded in 1785–95; from Sanskrit ārya “of high rank” (adjective), “aristocrat” (noun) + -an

Example Sentences

Prominent Aryan Germans, by contrast, faced a moral dilemma: to stay in Nazi Germany or leave.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Jesse Owens, an African-American track and field athlete, won four gold medals at the 1936 Games, crushing the Nazi myth of Aryan racial supremacy.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

"But it's only as good as one season, so the negotiations are not a done job," said Pankaj Bedi, CEO of United Aryan in Nairobi.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

Aryan loved the roaring sound of the engine fill the air and then grow louder as the plane cruised above him, leaving behind chalky threads of contrail in the sky,

From BBC • Jun. 17, 2025

Jews were not allowed to join the Hitler Youth, not even a Mischling, or “half-breed” child who had one non-Jewish parent, no matter how Aryan the child looked.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti