Semitic

American  

[suh-mit-ik] / səˈmɪt ɪk /

noun

1. a subfamily of Afroasiatic languages that includes Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Phoenician. Sem, Sem.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Semites or their languages.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Jews; Jewish.

Semitic British  

/ sɪˈmɪtɪk /

noun

1. a branch or subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Amharic, and such ancient languages as Akkadian and Phoenician

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adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages

2. denoting, belonging to, or characteristic of any of the peoples speaking a Semitic language, esp the Jews or the Arabs

3. another word for Jewish

Semitic Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

• half-Semitic
  adjective
• non-Semitic
  adjective
• pre-Semitic
  adjective
• pseudo-Semitic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of Semitic

First recorded in 1810–15; from New Latin Sēmīticus, equivalent to Sēmīt(a) “(a) Semite” + -icus adjective suffix; see origin at Semite, -ic

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Semitic

“Of course it could be frustrating,” said her daughter Brigitte, an elegant, soft-spoken scholar of Semitic languages who has managed Caland’s estate since her death in 2019.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

Conservator Margalida Munar, papyrologist Leah Mascia, and Ignasi-Xavier Adiego, professor in the Department of Classical, Romance and Semitic Languages, classical philologist, and director of the Oxyrhynchus project, examined the fragile document.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

“These minor errors indicate that the priest was not a native Greek speaker but likely someone from the region who was raised speaking a Semitic language,” he said in the statement.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

And then shortly after that, we also found some passages written in an ancient Semitic language called Akkadian that is related to Hebrew and Arabic today.

From Scientific American ● May 18, 2023

Even the Semitic subfamily itself is mainly African, 12 of its 19 surviving languages being confined to Ethiopia.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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