DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

Afroasiatic

or Af·ro-A·si·at·ic

[ af-roh-ey-zhee-at-ik, -ey-shee-, -ey-zee- ]
/ ˌæf roʊˌeɪ ʒiˈæt ɪk, -ˌeɪ ʃi-, -ˌeɪ zi- /

adjective

of, belonging to, or pertaining to Afroasiatic; Hamito-Semitic.

noun

Also called Hamito-Semitic. a family of languages including as subfamilies Semitic, Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and Chadic.Compare family(def 14).

Origin of Afroasiatic

First recorded in 1955–60; Afro- + Asiatic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019