Arabic

American  

[ar-uh-bik] / ˈær ə bɪk /

adjective

1. of, belonging to, or derived from the language or literature of the Arabs.

2. noting, pertaining to, or derived from an alphabetic script in which etymologically short vowels are not normally represented, used for the writing of Arabic probably since about the fourth century a.d., and adopted with modifications by Persian, Urdu, and many other languages.

3. of or relating to Arabs.

4. of or relating to Arabia or its inhabitants; Arabian.

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noun

1. a Semitic language that developed out of the language of the Arabians of the time of Muhammad, now spoken in countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Ar, Ar.

2. the standard literary and classical language as established by the Quran.

Arabic British  

/ ˈærəbɪk /

noun

1. the language of the Arabs, spoken in a variety of dialects; the official language of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, the Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. It is estimated to be the native language of some 75 million people throughout the world. It belongs to the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages and has its own alphabet, which has been borrowed by certain other languages such as Urdu

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adjective

1. denoting or relating to this language, any of the peoples that speak it, or the countries in which it is spoken

Other Word Forms

• anti-Arabic adjective
• non-Arabic adjective
• pro-Arabic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Arabic

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English arabik, from Latin Arabicus “Arabian,” equivalent to Arab(ia) + -icus adjective suffix; -ic

Example Sentences

Mercenaries were allowed to keep Arabic or Turkish currency.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

Sabrina Carpenter has apologized after sparking backlash for mistaking a Coachella fan’s traditional Arabic cheer for yodeling, which she described as “weird.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

A few years ago, an Exxon executive told an Arabic news outlet that the company had spent $30 billion on gas projects in Qatar since the 1990s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

The company says songs in 16 different languages, including Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Indonesian and Arabic, appeared in its Global Top 50 last year.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

A man in a car slowed down and called out to them in Arabic.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye