Arabic

[ar-uh-bik]

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.

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

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Arabic¹

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

Example Sentences

Crammed under a tattered tent on rough wooden benches, Yemeni children are learning Arabic grammar -- lucky to receive an education at all in a country hammered by years of war.

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Later in the record, “La Yugular” is a philosophical meditation on unity and oneness with lyrics in Spanish and Arabic, which suggests that the entire world might fit inside a haiku.

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The work in question is a "maqāma" -- an Arabic literary form that often features a wandering "trickster."

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Jihadists from JNIM, the Arabic acronym for the Group to Support Islam and Muslims, are targeting fuel convoys on the main roads from Senegal and Ivory Coast, where most of Mali's imported goods originate.

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BBC Arabic failed to translate many stories that might offer a positive perspective on Israel, and it has been forced to correct two stories per week, on average, since the Oct.

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