Hamitic

American  

[ha-mit-ik, huh-] / hæˈmɪt ɪk, hə- /

noun

1. (especially formerly) the non-Semitic branches of the Afroasiatic language family.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to the Hamites or Hamitic.

Hamitic British  

/ hæˈmɪtɪk, hə- /

noun

1. a group of N African languages related to Semitic. They are now classified in four separate subfamilies of the Afro-Asiatic family: Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and Chadic

---

adjective

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

2. denoting, belonging to, or characteristic of the Hamites

Other Word Forms

• non-Hamitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Hamitic

First recorded in 1880–85; Hamite + -ic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Hamitic

A proud people, tall, lithe' and fine-featured, the Somalis are Hamitic in origin, descended in part from 7th century Arabs who crossed into Africa from Yemen.

From Time Magazine Archive

The majority of the people are of the Eastern Hamitic family mixed with cultured Himyaritic Semites from South Arabia.

From Time Magazine Archive

When first heard of by Bowdich in 1819, the Paämways, as he calls the Fans, were an inland people presenting such marked Hamitic or Caucasic features that he allied them with the West Sudanese Fulahs.

From Man, Past and Present by Alfred Court Haddon

Footnote 41: One of the Hamitic languages of eastern Africa.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

But, as there is every reason to believe that the term belongs to the Hamitic Babylonian, it is in vain to have recourse to Arian or Semitic tongues for its derivation.

From The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 1. (of 7): Chaldaea The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. by George Rawlinson