Japhetic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to Japheth.
-
of or relating to a hypothesized group of languages of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and southern Europe, including the Caucasian languages, Sumerian, Basque, and Etruscan, formerly thought by some to represent a stage in language development that preceded the development of Indo-European and Semitic.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of Japhetic
First recorded in 1820–30; Japhet(h) + -ic, on the model of Hamitic, Semitic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Japhetic, ja-fet′ik, adj. a term formerly applied in ethnology to European peoples, the supposed descendants of Japhet, as opposed to Hamitic and Semitic.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
It was usual formerly to speak of Japhetic, Hamitic and Semitic languages.
From Lectures on The Science of Language by Max Müller
Yet at this time, even in the presence of the United States, in the presence of all other maritime powers, England stands at the head of the Japhetic movement.
From Irish Race in the Past and the Present by Augustus J. Thebaud
It is in the Zend-Avesta, primal Japhetic utterance.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 30, April, 1860 by Various
Indo-European, in′dō-ū-rō-pē′an, adj. a term applied to the family of languages variously called Aryan, Japhetic, Sanscritic, Indo-Germanic, generally classified into seven great branches—viz.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
