Semite

[ sem-ahyt or, esp. British, see-mahyt ]

/ ˈsɛm aɪt or, esp. British, ˈsi maɪt /

noun

a member of any of various ancient and modern peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including the Akkadians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs.

a Jew.

a member of any of the peoples descended from Shem, the eldest son of Noah.

QUIZZES

This Word Of The Day Quiz Is Far From Thersitical

Have you mastered the meaning of phronesis? How about plethoric? Take the quiz on the words from the week of February 17 to 23 to find out.

Question 1 of 7

Lincolnesque

without interest or significance; dull; insipid.

like or characteristic of Abraham Lincoln.

very high or tall; lofty.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Semite

1870–75; < New Latin sēmīta < Late Latin Sēm (< Greek Sḗm < Hebrew Shēm Shem) + -īta -ite¹

OTHER WORDS FROM Semite

non-Sem·ite, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for semite

These two names (Aryan and Semite), then, signify today rather two groups of peoples than two distinct races.
History Of Ancient Civilization|Charles Seignobos
In such material products the eye at once detects the Semite's readiness to avail himself of foreign models.
Legends Of Babylon And Egypt|Leonard W. King
His force diminished, his numbers lessened, and the subjugated Semite increased in strength.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce
In spite of his proto-Semitic strain, the ancient Egyptian himself never became a Semite.
Legends Of Babylon And Egypt|Leonard W. King

One rather wonders whether Noah was a Semite as well as his eldest son, and whether these laws really go back as early as Shem.
The Relations between the Laws of Babylonia and the Laws of the Hebrew Peoples|C. H. W. Johns

British Dictionary definitions for semite

Semite

less commonly Shemite

/ (ˈsiːmaɪt) /

noun

a member of the group of Caucasoid peoples who speak a Semitic language, including the Jews and Arabs as well as the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Phoenicians

another word for a Jew

Word Origin for Semite

C19: from New Latin sēmīta descendant of Shem, via Greek Sēm, from Hebrew Shem

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for semite

Semite

[ (sem-eyet) ]

Someone who belongs to the Semitic peoples. The Semites are supposedly descended from the biblical Shem, the eldest son of Noah.