Semitic

[ suh-mit-ik ]

noun

1. a subfamily of Afroasiatic languages that includes Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Phoenician. : Sem, Sem.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Semites or their languages.
2. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Jews; Jewish.

Semitic

/ sɪˈmɪtɪk /

noun

1. a branch or subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Amharic, and such ancient languages as Akkadian and Phoenician

adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of languages
2. denoting, belonging to, or characteristic of any of the peoples speaking a Semitic language, esp the Jews or the Arabs
3. another word for Jewish

Semitic

1. A descriptive term for several peoples of the Middle East and their descendants, including Jews (see also Jews ) and Arabs ( see Arab-Israeli conflict ). Today the term is mainly applied to Jews. ( See anti-Semitism .)

Other Words From

• half-Se·mitic adjective
• non-Se·mitic adjective
• pre-Se·mitic adjective noun
• pseudo-Se·mitic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Semitic¹

First recorded in 1810–15; from New Latin Sēmīticus, equivalent to Sēmīt(a) “(a) Semite” + -icus adjective suffix; Semite, -ic

Example Sentences

Phoenicians developed an influential writing system and spoke a common Semitic language, key markers of a common eastern Mediterranean culture, he contends.

From Science News

A few years back, designer John Galliano was fined by the government for sharing just such anti-semitic sentiments in public.

From The Daily Beast

The “doctorate” Duke claims is from an anti-Semitic Ukranian “diploma mill” as described by the State Department.

From The Daily Beast

Parliament looks at measures to monitor toddlers for anti-Semitic speech.

From The Daily Beast

Though he would insist in a famous essay in Other Inquisitions that “For several reasons I am not anti-Semitic.”

From The Daily Beast

Hitler was profoundly anti-Semitic, but he was also anti-Modern.

From The Daily Beast

There is an air of anxious expectancy about him, with a look of Semitic shrewdness in the long, narrow face.

From Project Gutenberg

We now understand how the Phoenicians, whose ancestors arrived in the second Semitic migration, came to call their land “Canaan.”

From Project Gutenberg

In any case, there they stand; a token of how thoroughly the most primitive form of Semitic religion is a living reality to-day.

From Project Gutenberg

They spoke a non-Semitic language, and were the oldest inhabitants of Babylonia of whom we have any knowledge.

From Project Gutenberg

The possibility that unidentified types may have contributed to the Semitic blend, however, remains.

From Project Gutenberg