Japhetic

American  

[juh-fet-ik] / dʒəˈfɛt ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to Japheth.

2. 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.

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Japhetic British  

/ dʒeɪˈfɛtɪk /

adjective

1. denoting a discredited grouping of languages that postulated a relationship between Basque, Etruscan, and Georgian among others

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Etymology

Origin of Japhetic

First recorded in 1820–30; Japhet(h) + -ic, on the model of Hamitic, Semitic

Example Sentences

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

He distinguished between a Japhetic and Aramaic class, the former occupying the north, the latter the south, of the continent of Asia and Europe.

From Lectures on The Science of Language by Müller, Max

It was usual formerly to speak of Japhetic, Hamitic and Semitic languages.

From Lectures on The Science of Language by Müller, Max

According to this table the Egyptians were descended from Ham, the son of Noah, and were consequently of the same original stock with the Japhetic and Semitic nations.

From Ten Great Religions An Essay in Comparative Theology by Clarke, James Freeman

The Indian scalp-lock is found on the Egyptian monuments as one of the characteristics of the Japhetic Libyans, who shaved all the head except one lock in the middle.

From Atlantis : the antediluvian world by Donnelly, Ignatius