Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of or relating to the Semites or their languages or cultures.
- adj. Of, relating to, or constituting a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic language group that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic.
- n. The Semitic languages.
- n. Any one of the Semitic languages.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Relating to the Semites, or the descendants of Shem; pertaining to the Hebrew race or any of those kindred to it, as the Arabians and the Assyrians. Also Shemitic, Shemitish.
- n. The Semitic languages collectively.
Wiktionary
- adj. Of or pertaining to a subdivision of Afro-Asiatic Semitic languages: Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Syriac, Akkadian, Hebrew, Maltese, Tigrigna, Phoenician etc.
- adj. Of or pertaining to the Semites: Semitic people.
- adj. biblical Of or pertaining to the descendants of Shem, the eldest of three sons of Noah.
- adj. In a narrower sense, of or pertaining to the Israeli, Jewish, or Hebrew people.
- n. The Semitic languages in general.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or pertaining to Shem or his descendants; belonging to that division of the Caucasian race which includes the Arabs, Jews, and related races.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a major branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family
- adj. of or relating to the group of Semitic languages
- adj. of or relating to or characteristic of Semites
Etymologies
- From Semite + -ic (18th century), from German semitisch, from Ancient Greek Σημ (Sēm), from the Hebrew שֵׂם (Šēm, "Shem"), the name of the eldest son of Noah in biblical tradition (Genesis 5.32, 6.10, 10.21), considered the forefather of the Semitic peoples. Perhaps derived from Akkadian (šumu, "name" or "son"). (Wiktionary)
- New Latin Sēmiticus, from Sēmita, Semite, from Late Latin Sēm, Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Semites, from Greek, from Hebrew Šēm. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The term Semitic is applied to that family of languages which are native in Southwestern Asia, and which are supposed to have been spoken by the descendants of Shem, the son of Noah.”
Handbook of Universal Literature From the Best and Latest Authorities
“OF HUMAN GENETICS: There is a clear demonstration that about half of the males who have been sampled from the Lemba have a Y chromosome which is not of African origin but rather of what we call Semitic or Middle Eastern origin.”
“According to Israeli journalist and former Knesset member Uri Avnery, "The term Semitic should be viewed as emphasizing an historical heritage ...”
“We know firsthand from students that a school's failure to publicly identify and condemn an incident as anti-Semitic is almost as hurtful as the incident itself.”
The Washington Post: A 'breakthrough' in fighting anti-Semitism on campus
“Anti-Semitic is more like it – just like Rev. Wright and I suspect if the truth be known (which it never will be) Obama isn't a fan of Jews.”
“What's anti-Semitic is the tendency to single out Israel - and only Israel - for criticism in the conflict without mentioning the far more heinous acts of violence committed by the Palestinians who are inevitably portrayed by liberal apologists as completely innocent victims in the circumstances.”
“It is often pointed out that antisemitism (or anti-Semitism), meaning "anti-Jewish," is a misnomer since the word Semitic, strictly speaking, refers to a number of peoples, including Jews and”
“The notion that the 2005 riots were primarily or even tri - or quad-marily anti-Semitic is purely invented.”
“McWhorter speculates on a possible connection between certain Germanic and Semitic roots, such as the English word fright compared with the Semitic root p-r-kh meaning "to fear.”
“Being anti-Semitic is not fashionable after WWII like it was in 1920s-1930s.”
Think Progress » Armitage Fears Bombing Campaign Will ‘End Up Empowering Hezbollah’
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘Semitic’.
-
-ic ending
Words ending in ic, tic or nic.
clastic, elastic, caustic, spastic, frantic, lactic, moronic, ironic, panic, doric, diplomatic, bureaucratic and 202 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for Semitic.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.