Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A Semitic language originating in the Arabian Peninsula that since the 7th century AD has come to be the principal language of a wide area of the Middle East and North Africa. Modern spoken Arabic consists of many different, often mutually unintelligible dialects, and a modified form of classical Arabic is used as the language of education and administration across the area.
  • adjective Of or relating to Arabia, the Arabs, their language, or their culture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of, from, or pertaining to Arab countries or cultural behaviour (see also Arab as an adjective).
  • proper noun A major Semitic language originating from the Arabian peninsula, and now spoken natively (in various spoken dialects, all sharing a single highly conservative standardized literary form) throughout large sections of the Middle East and North Africa.
  • proper noun The Aramaic-derived alphabet used to write the Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, and Uyghur languages, among others.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin arabicus.

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