Link Centre Dictionary

Semitic

se·mi·tic

UK/səˈmɪt.ɪk/ US/səˈmɪt.ɪk/ uncommon
adjective (2) noun (1)

adjective

1.

of or relating to the group of Semitic languages

  • “Semitic tongues have a complicated morphology”
2.

of or relating to or characteristic of Semites

  • “Semite peoples”
Synonyms

noun

1.

Origin

From Semite + -ic (18th century), from German semitisch, from Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from the Hebrew שֵׁם (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 𒈬 (šumu, literally “name" or "son”). The word was coined and first applied to the Semitic languages by August Ludwig von Schlözer in 1781.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.