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aucasian race which includes the Arabs, Jews, and related races. [Written also Shemitic.] Semitic language, a name used to designate a group of Asiatic and African languages, some living and some dead, namely: Hebrew and Phoenician, Aramaic, Assyrian, Arabic, Ethiopic (Geez and Ampharic). Encyc. Brit.…

Pertaining to a race or a language neither Aryan nor Semitic. J. Prichard.

of Syria and Mesopotamia; Aramæan; -- specifically applied to the northern branch of the Semitic family of languages, including Syriac and Chaldee. -- n.

Ger. sieben, Lat. septem, Gr.ptan. The form of letter B is Roman, from Greek B (Beta), of Semitic origin. The small b was formed by gradual change from the capital B.

ancient Abyssinian empire (in Ethiopia), now used only in the Abyssinian church. It is of Semitic origin, and is also called Geez.

ucial; esp., (Phon.) produced in the fauces, as certain deep guttural sounds found in the Semitic and some other languages. Ayin is the most difficult of the faucals. I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

ken mainly in the Sahara, Egypt, Galla, and Somâli Land, and supposed to be allied to the Semitic. Keith Johnson.

The language of the Hebrews; -- one of the Semitic family of languages.

9th century b. c., and written in the Moabite alphabet, the oldest Phonician type of the Semitic alphabet. It records the victories of Mesha, king of Moab, esp. those over Israel (2 Kings iii. 4, 5, 27).

paragoge; added to the end of, or serving to lengthen, a word. Paragogic letters, in the Semitic languages, letters which are added to the ordinary forms of words, to express additional emphasis, or some change in the sense.

An ancient Persian dialect in which words were partly represented by their Semitic equivalents. It was in use from the 3d century (and perhaps earlier) to the middle of the 7th century, and later in religious writings. [Written also Pahlavi.]

One belonging to the Semitic race. Also used adjectively. [Written also Shemite.]

A Semitic idiom; a word of Semitic origin. [Written also Shemitism.]

Of or pertaining to Shem, the son of Noah, or his descendants. See Semitic.

form (V) of the Greek vowel UPSILON (see Y), this Greek letter being either from the same Semitic letter as the digamma F (see F), or else added by the Greeks to the alphabet which they took from the Semitic. Etymologically v is most nearly related to u, w, f, b, p; as in vine, wine; avoirdupois, habit, have; safe, sav…

taken from the Latin letter Z, which came from the Greek alphabet, this having it from a Semitic source. The ultimate origin is probably Egyptian. Etymologically, it is most closely related to s, y, and j; as in glass, glaze; E. yoke, Gr. yugum; E. zealous, jealous. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 273, 274.…