Semite

//ˈsɛm.aɪt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A member of a modern people that speak a Semitic language.
  2. 2
    a member of a group of Semitic-speaking peoples of the Middle East and northern Africa wordnet
  3. 3
    A member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia and East Africa such as the Akkadians, Assyrians, Arameans, Phoenicians, Canaanites, Hebrews, Arabs, or Aksumites.
  4. 4
    A descendant of any of these peoples.
  5. 5
    A descendant of the biblical Patriarch Shem.
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  1. 6
    A Jew. derogatory, sometimes
Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to or characteristic of Semites wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
semitic

Etymology

From Sem, Shem + -ite, from Late Latin Sēm, from Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from Biblical Hebrew שם (šēm). Compare German Semit, New Latin Sēmīta, French sémite.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.