Of or pertaining to the Semites; of or pertaining to one or more Semitic peoples.
Proper Noun
The Semitic languages in general.
Origin
From Semite + -ic (18th century), from German semitisch, from Ancient Greek Σημ, from the Hebrew שֵׁם, 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. The word was coined and first applied to the Semitic languages by August Ludwig von Schlözer in 1781.
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