Arabic

[ ar-uh-bik ]

adjective

1. of, belonging to, or derived from the language or literature of the Arabs.
2. noting, pertaining to, or derived from an alphabetic script in which etymologically short vowels are not normally represented, used for the writing of Arabic probably since about the fourth century a.d., and adopted with modifications by Persian, Urdu, and many other languages.
3. of or relating to Arabs.
4. of or relating to Arabia or its inhabitants; Arabian.

noun

1. a Semitic language that developed out of the language of the Arabians of the time of Muhammad, now spoken in countries of the Middle East and North Africa. : Ar, Ar.
2. the standard literary and classical language as established by the Quran.

Arabic

/ ˈærəbɪk /

noun

1. the language of the Arabs, spoken in a variety of dialects; the official language of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, the Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. It is estimated to be the native language of some 75 million people throughout the world. It belongs to the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages and has its own alphabet, which has been borrowed by certain other languages such as Urdu

adjective

1. denoting or relating to this language, any of the peoples that speak it, or the countries in which it is spoken

Other Words From

• an·ti-Ar·a·bic adjective
• non-Ar·a·bic adjective
• pro-Ar·a·bic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Arabic¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English arabik, from Latin Arabicus “Arabian,” equivalent to Arab(ia) + -icus adjective suffix; -ic

Example Sentences

Mohamed added the Arabic "Al" prefix to his surname some time in the 1970s.

From BBC

The buzzing sound of UAVs has been ubiquitous in Gaza since 2006, and drones are called zenana, an Arabic word referring to the sound using the slang term for a nagging wife.

From Salon

Jihad means “struggle” in Arabic and in Islam it can be a personal struggle for spiritual improvement or a military struggle against unbelievers.

From BBC

But speaking to the BBC's Arabic Service, a senior Hamas official said its conditions for a ceasefire - rejected by Israel for months - have not changed.

From BBC

Altogether, the Gaza branch of the Conservatory used to have more than 400 instruments - both Western classical ones and traditional Arabic instruments such as the oud, qanun and nay, a type of flute.

From BBC