Semite

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Sem·ite

(sĕm′īt′)

1. A member of any of the peoples speaking a Semitic language, including the Arabs, Arameans, Babylonians, Carthaginians, Hebrews, Phoenicians, and many of the peoples of Ethiopia.

2. A Jew.

3. Bible A descendant of Shem.

[Back-formation from Semitic.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Semite

(ˈsiːmaɪt) or less commonly

Shemite

1. (Peoples) a member of the group of Caucasoid peoples who speak a Semitic language, including the Jews and Arabs as well as the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Phoenicians

2. (Peoples) another word for a Jew

[C19: from New Latin sēmīta descendant of Shem, via Greek Sēm, from Hebrew Shem]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Sem•ite

(ˈsɛm aɪt; esp. Brit. ˈsi maɪt)

n.

1. a member of a people speaking a Semitic language.

2. a member of any of the peoples descended from Shem, the eldest son of Noah.

[1870–75; < New Latin sēmīta < Late Latin Sēm (< Greek Sḗm < Hebrew Shēm Shem) + -īta -ite¹]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	Semite - a member of a group of Semitic-speaking peoples of the Middle East and northern Africa Caucasian, White, White person - a member of the Caucasoid race Babylonian - an inhabitant of ancient Babylon Chaldaean, Chaldean, Chaldee - an inhabitant of ancient Chaldea Assyrian - an inhabitant of ancient Assyria Phoenician - a member of an ancient Semitic people who dominated trade in the first millennium B.C. Arab, Arabian - a member of a Semitic people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speaks Arabic and who inhabits much of the Middle East and northern Africa Aramaean, Aramean - a member of one of a group of Semitic peoples inhabiting Aram and parts of Mesopotamia from the 11th to the 8th century BC Canaanite - a member of an ancient Semitic people who occupied Canaan before it was conquered by the Israelites
Adj.	1.	Semite - of or relating to or characteristic of Semites; "Semite peoples" Semitic

Translations

sémite

semita

Semite

[ˈsiːmaɪt] N → semita mf

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Semite

n → Semit m, → Semitin f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in classic literature ?

And they could all see the point except an owl that come from Nova Scotia to visit the Yo Semite, and he took this thing in on his way back.

View in context

He went by the name of Said, and was notable among other Semites for that unnatural length of his yellow face and height of his narrow forehead which is sometimes seen among them, and gave an irrational impression of something sinister, in spite of his agreeable smile.

View in context

Meanwhile, the holy alliance between Semite and anti-Semite thrives, not just in the United States but in Britain as well.

Who really is pushing anti-Semitic stereotypes

By the way, the designation Semite includes Palestinians.

Anti-Israel is not anti-Semitism

They cannot call you an anti-Semite, Palestinian sympathizer perhaps, not an anti Semite. The Wall Street Journal reporter who was present at the reading asked, Where would you, a gay Jewish man, feel safer, Haifa or Hebron?

An Open Letter to Tony Kushner - Playwright, Angels in America

(1) This was more than a passing nod to a subject outside of what he was writing about; on the contrary, long, detailed passages in Orientalism make it clear that the construction of the Semite was at the core of what Said was writing about.

Anti-semitism and islamophobia: the formation of a secret

VIRILE PALESTINIAN SEMITE. Exotic looks & curly hair.

Occupy my love. (Personals)

Arab Semite diasporas are as unwelcome by the West now as Jewish ones were in World War Two.

Wake up - this is World War Three; Views of Wales

A clueless anti Semite attacked the Jewish State on the web in an article with the above title, reviewing a book called Israeli Occupation.INN staff rebutted.

The Germanification of Israel

<![CDATA[ A clueless anti Semite attacked the Jewish State on the web in an article with the above title, reviewing a book called Israeli Occupation.<br/>INN staff rebutted.

The Germanification of Israel

This people are historically known as Semite because it traces its ancestry through one of Noah's sons, Shem.