# Arabic

Pronunciation: say "AR-uh-bik" /ˈæɹ.ə.bɪk/

## Proper noun

1. A major Semitic language originating in the Arabian Peninsula, now spoken natively across much of the Middle East and North Africa in many dialects that share one highly conservative literary standard.
   - Simple: A Semitic language that began in the Arabian Peninsula and is now spoken across the Middle East and North Africa.
   - _The novel, translated from the Arabic by a professor in Beirut, won a prize for its English edition._
   - _Many students study Arabic to work in journalism or diplomacy._
4. The Aramaic-derived script used to write Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Uyghur, and other languages.
   - Simple: The flowing, right-to-left writing system used for Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and several other languages.
   - _Until 1928, Turkish was written in Arabic rather than in the Latin alphabet._
   - _Although the two languages sound much alike when spoken, Urdu is written in Arabic while Hindi uses Devanagari._

## Adjective

2. Relating to the Arabic language, its vocabulary, or its grammar.
   - Simple: Having to do with the Arabic language, such as its words or grammar.
   - _The dictionary maps Arabic roots onto their many derived forms._
   - _Linguists study how Arabic verb patterns change meaning._
3. Belonging to or characteristic of Arab countries and their culture.
   - Simple: Coming from or belonging to Arab countries and their way of life.
   - _The festival celebrated Arabic music and dance from across the region._
   - _He grew up surrounded by Arabic hospitality and storytelling._
5. Denoting the familiar digits 0 through 9, whose shapes developed in North Africa from an Indian number system and are now used worldwide.
   - Simple: Describing the number signs 0 through 9 used in most of the world today.
   - _Scientific papers express measurements in Arabic numerals for clarity._
   - _The manuscript switched from Roman to Arabic numerals in its later chapters._
7. Of or relating to Arabs and their shared identity as a people. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: Relating to Arab people, their background, and their communities.
   - _He takes great pride in his Arabic ancestry._
   - _Many Arabic communities settled along the trade routes centuries ago._

## Noun

6. A particular regional or spoken variety of the Arabic language, distinct from the shared literary standard.
   - Simple: A local spoken form of the Arabic language, such as the kind used in Egypt or Morocco.
   - _Each country tends to favor its own Arabic in daily speech._
   - _The survey recorded dozens of distinct Arabics spoken in the region._
8. Ellipsis of Arabic numeral: any of the ordinary digits 0 to 9, as opposed to Roman numerals. — Ellipsis of Arabic numeral.
   - Simple: Ellipsis of Arabic numeral: the everyday number signs 0, 1, 2 and so on, not Roman ones.
   - _The publisher prints page numbers in Arabic throughout the volume._
   - _Convert the Roman dates to Arabic for the index._
9. A member of the Arab people, viewed as one individual rather than a group. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: A person who belongs to the Arab people and shares their culture.

## Origin

This comes from Latin arabicus, from Ancient Greek Ἀραβικός (Arabikós), from Ἄραψ (Áraps, "Arab"), which itself came from Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab). By surface analysis, it is Arab plus the adjective suffix -ic.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/arabic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).