Etymograph

English

Semitic

Semitic comes from German semitisch, and goes back to Ancient Greek Σήμ.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΣήμSḗm
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentsemitisch
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1893Semitic

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history not traced here.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΣήμSḗm
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentsemitisch
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1893Semitic

Earliest quotation: 1893, George Thomas Bettany, Mohammedanism and Other Religions of Mediterranean Countries: “Thus we trace ever and again the similarities which…”

Formed from Semite + -ic

Biblical Hebrew שם

Ancient Greek Σήμ

Late Latin Sēm

English Semite

The story

Perhaps derived from Akkadian 𒈬 (šumu, literally “name" or "son”). The word was coined and first applied to the Semitic languages by August Ludwig von Schlözer in 1781.

Every English word from Ancient Greek Σήμ

Today it means

adj Of or pertaining to a subdivision of Afroasiatic Semitic languages: Akkadian, Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Maltese, Phoenician, Syriac, Tigrigna etc.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek Σήμ / Semitic

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