arabic
/ˈæɹəbɪk/noun, adjective
arabic is spelled A-R-A-B-I-C: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, arabic means “Ellipsis of gum arabic” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in arabic?
| Letters | 6: A-R-A-B-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,784th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is arabic?
Arabic appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce arabic?
- /ˈæɹəbɪk/
Arabic has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-Arabic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does arabic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
rareEllipsis of gum arabic.
- 2
Ellipsis of arabic numeral.
adjective
- 1
Only used in arabic acid
- 2
Only used in arabic numeral
adjective
- 1
Related to the Arabic language.
an Arabic translation
- 2
Expressed in a script that was developed in Arab lands (but is not always used in the Arabic language): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Arabic numerals
- 3
Of, from, or pertaining to Arab countries or cultural behaviour (see also Arab as an adjective).
- 4
proscribedArab.
noun
- 1
A variety of the Arabic language.
He was speaking an Arabic that they'd never heard before and could barely understand.
- 2
proscribedAn Arab.
- 3
Ellipsis of Arabic numeral.
A novel writer will usually spell out Arabics from one to nine, to accord with the tone of the genre.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Arabic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of, from, or pertaining to Arab countries or cultural behaviour:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does arabic come from?
See gum arabic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).