Semitic
Se·mi·tic/səˈmɪt.ɪk/adjective
Semitic is spelled S-E-M-I-T-I-C: 7 letters and 3 syllables (Se·mi·tic). It appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, Semitic means “Of or pertaining to a subdivision of Afroasiatic Semitic languages: Akkadian, Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Maltese, Phoenician, Syriac, Tigrigna…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in Semitic?
| Letters | 7: S-E-M-I-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: Se·mi·tic |
| In writing | 3.8 times per million words; the 13,321st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is Semitic?
Semitic appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st 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 Semitic?
- UK /səˈmɪt.ɪk/
- US /səˈmɪt.ɪk/
- US [səˈmɪɾ.ɪk]
Semitic has 3 syllables, split Se·mi·tic in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Semitic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with Semitic?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as Semitic from its last stressed vowel (/ɪtɪk/):
- critic
- parasitic
- electrolytic
- anxiolytic
- diacritic
- martensitic
- sybaritic
- Glagolitic
- granulocytic
- chondritic
- mephitic
- proclitic
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of Semitic
- semitic
- Shemitic
- shemitic
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Semitic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to a subdivision of Afroasiatic Semitic languages: Akkadian, Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Maltese, Phoenician, Syriac, Tigrigna etc.
- 2
Of or pertaining to the Semites; of or pertaining to one or more Semitic peoples.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:Semitic.
- 3
Of or pertaining to the descendants of Shem, the eldest of three sons of Noah.
- 4
Of or pertaining to the Israeli, Jewish, or Hebrew people.
- 5
Of or pertaining to any of the religions which originated among the Semites; Abrahamic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Semitic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pertaining to the Semitic subdivision of Afroasiatic languages:
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 Semitic come from?
From Semite + -ic (18th century), from German semitisch, from Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from the Hebrew שֵׁם (Šēm, “Shem”), the name of the eldest son of Noah in biblical tradition (Genesis 5.32, 6.10, 10.21), considered the forefather of the Semitic peoples. 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).