Semitic

Language group containing Arabic and Hebrew

Also known as Semitic languages

Subclass of: Afroasiatic
1
Sources
1.Stated in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
View statement on Wikidata ↗

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, Tigre, Aramaic, Hebrew, Maltese, Modern South Arabian languages and numerous other ancient and modern languages. They are spoken by more than 460 million people across much of West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Malta, and in large immigrant and expatriate communities in North America, Europe, and Australasia. The terminology was first used in the 1780s by members of the Göttingen school of history, who derived the name from Shem (שם), one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis. Since the 19th century, alternative names, such as Syro-Arabian languages, have been proposed and used.

Overview

Works in this language

3 linked to Semitic in Wikidata

All data

67 statements · 16% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Founded: 3rd millennium BCE
1
Sources
1.Stated in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Different from: Semitic people
Studied by: Semitic studies

On other databases

57 identifiers linking Semitic across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

16%

externally sourced

Source last edited August 16, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Semitic (Q34049). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/semitic-Q34049