: a Semitic language originally of the Arabs of the Hejaz and Nejd that is now the prevailing speech of a wide region of southwestern Asia and northern Africa
1
: of, relating to, or constituting the language Arabic
… Arabic neologisms of the nineteenth century …—
Bernard Lewis
Bernard LewisHis bibliography contains no classical Arabic texts and only a handful of dubiously transliterated recent Arabic titles …—Pierre Cachia
Pierre Cachia… edited and reviewed by Arabic scholars in Paris …—Edwin McDowell
Edwin McDowell2
: expressed in or utilizing Arabic numerals
21 is an Arabic number.
Arabic notation
3
: of, relating to, or characteristic of Arabia or the Arabs
As Arabic music permeates various other sounds, so are western sounds finding their way into various Arabic musics.—Hank Bordowitz
Hank BordowitzThe Middle East meets the Wild West in this variation on Arabic hummus.—Steven Raichlen
Steven RaichlenThere still exist some folk instruments in Portugal whose names indicate their Arabic origin.—Alexander Buchner
Alexander BuchnerExamples of Arabic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebAhmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Information would be available in English and also in Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, Urdu and Hebrew.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
On a summer holiday in Alexandria, father and son both fall for Mona, a twentysomething British woman who speaks fluent Arabic, but only Pasha gets to marry her.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Ink is a nebulous material, Little explained in a phone call, made from nearly anything rich in pigments along with the binder gum Arabic.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Plates were piled high with dates, rice, chicken and lentils, as guests chatted in a mix of Arabic, Hebrew and English.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2024
The Palestinian Information Center article, which is in Arabic, says the Hamas leaders participated in a celebration of the National Day of the Turkish Republic at the Turkish embassy in Qatar, according to a Google translation.
—USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
Russian became the second most prevalent language among Islamic State fighters after Arabic, said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism expert with The Soufan Center.
—Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Two Jewish names inscribed in Arabic on the device—Ishaq and Yunus, or Isaac and Jonah—suggest the astrolabe once circulated within a Sephardi community in Spain.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Various aesthetic details celebrate the maison’s equestrian heritage, including the Arabic numerals of the hours-minutes display, which are inclined to evoke a galloping horse, and, at 6 o’clock, minute repeater hammers sculpted in the shape of horses.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
In the lower west side of Manhattan were some of the greatest poets and writers that the Arabic speaking world has known.
—Sarah Khan, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Apr. 2024
Naver is also partnering with Saudi Aramco on an Arabic large-language model.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
The book is set in the squalid transit camps that housed immigrants, known in Hebrew as Mizrahim, or Easterners, who had escaped persecution in Arabic countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
—Joseph Berger, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
On some of the stones found in the ruins, Arabic inscriptions, Byzantine iconography and Maltese crosses were found carved into the rock, according to the study.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2024
The font included Japanese characters, Arabic numerals and Western Latin letters.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024
The most popular languages on the platform include Spanish, German, French, Italian, English and Japanese but their roster also includes courses for more unique languages like Turkish, Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew and Hindi.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 31 Mar. 2024
Noun
People who form their views from TikTok videos, rumors, misinformation-laden social-media posts, and Al-Jazeera Arabic’s pro-Hamas coverage will have a skewed understanding of October 7 and the war.
—Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Information would be available in English and also in Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, Urdu and Hebrew.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
On a summer holiday in Alexandria, father and son both fall for Mona, a twentysomething British woman who speaks fluent Arabic, but only Pasha gets to marry her.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
Ink is a nebulous material, Little explained in a phone call, made from nearly anything rich in pigments along with the binder gum Arabic.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Plates were piled high with dates, rice, chicken and lentils, as guests chatted in a mix of Arabic, Hebrew and English.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2024
The Palestinian Information Center article, which is in Arabic, says the Hamas leaders participated in a celebration of the National Day of the Turkish Republic at the Turkish embassy in Qatar, according to a Google translation.
—USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
Russian became the second most prevalent language among Islamic State fighters after Arabic, said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism expert with The Soufan Center.
—Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Two Jewish names inscribed in Arabic on the device—Ishaq and Yunus, or Isaac and Jonah—suggest the astrolabe once circulated within a Sephardi community in Spain.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The holiday is Arabic for the celebration of breaking the fast.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Various aesthetic details celebrate the maison’s equestrian heritage, including the Arabic numerals of the hours-minutes display, which are inclined to evoke a galloping horse, and, at 6 o’clock, minute repeater hammers sculpted in the shape of horses.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
In the lower west side of Manhattan were some of the greatest poets and writers that the Arabic speaking world has known.
—Sarah Khan, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Apr. 2024
Naver is also partnering with Saudi Aramco on an Arabic large-language model.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
The book is set in the squalid transit camps that housed immigrants, known in Hebrew as Mizrahim, or Easterners, who had escaped persecution in Arabic countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
—Joseph Berger, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
On some of the stones found in the ruins, Arabic inscriptions, Byzantine iconography and Maltese crosses were found carved into the rock, according to the study.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2024
The font included Japanese characters, Arabic numerals and Western Latin letters.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024
The most popular languages on the platform include Spanish, German, French, Italian, English and Japanese but their roster also includes courses for more unique languages like Turkish, Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew and Hindi.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 31 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Arabic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near Arabic
Cite this Entry
“Arabic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Arabic. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share