arabic

IPA/ˈærəbɪk/
KK[ˈærəbɪk]IPA/ˈærəbɪk/

arabic — noun

1. the main language used by people across much of the Middle East and northern Afr

1.nounB2
Definition

the main language used by people across much of the Middle East and northern Africa, written from right to left and spoken by hundreds of millions today.

Example

Layla grew up in Cairo, so she speaks Arabic at home with her grandmother.

speak + Arabic

Aiko signed up for evening Arabic classes before her trip to Jordan.

Arabic classes / lessons

Common collocations
  • speak Arabic
  • learn Arabic
  • Modern Standard Arabic
  • classical Arabic
  • in Arabic

Grammar Patterns

speak/learn/study + Arabic

Usage Note

Treated as uncountable: say 'I study Arabic', not 'an Arabic'. Capitalised because it is the name of a language.

Common Mistakes

I am learning the Arabic.
I am learning Arabic.
names of languages take no article in this pattern.
She speaks arabic well.
She speaks Arabic well.
always capitalise the language name.

arabic — adjective

Word family

  • Arab
    nounB2
  • Arab
    adjectiveB2
  • Arabian
    adjectiveC1
  • Arabist
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/3

These three words look alike but careful writers separate them clearly. 'Arab' is the preferred word for people and, increasingly, for the broader culture and politics of the region: 'Arab students', 'the Arab world', 'Arab leaders'. 'Arabian' is mostly geographical, pointing to the Arabian Peninsula or things native to it: 'Arabian horse', 'the Arabian desert', 'Arabian Nights'. 'Arabic' is safest for the language itself and items tied to it, such as script, poetry, and calligraphy: 'Arabic letters', 'Arabic poetry'. So you would say 'an Arab journalist writes in Arabic about Arabian wildlife', and each word lands in the role it does best.

Arabic ↗Arab ↗Arabian

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Arabic speaker
  • Arabic teacher
  • Arabic class
  • Arabic translation

Phrases

  • translate into Arabic
  • fluent in Arabic
  • written in Arabic

Prepositions

  • in Arabic
  • from Arabic
  • into Arabic

Etymology

SemiticGreekLatinOld FrenchEnglish

The English word came through Old French 'Arabique' from Latin 'Arabicus', which in turn comes from Greek 'Arabikos' meaning 'of Arabia'. The ultimate root is the Semitic name for the Arab peoples, recorded as far back as ancient Assyrian inscriptions. English has used 'Arabic' for the language since the Middle Ages, and the phrase 'Arabic numerals' became common in the 1700s, when European scholars credited Arab mathematicians with passing the digit system from India into Europe.