Afro-Asiatic


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Af·ro-A·si·at·ic

(ăf′rō-ā′zhē-ăt′ĭk, -shē-, -zē-)
n.
A large family of languages spoken in northern Africa and southwest Asia, comprising the Semitic, Chadic, Cushitic, Berber, Omotic, and ancient Egyptian languages; formerly known as Hamito-Semitic.

Af′ro-A′si·at′ic adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Afro-Asiatic

n
(Languages) Also called: Semito-Hamitic a family of languages of SW Asia and N Africa, consisting of the Semitic, ancient Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and Chadic subfamilies
adj
(Languages) denoting, belonging to, or relating to this family of languages
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.Afro-Asiatic - a large family of related languages spoken both in Asia and AfricaAfro-Asiatic - a large family of related languages spoken both in Asia and Africa
natural language, tongue - a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language
Chadic, Chadic language, Chad - a family of Afroasiatic tonal languages (mostly two tones) spoken in the regions west and south of Lake Chad in north central Africa
Semitic - a major branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family
Hamitic, Hamitic language - a group of languages in northern Africa related to Semitic
Egyptian - the ancient and now extinct language of Egypt under the Pharaohs; written records date back to 3000 BC
Berber - a cluster of related dialects that were once the major language of northern Africa west of Egypt; now spoken mostly in Morocco
Cushitic - a group of languages spoken in Ethiopia and Somalia and northwestern Kenya and adjacent regions
Omotic - a group of related languages spoken in a valley of southern Ethiopia; closely related to Cushitic languages
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
For instance, although the Hausa people speak an 'Afro-Asiatic' language, they have little or no Eurasian element in their genetic profile while the Fulani who speak a Niger-Congo language have substantial Eurasian elements in their gene pool.'
By 2015, the Oromo, and an Afro-Asiatic linguistic group in the Horn of Africa, represented 34.5 percent (over 40 million) of Ethiopia's population, half a million people in Kenya and 42,000 in Somalia.
Examples: Tamazight, a Berber language of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
With a panel consisting of a Somali immigrant to the UK, a Pakistani-American who has returned to Pakistan and a resident of Istanbul, a hospitable home to millions of Syrian refugees, the discussion proved to be an Afro-Asiatic take on immigration that is rarely seen.
They represent an innovative development, attested also in other Afro-Asiatic languages, and should not be confused with the early Aramaic anomalous plural forms of the adjectives rabrebin (rabrebin, with final m on p.
Three illegal migrants of Afro-Asiatic origin were discovered by officials of the Support and Control Unit of the East Field Office of the Border Police of BiH near Drina River, while the Trebinje Border Police Unit in two cases discovered five illegal migrants.
Greco-Slavic, but there's an Afro-Asiatic presence." This slant opens new possibilities for an origin story set in the twenty-first century, allowing the believable use of characters from diverse backgrounds -- Themyscira's all-female population boasts a wide variety of hair and skin colors, more representative of modern-day readership.
For instance, all major subdivisions of the Afro-Asiatic stock (except Egyptian) are represented in the sample.
And, like the ports of that immense Afro-Asiatic littoral, its pages are busy with people and piled with goods, not just with the luxuries listed above but also with a priceless cargo of information, especially on China.
Egypt is a trans-continental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia, making it an Afro-Asiatic country via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula.
Al-Busaidi said that the meeting will discuss a working paper on the Omani insurance market to identify challenges and future Outlook besides discussing certain matters relating to creating a portfolio for natural disasters and the establishment of Afro-Asiatic Reinsurance Company with a website for FAIR.