arabic

adj

1. (not-comparable)Related to the Arabic language.

   “an Arabic translation”

   “nuances of Arabic inflection”

   “One day my UN students asked me, "Which is the Arabic country where the best Arabic is spoken?" I quickly replied, "Bosnia." They exclaimed, "But Bosnia is not an Arab country!"”

2. (not-comparable)Expressed in a script that was developed in Arab lands (but is not always used in the Arabic language): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

   “Arabic numerals”

3. (not-comparable)Of, from, or pertaining to Arab countries or cultural behaviour (see also Arab as an adjective).

   “White chalk on the fascia board above the Arabic-food stall reads "Lebanon" and "Lebs rule".”

4. (not-comparable, proscribed)Arab.

   “I saw that in my workplace black co-workers had to unite with Arabic and white workers just to be able to win better wages and working conditions and certainly to be able to win a strike.”

5. (not-comparable)Only used in arabic acid

   “There is very little in recent literature concerning the chemistry of gum arabic other than […]. The "arabic acid" is of variable composition.”

   “When solutions of arabic acid are warmed in water, a unique polysaccharide gum called degraded gum arabic is produced. The arabic acid undergoes autohydrolysis and spilts off L-arabinose, L-rhamnose,[…]”

6. (not-comparable)Only used in arabic numeral

name

1. A major Semitic language originating from the Arabian peninsula, and now spoken natively (in various spoken dialects, all sharing a single highly conservative standardized literary form) throughout large sections of the Middle East and North Africa.

   “‘Kinsman’ and ‘avenger’ meet in the same word in Hebrew and in Arabic; nor did Greek tribal custom keep them separate.”

   “Egyptian Arabic”

   “Eastern Arabic”

   “translated from the Arabic”

   “Classical Arabic – the language of the Qur’an – will make you understood everywhere, but colloquial Arabic may be more useful, because once the locals start conversing with each other, you’ll lose the plot.”

2. The Aramaic-derived script used to write the Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, and Uyghur languages, among others.

   “Near-synonym: Arabic alphabet”

noun

1. A variety of the Arabic language.

   “He was speaking an Arabic that they'd never heard before and could barely understand.”

2. (proscribed)An Arab.

   “That's the majority of working N'Yawkers. Blacks and Hispanics outnumber the arabics.”

   “Classic Arabic didn't "turn into" the various Arabic vernaculars. There is disagreement over whether the range of spoken Arabics all have a single ancestor (seems unlikely), but Classical Arabic is a somewhat artificial creation based on at least two dialects.”

3. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of Arabic numeral.

   “A novel writer will usually spell out Arabics from one to nine, to accord with the tone of the genre.”

4. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, rare)Ellipsis of gum arabic.

   “Gum arabic is known as a lower viscosity gum, with high emulsification properties. […] these alternatives are still not totally as effective as gum arabic and when pricing and availability of arabic comes back in line, many switch back,[…]”

   “Gum arabic has been an effective substitute but less expensive replacements comprising a spray-dried blend of modified […] Ranganna and Ranghuramaiah described the use of arabic as a cloud stabilizer in orange squash beverages,[…] The arabic coating protected the fumaric acid and improved its solubility. Similar granulated condiments containing extruded meat flavoring ingredients were protected by coating them with non-hygroscopic gum arabic.[…]”

5. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of arabic numeral.