Hamitic

views updated May 29 2018

Hamitic pert. to a group of African languages comprising ancient Egyptian. Bẹrber, Galla, etc. XIX. f. Hamite descendant of Ham (Hebrew Kham), second son of Noah (Gen. 6; 10), whose descendants were supposed to have peopled northern Africa; see -ITE. -IC.

Hamitic

views updated May 18 2018

Ham·it·ic / həˈmitik/ • adj. hist. of or denoting a hypothetical language family formerly proposed to comprise Berber, ancient Egyptian, the Cushitic languages, and the Chadic languages. These are now recognized as independent branches of the Afro-Asiatic family.

Hamitic

views updated Jun 11 2018

Hamitic of or denoting a hypothetical language family formerly proposed to comprise Berber, ancient Egyptian, the Cushitic languages, and the Chadic languages. These are now recognized as independent branches of the Afro-Asiatic family.

About this article

Hamitic languages

All Sources -
Updated Aug 24 2016 About encyclopedia.com content Print Topic