ENGLISH
REFERENCE

arab

n. countable
B1 Intermediate US //ˈæɹəb// arab Archaic

n. a person who belongs to a group of people originally from the Middle East and North Africa who speak Arabic.

n. a member of a Semitic people, originally from the Arabian Peninsula and now inhabiting much of the Middle East and North Africa.


SIMPLE

He is a proud Arab who speaks three languages.

CONTEXTUAL

The conference brought together Arabs from across the region to discuss shared economic and cultural goals.

COMPLEX

Scholars often distinguish between the ethnic identity of an Arab and the religious identity of a Muslim, as the two categories overlap significantly but are not synonymous.

Synonyms
Origin

Borrowed from Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab, “Arabs”) or back-formation from Arabic.

Usage

When used as an adjective, 'Arabic' refers to the language or writing, while 'Arab' refers to the people or their culture.

Pitfall

He speaks the Arab language.He speaks the Arabic language.Use 'Arab' for people and 'Arabic' for the language.

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