Afrasian
UK /æˈfɹeɪ.ʒn̩/ · US /æˈfɹeɪʒ(ə)n/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms Afrasians
- adjective Of or relating to both Africa and Asia.
- adjective (linguistics, specifically) Synonym of Afroasiatic (“of, pertaining to, or being a language family spoken in northern Africa and southwest Asia, and including Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Semitic, and possibly Omotic languages”).
- noun A thing that relates to both Africa and Asia.
- noun (linguistics) A person who comes from a region where Afroasiatic languages are spoken.
- proper noun (linguistics, uncommon) Synonym of Afroasiatic (“the language family spoken in northern Africa and southwest Asia, and including Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Semitic, and possibly Omotic languages”).
Synonyms
Afro-Asian Hamito-Semitic Semito-Hamitic Afroasiatic Afro-Asiatic Afroasiatic language Afrasian language
Etymology
Blend of Afro- (prefix meaning ‘Africa’) + Asian, possibly a calque of Russian афрази́йский (afrazíjskij, “of, pertaining to, or being a language family spoken in northern Africa and southwest Asia”).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Afrasian”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details