n. a member of any of the peoples supposed to be descended from Shem, son of Noah (Gen. 10:21 ff.), including esp. the Jews, Arabs, Assyrians, and Phoenicians. Semitism n. Semitist n. Semitize v.tr. (also -ise). Semitization n.
[ mod.L Semita f. LL f. Gk Sem Shem ]