JAPHETIC


Meaning of JAPHETIC in English

/jeuh fet"ik/ , adj.

1. of or pertaining to Japheth.

2. of or pertaining to a hypothesized group of languages of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and southern Europe, including the Caucasian languages, Sumerian, Basque, and Etruscan, formerly thought by some to represent a stage in language development that preceded the development of Indo-European and Semitic.

[ 1820-30; JAPHET(H) + -IC, on the model of HAMITIC, SEMITIC ]

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .