arabic

1. abbreviationellipsisrareEllipsis of gum arabic.

   Gum arabic is known as a lower viscosity gum, with high emulsification properties. […] these alternatives are still not totally as effective as gum arabic and when pricing and availability of arabic comes back in line, many switch back,[…]

   2008 February 28, Dolf De Rovira, Sr., Dictionary of Flavors, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 115

   1 more example

   Gum arabic has been an effective substitute but less expensive replacements comprising a spray-dried blend of modified […] Ranganna and Ranghuramaiah described the use of arabic as a cloud stabilizer in orange squash beverages,[…] The arabic coating protected the fumaric acid and improved its solubility. Similar granulated condiments containing extruded meat flavoring ingredients were protected by coating them with non-hygroscopic gum arabic.[…]

   2019 July 17, Martin Glicksman, Food Hydrocolloids, CRC Press, →ISBN, pages 24–25

   Synonyms: arabic gum

2. abbreviationellipsischiefly American typesetting; uncommon outside that; chiefly American typesetting; uncommon outside thatEllipsis of arabic numeral.

1. not comparableOnly used in arabic acid

   There is very little in recent literature concerning the chemistry of gum arabic other than […]. The "arabic acid" is of variable composition.

   1928, Harry Athol Murray, A Physico-chemical Study of Gum Arabic ...

   1 more example

   When solutions of arabic acid are warmed in water, a unique polysaccharide gum called degraded gum arabic is produced. The arabic acid undergoes autohydrolysis and spilts off L-arabinose, L-rhamnose,[…]

   2010 January 2, NIIR Board, Gums, Adhesives & Sealants Technology (with Formulae & their Applications) 2nd Edition, ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS PRESS Inc., →ISBN, page 524

2. not comparablechiefly American typesetting; uncommon outside that; chiefly American typesetting; uncommon outside thatOnly used in arabic numeral

alternative archaic Arabical · alternative obsolete Arabick

1. not comparableRelated to the Arabic language.

   an Arabic translation

   2 more examples

   nuances of Arabic inflection

   One day my UN students asked me, "Which is the Arabic country where the best Arabic is spoken?" I quickly replied, "Bosnia." They exclaimed, "But Bosnia is not an Arab country!"

   2008, Abdallah Nacereddine, To Be Oneself: The Tragicomedy of an Unfinished Life History, →ISBN, page 342

2. not comparableExpressed in a script that was developed in Arab lands (but is not always used in the Arabic language): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

   Arabic numerals

3. not comparableOf, from, or pertaining to Arab countries or cultural behaviour (see also Arab as an adjective).

   White chalk on the fascia board above the Arabic-food stall reads "Lebanon" and "Lebs rule".

   2012, Deborah Youdell, “Intelligibility, agency and the raced–nationed–religioned subjects of education”, in Intersectionality and "Race" in Education, →ISBN, page 202

4. not comparableproscribedArab.

   I saw that in my workplace black co-workers had to unite with Arabic and white workers just to be able to win better wages and working conditions and certainly to be able to win a strike.

   1987 February 22, Dallas Williams, “Black, Gay and Red”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 31, page 5

alternative archaic Arabical · alternative obsolete Arabick

1. A major Semitic language originating from the Arabian peninsula, and now spoken natively (in various spoken dialects, all sharing a single highly conservative standardized literary form) throughout large sections of the Middle East and North Africa.

   Eastern Arabic

   5 more examples

   Egyptian Arabic

   translated from the Arabic

   ‘Kinsman’ and ‘avenger’ meet in the same word in Hebrew and in Arabic; nor did Greek tribal custom keep them separate.

   1924, Herbert Weir Smyth, “VII. Orestea. II: The Libation-Bearers”, in Aeschylean Tragedy, pages 180-181

   Classical Arabic – the language of the Qur’an – will make you understood everywhere, but colloquial Arabic may be more useful, because once the locals start conversing with each other, you’ll lose the plot.

   2021 April 25, John Malathronas, “Which languages are easiest – and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2022

   We’d gone to Arabic school as children and taken lessons in the summer holidays, and I still read the news in Arabic, but it wasn’t like I practised reciting the written language any more, with its complex rhythms and grammatical structures.

   2023, Isabella Hammad, Enter Ghost, Jonathan Cape, page 74

2. The Aramaic-derived script used to write the Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, and Uyghur languages, among others.

   Near-synonym: Arabic alphabet

   Synonyms: w:Arabic script, w:Arabic alphabet

plural Arabics · alternative archaic Arabical · alternative obsolete Arabick

1. A variety of the Arabic language.

   He was speaking an Arabic that they'd never heard before and could barely understand.

   1 more example

   Classic Arabic didn't "turn into" the various Arabic vernaculars. There is disagreement over whether the range of spoken Arabics all have a single ancestor (seems unlikely), but Classical Arabic is a somewhat artificial creation based on at least two dialects.

   2004 April 22, Peter T. Daniels, “Taiwanese and their language”, in soc.culture.china (Usenet)

2. proscribedAn Arab.

   That's the majority of working N'Yawkers. Blacks and Hispanics outnumber the arabics.

   2000 July 20, Topprolmc, “OT - I participated in an obscene act today!”, in rec.motorcycles.harley (Usenet)

3. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Arabic numeral.

   A novel writer will usually spell out Arabics from one to nine, to accord with the tone of the genre.