Syriac

Syr·i·ac
S1Y4R1I1A1C3
/ˈsɪɹiˌæk/US/sɪraɪək/

proper noun

The language of the kingdom of Osroene.

OriginLatin Syriacus ← Ancient Greek Συριακός (Suriakós) ← Akkadian 𒀾𒋗𒊏𒅀 (Aššūrāyu) →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

proper nounSyriac (plural Syriacs)

plural Syriacs

  1. An Aramaic language, part of the Semitic language family, specifically:
    1. The language of the kingdom of Osroene.
    2. The liturgical language of various churches with roots in the Middle East.
nounSyriac (plural Syriacs)

plural Syriacs

  1. A speaker of the Syriac language (see above).
  2. A member of any of the Syriac churches, but especially the Syriac Orthodox Church and Syriac Catholic Church.
adjectiveSyriac (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf, pertaining to, or being the Syriac language, its speakers, or their culture.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
syrian

Origin

  1. Akkadian𒀸𒋩𒆠 (Aššūr)
  2. Akkadian𒀾𒋗𒊏𒅀 (Aššūrāyu)
  3. Ancient GreekἈσσυρία (Assuría)aph.
  4. Ancient GreekΣυρία (Suría)
  5. Ancient GreekΣυριακός (Suriakós)
  6. LatinSyriacus
  7. EnglishSyriac

From Latin Syriacus (“Syrian”), from Ancient Greek Συριακός (Suriakós, “Syrian”, adjective), from Συρία (Suría) [the Greek name for Aram, from an apheretic form of Ἀσσυρία (Assuría, “Assyria”)] + -ακός (-akós).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans Siries
  • Sirieslanguage
Arabic السُّرْيَانِيَّة, اللُّغَة السُّرْيَانِيَّة
  • السُّرْيَانِيَّة (as-suryāniyya)language
  • اللُّغَة السُّرْيَانِيَّة (al-luḡa s-suryāniyya)language
  • سُرْيَانِيّ (suryāniyy)language
  • سُرْيَانِيّ (suryāniyy)Syriac speaker
  • سُرْيَانِيَّة (suryāniyya)Syriac speaker
  • سُرْيَان (suryān)Syriac speaker
Bulgarian древносирийски
  • древносирийски (drevnosirijski)language
Catalan siríac
  • siríaclanguage
Chinese Mandarin 敘利亞語 /叙利亚语
  • 敘利亞語 /叙利亚语 (Xùlìyàyǔ)language
Czech syrština
  • syrštinalanguage
Finnish syyria, assyrialainen
  • syyrialanguage
  • assyrialainenSyriac speaker
  • assyrialaiskristittySyriac Orthodox Church member
French syriaque, syriaque
  • syriaquelanguage
  • syriaqueTranslations
German Syrisch
  • Syrischlanguage
Greek συριακά
  • συριακά (syriaká)language
Hebrew סורית
  • סורית (surit)language
Hindi सीरियाई
  • सीरियाई (sīriyāī)language
Hungarian szír
  • szírlanguage
Italian siriaco
  • siriacolanguage
Malay bahasa Suryani
  • bahasa Suryanilanguage
Persian زبان سریانی
  • زبان سریانی (zabân-e soryâni)language
Polish syryjski
  • syryjskilanguage
Portuguese siríaco, siríaco
  • siríacolanguage
  • siríacoSyriac speaker
  • siríacoSyriac Orthodox Church member
Romanian siriacă
  • siriacălanguage
Russian сири́йский
  • сири́йский (siríjskij)language
Spanish siriaco
  • siriacolanguage
Swedish syriska, assyrier
  • syriskalanguage
  • assyrierSyriac speaker
  • syrianSyriac Orthodox Church member
Turkish Süryanice
  • Süryanicelanguage

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Syriac

Cyriac
All rhymes →

Anagrams

acrisy
Cite this entry
APA

Syriac. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Syriac

MLA

“Syriac.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Syriac. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Syriac,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Syriac.

Source: Syriac on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.