Aramaic

noun

Ar·​a·​ma·​ic ˌa-rə-ˈmā-ik How to pronounce Aramaic (audio)
ˌer-ə-
: a Semitic language known since the ninth century b.c. as the speech of the Aramaeans and later used extensively in southwest Asia as a commercial and governmental language and adopted as their customary speech by various non-Aramaean peoples including the Jews after the Babylonian exile

Examples of Aramaic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Furthermore, in his Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C.E., A. Cowley writes that the act of tattooing was historically noted in Elephantine, a city in Hellenistic Egypt, where slaves of Jews were marked with the names of their owners. — Michael Isaacson, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2025 There’s the Afro-Asiatic family of languages spoken in northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of Western Asia, including Egyptian and Somali, plus Semitic languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Aramaic. — Martha Barnette august 6, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025 The lyrics were in Aramaic, the language that scholars think Jesus spoke in everyday life. — John Jeremiah Sullivan James Patrick Cronin Emma Kehlbeck Zak Mouton, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2025 The cache, which is believed to be the largest of its kind ever found in Israel, contains coins written in both Aramaic and Greek. — Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 6 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for Aramaic

Word History

First Known Use

1813, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Aramaic was in 1813

Phrases Containing Aramaic

Rhymes for Aramaic

See All Rhymes for Aramaic

Browse Nearby Words

Aramaean
Aramaic
Aramaic alphabet
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aramaic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Aramaic. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Aramaic

noun
Ar·​a·​ma·​ic ˌar-ə-ˈmā-ik How to pronounce Aramaic (audio)
: a Semitic language of the Aramaeans
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All