Arabist

noun

Ar·​ab·​ist ˈer-ə-bist How to pronounce Arabist (audio)
ˈa-rə-
1
: a specialist in the Arabic language or in Arabic culture
2
: a person who favors Arab interests and positions in international affairs

Examples of Arabist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Almost every political and cultural movement in the Arab world has engaged with al-Andalus in some fashion, and Calderwood’s book is a tangle of case studies: Arabists, the Berber identity movement, feminists, Palestinians, contemporary musicians. Robyn Creswell, The New York Review of Books, 7 Oct. 2021 The son of a famed Arabist, Kim Philby was radicalized at Cambridge University, worked with the communist underground in Vienna and married an Austrian operative in 1934 before being recruited by the Soviet secret service. Harvey Klehr, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2021 As Simon himself notes, those most wrong in their judgments that the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria would quickly fall in the face of a disorganized and highly fragmented insurgency included some of the State Department’s most seasoned Arabists. Andrew Exum, Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Arabist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Arabist was in 1753

Dictionary Entries Near Arabist

Cite this Entry

“Arabist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Arabist. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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