Aramaic
noun
Ar·a·ma·ic
ˌa-rə-ˈmā-ik 
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
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
But religious leaders there feared Aramaic was fading.
—John Otis, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024
Unlike most Nabatean temples, which are inscribed with text written in Aramaic script, this one has an inscription written in Latin.
—Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 28 Oct. 2024
In Palmyra, local authorities fostered a distinct identity by issuing bilingual coinage and insisting that civic inscriptions on buildings be written in Greek as well as Palmyrene Aramaic.
—Peter Frankopan, Foreign Affairs, 7 June 2019
Fitzgerald spent a year and a half researching the script and worked closely with William Fulco, who was responsible for the translations to Latin and the reconstructed Aramaic used in the film.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Conflicting reports claim that al-Nusra fighters have desecrated churches and statues in what may be one of the oldest Christian cities in the world, a place where residents still speak Aramaic, the language presumably spoken by Jesus.
—Reza Aslan, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2013
Still, relatively few Hollywood workers feel at home in Chabad’s traditional services, where prayers are sung exclusively in Hebrew and Aramaic, and must be said out of sight by women, who worship hidden behind a screen.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
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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
But religious leaders there feared Aramaic was fading.
—John Otis, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024
Unlike most Nabatean temples, which are inscribed with text written in Aramaic script, this one has an inscription written in Latin.
—Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 28 Oct. 2024
In Palmyra, local authorities fostered a distinct identity by issuing bilingual coinage and insisting that civic inscriptions on buildings be written in Greek as well as Palmyrene Aramaic.
—Peter Frankopan, Foreign Affairs, 7 June 2019
Fitzgerald spent a year and a half researching the script and worked closely with William Fulco, who was responsible for the translations to Latin and the reconstructed Aramaic used in the film.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Conflicting reports claim that al-Nusra fighters have desecrated churches and statues in what may be one of the oldest Christian cities in the world, a place where residents still speak Aramaic, the language presumably spoken by Jesus.
—Reza Aslan, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2013
Still, relatively few Hollywood workers feel at home in Chabad’s traditional services, where prayers are sung exclusively in Hebrew and Aramaic, and must be said out of sight by women, who worship hidden behind a screen.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Aramaic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Aramaic. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Aramaic
noun
Ar·a·ma·ic
ˌar-ə-ˈmā-ik
: a Semitic language of the Aramaeans
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