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The word Semite refers to any person who speaks a Semitic language. It comes from the name Shem, the son of Noah from whom tradition says the Arabs and Jews (among others) are descended. The Semetic languages include Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, among others. Ancient Phoenician, the lingua franca of the Mediterranean in pre-Roman times was also a Semitic language. Today, the word is rarely heard except among linguists except in the context of the words antisemitie and antisemitism. Those words were coined, by an avowed antisemite, in the late 19th century as "polite" or "scientific" terms for Jew hatred, and have always been used to refer specifically to prejudice against or hatred of Jews.

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Anonymous

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Q: Who does the term semite refer to?
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