Aryan


Ethnology. a member or descendant of the prehistoric people who spoke Indo-European.
(in Nazi doctrine) a non-Jewish Caucasian, especially of Nordic stock.
(formerly) .
(formerly) .
of or relating to an Aryan or the Aryans.
(formerly) .
(formerly) .
Contemporary Examples

Photos of the sexual-assault suspects, who are all African-American, have popped up on Aryan Brotherhood websites.
The Texas Gang Rape Dividing a Town Christine Pelisek March 12, 2011

The region is marketed for visitors as “Aryan Valley,” and many citizens have taken to tacking on “Aryan” to their last names.
The Himalayas’ Hidden Aryans Nina Strochlic January 2, 2015

This was later repurposed in Europe as an explanation for racial superiority, and the term “Aryan” came to define a white race.
The Himalayas’ Hidden Aryans Nina Strochlic January 2, 2015

No concrete links to the Aryan Brotherhood were ever established.
It Wasn’t the Aryan Brotherhood, Apparently: Texas Woman Confesses to Role in D.A. Murders Christine Pelisek April 16, 2013

But Hasse was not involved in that or any other Aryan Brotherhood cases.
Mike McLelland Investigation Focuses on Those the D.A. Prosecuted Michael Daly April 2, 2013

Historical Examples

What, then, is the difference between the Aryan and Semitic nomenclature for the Deity?
Chips From A German Workshop – Volume I Friedrich Max Mller

Those of Yezd have, according to Khanikoff, Aryan characteristics.
Les Parsis D. Menant

Among the most sacred animals of the Aryan race was the horse.
Early Britain Grant Allen

But the worship of which blood is the tie is not to the Aryan, as to the Semite, the whole of religion.
History of Religion Allan Menzies

Driven, lured, coerced, these Aryan tribes have inundated the earth.
The American Empire Scott Nearing

noun
(in Nazi ideology) a Caucasian of non-Jewish descent, esp of the Nordic type
a member of any of the peoples supposedly descended from the Indo-Europeans, esp a speaker of an Iranian or Indic language in ancient times
adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of an Aryan or Aryans
adjective, noun
(archaic) Indo-European

c.1600, as a term in classical history, from Latin Arianus, Ariana, from Greek Aria, Areia, names applied in classical times to the eastern part of ancient Persia and to its inhabitants. Ancient Persians used the name in reference to themselves (Old Persian ariya-), hence Iran. Ultimately from Sanskrit arya- “compatriot;” in later language “noble, of good family.”

Also the name Sanskrit-speaking invaders of India gave themselves in the ancient texts, from which early 19c. European philologists (Friedrich Schlegel, 1819, who linked the word with German Ehre “honor”) applied it to the ancient people we now call Indo-Europeans (suspecting that this is what they called themselves); this use is attested in English from 1851. The term fell into the hands of racists, and in German from 1845 it was specifically contrasted to Semitic (Lassen).

German philologist Max Müller (1823-1900) popularized the term in his writings on comparative linguistics, recommending it as the name (replacing Indo-European, Indo-Germanic, Caucasian, Jshortened) for the group of related, inflected languages connected with these peoples, mostly found in Europe but also including Sanskrit and Persian. Arian was used in this sense from 1839 (and is more philologically correct), but this spelling caused confusion with Arian, the term in ecclesiastical history.

Gradually replaced in comparative linguistics c.1900 by Indo-European, except when used to distinguish Indo-European languages of India from non-Indo-European ones. Used in Nazi ideology to mean “member of a Caucasian Gentile race of Nordic type.” As an ethnic designation, however, it is properly limited to Indo-Iranians (most justly to the latter) and has fallen from general academic use since the Nazi era.

Read Also:

  • Aryanize

    (in Nazi doctrine) to remove all non-Aryan persons from (office, business, etc.). verb (transitive) (in Nazi ideology) to purge (politics and society) of all non-Aryan elements or people; make characteristically Aryan

  • Aryballus

    . Historical Examples It is a kind of aryballus, and is gracefully ornamented with interlacing circles. A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II (of 2) Georges Perrot

  • Aryballos

    an oil jar, characterized by a spherical body, flat-rimmed mouth, and often a single handle extending from the lip to the shoulder of the jar, used chiefly for fragrant ointments.

  • Aryepiglottic

    pertaining to or connecting the arytenoid cartilage and the epiglottis.

  • Aryepiglottic fold

    aryepiglottic fold aryepiglottic fold ar·y·ep·i·glot·tic fold (ār’ē-ěp’ĭ-glŏt’ĭk) n. A prominent fold of mucous membrane stretching between the lateral margin of the epiglottis and the arytenoid cartilage on either side to enclose the aryepiglottic muscle.


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