See Also: Aryan(medicine)
Aryan(dictionary)
Aryan(encyclopedia)
Aryan(dictionary)
Indo-Aryan(dictionary)
Indo-Aryan languages(encyclopedia)

Aryan (iou)



Aryan noun & adjective. Also Arian. L15.
[from Sanskrit arya noble (applied earlier as a national name) + -AN; sense A.1 through Latin Ariani inhabitants of Ariana (see below).]
A. noun.
A native or inhabitant of Ariana, the eastern part of ancient Iran. L15-E17.
A member of any of the peoples who spoke the parent language of the Indo-European (or esp. Indo-Iranian) family, or one of their descendants. arch. M19.
b. (Esp. in Nazi Germany) a Caucasian not of Jewish descent. M20.
The parent language of the Indo-European (or esp. Indo-Iranian) family. L19.
b. adjective.
Designating or pertaining to the parent language of the Indo-European (or esp. Indo-Iranian) family; arch. belonging to the Indo-European (or esp. Indo-Iranian) language family. M19.
Aryan-speaking; of or pertaining to the Aryan-speaking peoples or their descendants. M19.
b. (Esp. in Nazi Germany) of or pertaining to the 'Aryan race'; non-Jewish Caucasian. M20.
? The idea of an 'Aryan race' corresponding to the parent Aryan language was taken up by several 19th.-cent. writers, esp. by de Gobineau, who linked it with theories of racial superiority. Although the existence of any such superior race had been generally rejected, the idea was revived by Hitler for political purposes, and became part of the anti-Semitic doctrine of the Nazis.
Aryanism noun belief in an 'Aryan race' and esp. in the theory of its racial and cultural superiority L19.
Aryani'zation noun the act of Aryanizing, the fact of being Aryanized L19.
Aryanize verb trans. make Aryan; esp. (in Nazi Germany) bring within 'Aryan' control or status: M19.