Aryanism
/ˈɛəriəˌnɪzəm/noun
A racist ideology that falsely claimed people labeled “Aryan” were a superior race, especially in 19th- and 20th-century racial theory.
Did you know?The word comes from scholarly misuse of “Aryan,” an ancient self-designation in Indo-Iranian languages, but 19th-century racial theorists twisted it into a pseudo-scientific idea of a master race.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-Iranian
PII
rya-
“a self-designation meaning roughly “noble” or “fellow member””
Ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
rya
“noble, honorable; also used as an ethnic/self-designation”
Ancient Avestan
Avestan
airiia-
“Aryan; a term for the people of Iran/Indo-Iranian speakers”
19th Century
English
Aryan
“a term borrowed by European scholars for Indo-Iranian peoples, later misapplied as a racial category”
Late 19th Century
English
Aryanism
“the doctrine or belief that “Aryans” constituted a superior race”
20th Century
English
Aryanism
“a racist ideology associated especially with Nazi racial theory”