Hamite
/ˈhæmaɪt/noun
A member of the ancient peoples traditionally classified as descendants of Ham, or a related term in older historical and biblical usage.
Did you know?Hamite is tied to the biblical figure Ham, whose name became part of an old racial-historical theory in which scholars and colonizers tried to force living peoples into a sacred genealogy.
Etymological Timeline
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
חָם (Ḥām)
“Ham, the name of Noah’s son in the Hebrew Bible”
Late Antiquity
Greek
Ἅμ (Hám)
“Biblical name transmitted into Greek scriptural tradition”
Medieval Latin
Latin
Hamita
“A descendant of Ham; a term used in biblical genealogy and later learned discourse”
17th–19th Century
English
Hamite
“A person or people regarded as descended from Ham, especially in biblical and historical classification schemes”
Modern English
English
Hamite
“An older historical or biblical term for a supposed descendant of Ham”