aryan

/ˈɛriən/
adjective
  1. Relating to the ancient Indo-European language group or its speakers.
    • Historians study Aryan culture through ancient texts and artifacts.
    • The Aryan migration theory explains how Indo-European languages spread.
    • The Aryan languages include Sanskrit, Persian, and many European tongues.
  2. Relating to the false Nazi idea of a superior white race.
    • Many laws in Nazi Germany were designed to protect so-called Aryan blood.
    • Aryan supremacy is a dangerous and false belief.
    • The Nazi regime used 'Aryan' as a label for their imagined superior race.
noun
  1. A person who speaks an Indo-European language, especially in ancient times.
    • Scholars study the migrations of ancient Aryans across Asia.
    • The term 'Aryan' was once used to describe a group of early Indo-European speakers.
    • Linguists trace many modern languages back to the language of the ancient Aryans.
  2. A person of white, non-Jewish European ancestry, especially as falsely claimed by Nazi ideology to be a superior race.
    • The term 'Aryan' was twisted by racists to support hateful beliefs.
    • The Nazis falsely promoted the idea of a 'master Aryan race' to justify their crimes.
    • Many innocent people were persecuted because they did not fit the Nazi definition of an Aryan.
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