Any of the Semitic (see Semite) people native to the Arabian peninsula, but now settled throughout North Africa and the nations of the Middle East.
The homeland of the Arabs comprises Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. Predominantly Arab nations also include Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, and the North African Arab nations comprise Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan, though the last-named has substantial non-Arab minorities. Although Mauritania and Somalia are not predominantly Arab, they support the Arab League.
The term Arab was first recorded 853 BC but was not widely used until the end of the 6th century AD. The 7th century saw the rise of Islam and by the 8th century non-Arab converts were being assimilated by the Arabs. Arabic became the principal language of the Arab Empire. In 1258 the empire was broken up by the Mongols and it was not until the decline of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I that the Arab nations emerged again as separate, if not independent, states.
I found that here: The Hutchinson Family Encyclopedia
Now to further confuse matters, here's a question from me:
If Arabs are Semitic people just as the Jews are, then why is it that the term anti-Semite has come to mean only those who persecute Jews, even the Semitic Arabs?
Anyone?
Because the word has been appropriated by folks who write about these things to mean usually anti-Jewish over the last 150 years or so but it really picked up speed during Hitler's genocide attempt.
Arguably, most Jews today are only partially Semite in reality. This is a major bone of contention and is exploited to the hilt by anti-Jewish extremists and by Zionists to further each other's warring perspectives.
Confused enough yet?
Technically....Semite ...is derived from Shem ...the eldest of Noah's progeny and if one is to believe the flood then one could assume that we are all Semite to a degree....probably. But the idiots like Christian Identity(not normal Christians..trust me) think that only white Europeans descend from Shem and that the rest...Jews in particular descend from Edom.
I'm sure I've been truly helpful here (extreme sarcasm)
Really truly...ethnic classification speaking in a technical sense...I would venture that the Phonecians, Caananites, Hebrews and all who inhabited the Biblical Palestine region are the closest to what I would call Semites.
But it's sort of like Poland....are all Poles Polish....No, a huge number of them are actually German. Same for the Czech Republic....and Eastern France....or the northern Swiss Cantons....
Ethnic classification and nomenclature is an inexact science to say the least.
regards