Yemeni

How to spell yemeni

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce yemeni

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does yemeni mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Yemen, its people, or its culture.
2. nounA person from Yemen or of Yemeni descent.

Yemeni in a sentence

• adjective

  The museum displayed a collection of yemeni silver jewellery.

• noun

  The journalist interviewed a yemeni about life in the capital.

• adjective

  Traditional yemeni coffee is prized by importers across the region.

• noun

  Many a yemeni living abroad sends money home to family.

Where does yemeni come from?

Language of origin: Arabic

This word is the demonym formed from Yemen, the country at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with the suffix -i, an Arabic ending that turns a place name into an adjective meaning 'belonging to' or 'coming from'. The name Yemen itself derives from the Arabic 'al-Yaman', traditionally linked to 'yamin', meaning 'right hand' or 'south', because the land lay to the right of someone facing the rising sun, that is, to the south of the Arabian heartland. Some scholars instead connect it to 'yumn', meaning 'blessing' or 'good fortune', which is why classical writers called the region Arabia Felix, the 'Fortunate Arabia'. English adopted the spelling Yemeni in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as contact and trade with the region grew. The single trap for spellers is the ending: it is -eni rather than the more expected -ani, and it carries no double letters.

How the word is built

• Yemen (the country)
• -i (Arabic adjectival suffix meaning 'belonging to')