Crossword Genius

Language of Maria, excited to be hugged by Bill (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aramaic

'language' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'maria excited to be hugged by bill' is the wordplay.
'excited' indicates an anagram.
'to be hugged by' indicates putting letters inside (I've seen this in other clues).
'bill' becomes 'ac'.
'maria' is an anagram of 'ramai'.
'ramai' going into 'ac' is 'ARAMAIC'.

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for aramaic that I've seen before include "Semitic language spoken in New Testament times" , "Language of Christ" , "Biblical speech" , "Old Middle-Eastern language" , "Language believed to have been spoken by Jesus" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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