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English Words from Arabic

this list isn't exhaustive-- the OED has over 900 words; but the others are obscure (words

like enam, sulham, zibib). I've omitted speculative and less likely derivations, and also

words borrowed in ancient times from some unspecified Semitic language (e.g. cumin,

myrrh, sesame). I've also omitted Arabic place names, but included a few astronomical

names.

After a second hyphen I give (if possible) the further derivation (Greek, Persian, etc.), or

the verbal root (glossed as an infinitive; but the citation form of Arabic roots is actually

the 3sg past).

Some words are borrowed directly from Arabic; but most of these words have taken the

scenic route, through Spanish, Italian, and/or French; or through Turkish, Persian, or

Urdu; or through Hebrew or Latin. This produces a good deal of phonological

deformation; as does the dialect variation within Arabic.

The transliteration is an adaptation to html, while we're waiting for the Unicode

revolution... the bolding and commas represent emphatic consonants; h'and ` are the

pharyngeal approximants; ' is the glottal stop; : represents length.

--M.R.

admiral - ami:r-al-bahr'ruler of the seas' (and other similar expressions) - amaracommand

adobe - al-toba 'the brick'albacore - al-bukr'the young camel'alchemy - al-ki:mi:a: - from Greekalcohol - al-koh''l 'the kohl'alcove - al-qobbah 'vault' - qubba vaultalembic - al-ambi:q 'the still' - from Greekalfalfa - alfas,fas,ah 'fodder'

algebra - al-jebr'reintegration' -jabara reuniteAlgol - al-ghu:l 'the ghoul'algorithm - al-Khowarazmi 'the (man) of Khiva'alkali - al-qaliy 'calx' - qalay fry, roastAllah - `allah, from contraction ofal-ilah 'the god'Almagest - al-majisti - from Greekalmanac - (Andalucian Arabic) al-mana:kh, of uncertain origin

amber - `anbar'ambergris'

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antimony - al-thmid'antimony trisulphide' - perhaps from Greekapricot - al-burquq - from GreekArab - `arab

arsenal - dar as,s,ina`ah 'house of making', i.e. 'factory' - s,ana`a make

artichoke - al-kharshu:f

assagai - az-zaghayah - from Berberassassin - h'ashsha:shi:n 'hashish eaters', from the Isma`ili sectariansattar - `itr'aroma'ayatollah - 'ayatu-llah 'miraculous sign of God'azimuth - as-sumut'the paths'; see also zenithazure - al-lazward'lapis lazuli' - from Persian

barbican - (possibly) bb-al-baqara 'gate with holes'berdache - (possibly) bardaj 'slave'

Betelgeuse - bi:t al-jauza:''shoulder of the Giant'bezoar - bazahr- from Persian

bint - bint'daughterbled - balad'vast open country'borax - bu:raq - from Persianburka - burqa`

burnouse - burnus

caliber - qali:b 'mold, last' -calico - Qaliqu:t'Calicut', city in Indiacaliph - khali:fah 'successor' - khalafa 'succeed'camise - qami:s 'shirt' - from Latincamphor - ka:fu:r- from Malaycandy - short for 'sugar candy', from sugar + qandi 'candied', from qand'cane sugar' -from a Dravidian language

carat - qi:ra:t 'small weight' - from Greekcaraway - alkarawya: - probably from Greekcarafe - gharra:f- gharafa 'dip'carmine - qirmazi: 'crimson'carob - kharrubah

cassock - kaza:ghand'padded jacket' - from Persiancheck - sha:h 'king' - from Persiancheckmate - sha:h ma:t 'the king is dead'

chemistry - see alchemychess - from Old French eschecs, plural ofcheckcipher - s,ifr'empty'civet -zaba:d

coffee - qahwahCopt- quft- from Greekcork - qu:rq

cotton - qutn

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couscous - kuskus - kaskasa pound, bruisecrimson - qirmazi:, related to the qirmiz, the insect that provided the dye

Deneb - danab al-jaja:ja 'tail of the hen'dhow - da:w

dinar - di:na:r- from Greekdirham - dirham - from Greekdragoman - tarjuma:n - tarjama interpret

drub - daraba 'beat'dura mater - Latin calque on umm al-ghali:dah 'hard mother'

efreet - 'ifri:t'monster'El Cid - al-Sayyid'the lord'

elixir - al-iksi:r'philosopher's stone' - from Greekemir - ami:r- amara command

fakir -faqi:r'poor man' -faqura be poorfardel -fardah 'load'Farsi - Fa:rs 'Pars', a province of Iran - from Persianfatwa -fetwa - fata: instruct by a legal decision

fedayeen -fida:'iyi:n 'commandos' -fida:` redemptionfelafel -fala:fil

fellah -fella:h''husbandman' -falah'a tillfelucca -fulk'ship' -falaka be roundFomalhaut -fum u'l-haut'mouth of the fish'

garble - gharbala 'sift' - perhaps from Latin

gazelle - ghaza:lgenie -jinni: 'spirit'gerbil -yarbu:`

ghoul - ghu:l 'demon' - gha:la take suddenlygiraffe -zara:fa

hadith - h'adi:t'tradition'haj - h'ajj 'pilgrimage' - h'ajja go on a pilgrimagehalal - h'ala:l 'lawful'

halvah - h'alwa:harem - h'aram 'prohibited, set apart' - h'arama prohibithashish - h'ashi:sh 'dried herbs, hemp'hazard -ysara 'play at dice'

hegira - hijrah 'departure' - hajara separate, gohenna - h'enna:`Hezbollah -H'izbulla:h 'party of God'hookah - h'uqqah 'water bottle (through which smoke is drawn)'houri - h'u:r al-`ayu:n 'with eyes like gazelles' - h'awura have eyes like gazelles

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imam - ima:m 'leader' - amma precedeIslam - isla:m 'submission' - aslama submit oneself

jar -jarrah 'large earthen vase'jasmine -ya:smi:n - from Persian

jinn -jinn 'spirits', plural ofgeniejulep -jula:b 'rose water' - from Persian

Kaaba - ka`bah 'square house'kabob - kaba:b - from Persiankaffir - ka:fir'infidel' - kafara conceal, denykeffiyeh - kaffi:yah

khamsin - khamsi:n 'fifty (days)'

kismet - qisma 'portion, lot' - qasama dividekohl - koh''l 'kohl' - kah'ala stain, paintKoran - qura:n 'recitation' - qara`a read

lilac - li:la:k- from Persianlemon - laymu:n - from Persianlime- li:mah 'citrus fruit'loofah - lu:fah a plant whose pods were used as spongeslute - al-`u:d

macram - miqramah 'striped cloth'magazine - makha:zin 'storehouses' - khazana storeMahdi - mahdi:y 'one who is guided aright' - hada: lead

majlis - majlis 'council'

mancala - mank.ala - nak.ala movemarzipan - mawthaba:n 'coin featuring a seated figure'mask - perhaps maskhara 'buffoon' - sakhira ridiculemattress - matrah 'place where something is thrown, mat, cushion' - tarah'a throwminaret - mana:rah - na:rfiremohair - mukhayyar'choice (goats'-hair cloth)' - khayyara selectmonsoon - mausim 'season' - wasama markmosque - masgid - sagada worshipMozarabic - musta`rib 'would-be Arab'muezzin - mu'adhdhin 'criers' - adhana proclaimmufti - mufti: 'one who gives a fatwa'mujahedeen - muja:hidi:n 'figher in ajihad'mullah - mawla: 'master'

mummy - mu:miya: 'embalmed body' - mu:m '(embalming) wax'Muslim - muslim 'submitter' - aslama submit oneselfmuslin -Maus,il 'Mosul'

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nadir - nadi:r as-samt'opposite the zenith'natron - natru:n - from Greeknizam - nidam 'government'

orange - na:ranj - from Sanskrit

ottoman - `uthma:n, a proper name

pia mater - Latin calque on umm raqi:qah 'tender mother'popinjay - babagha:

Primum Mobile - Latin calque on al-muh' arrik al-awwal 'the first mover'

racket - rh'et'palm of the hand' Ramadan -Ramada:n meaning perhaps 'the hot month'- ramata be heated

realgar - rehj al-gha:r'powder of the cave'ream - rizmah 'bundle'rebec - reba:b

Rigel - rijl 'foot (of Orion)'roc - rukhrook - rukh - from PersianRubaiyyat - ruba:`i:yah 'quatrain'

safari - safari:y 'journey' - safara travelsaffron -za`fara:nSahara - ah'ra: 'desert'sahib - a:h'ib 'friend'salaam - as-sala:m `alaikum 'peace be on you'

saluki - salu:k.i: 'from Saluk'

Saracen - sharqi:yi:n 'easterners' - sha:raqa risesash - sha:sh 'muslin'satin - probablyzaytu:ni: 'of Zaytu:n' (a city in China)scarlet - siqilla:t'(cloth) adorned with images' - from Latinsequin - sikkah 'die for coinmaking'Sharia - shari:`a

sheikh - shaikh 'old man' - sha:kha grow oldsherbet - sharbah - shariba drinkShiite - shiya`i:y, from shiya:` 'following, sect' - sha`a follow

shrub [drink] - shurb 'a drink' - shariba drinksine - Latin sinus, mistranslation ofjayb 'chord of an arc, sine', through confusion withjayb 'fold of a garment'

sirocco - sharq 'east (wind)' - sha:raqa rise

sofa - s,uffah 'raised dais with cushions'souk - su:k. 'marketplace'spinach - isfa:na:khSufi - u:fi: 'man of wool'sugar - sukkar- from Sanskritsultan - sulta:n 'sovereign'

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sumac - summa:qSunni - sunni: 'lawful', from sunna:h 'rule, course'sura - su:rah

syrup - shara:b 'beverage' - shariba drink

tabbouleh - tabbu:latabby - `atta:biy, a neighborhood in Baghdad where taffeta was madetahini - - tah'ana crushTaliban - talib 'student' - talaba studytalisman - tilsam - from Greek

tamarind - tamr-hindi: 'date of India'tambourine - a small tambour, from tanbu:r- from Persiantandoori - tannu:r'oven'tarboosh - tarbu:sh

tare [weight] - tarh'ah 'rejected' - tarah'a rejecttariff- ta`ri:f'notification' - `arafa notify

tarragon -tarkhu:n - possibly from Greektell [mound] - tall 'hillock'

ujamaa -jama:` 'community'

ulema - `ulima: 'the learned ones' - `alama know

Vega - al-nasr al-wa:qi` 'the falling vulture'vizier - wazi:r'porter, public servant' - wazara carry

wadi - wa:di:

Waqf- waqf'religious foundation'

wisdom tooth - from a Latin calque on ad

ra:su 'l h'ikmi - calqued from Greek

zenith - samt'path'zero - s,ifr'empty'