List Of English Words Of Arabic Origin

Words of Arabic origin have entered the English language and many European languages. One of the primary routes that they have entered other languages is via the Spanish language, heavily influenced by the Arabic of al-Andalus.

A

admiral
أمير البحر amiir al-baHr "commander of the sea"
adobe
الطوب aT-Tuub "the brick" (itself originally from Coptic tbe)
albacore
الباكورة al-bakoura
albatross
possibly from al-qadus
alchemy
الكيمياء al-keemiyaa (from disputed origins; possibly from the Greek khemeia "alchemy" via Arabic or from a purely arabic origin al-kammiyah : the quantity).
alcohol
via Spanish alcohol الكحول al-kuHuul (original meaning "eyeshadow", from a root meaning "dark"; cf. kohl)
alcove
al-qubbah, "the vault"
alembic
al-anbiq "the cup/container holding water"
aldebaran
al-dabaran "the follower""
alfalfa
al-fasfasa "fodder"
algebra
via Spanish lgebra; الجبر al-jabr from the name of the book of Al-Khwarezmi Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala : the Calculus of substraction and equality which has exposed the first algorithm for solving a first order Equation.
algol
al-ghul "the ghoul"
algorithm
from Al-Khwarezmi who wrote Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala the Calculus of substraction and equality which has exposed the first Algorithm for solving a first order equation, see also algebra.
alkali
al-qaliy "calx"
Allah
الله Allah "God"
almagest
al-majisti
almanac
al-manaakh, "the climate"
altair
"the bird"
amalgam
ultimately from Greek malagma
amber
anbar, "ambergris"
aniline
ultimately from Sanskrit nilah "dark blue"
antimony
possibly from al-thmid (="antimony trisulphide"), although this is not certain
apricot
al-birqouq
arrack
al-araq
arsenal
دار الصناعة daar sinaa`a, "house of manufacturing"
artichoke
via Italian from Arabic الخرشوف al-khurshouf (which, ironically, was reborrowed back into Lebanese Arabic as Ardthi-Shoki أرضي شوكي)
assegai
az-zaghayah originally from Berber
assassin
- حشّاشين al-Hashshashin "users of hashish" (from the drugs used by the original Assassins of Alamut)
azimuth
as-sumut "the paths"

B

baklava
From Arabic baqlawa, meaning made with "nuts," through Turkish and Greek.
bedouin
- بدويين badawiyyiin "nomads"
benzoin
لبان جاوي "Frankincense of Java," an organic chemical solvent from a resin in an Asian tree.
betelgeuse
بيت الجوزاء
burnous/burnoose
Arabic burnuus (itself from Latin byrrhus)

C

calabash :
caliber
qaalib "mold, model"
caliph :
camise
khameese, A loose shirt, shift, or tunic
camphor
كافور kaafuur (via Medieval Latin), probably from Malay kapur.
carafe
ghiraaf "handfuls of water"
caramel
possibly from Arabic, more likely from Latin cannamellis "burnt honey"
carat
Qirat
caraway
karaawiyaa
carmine
ultimately from Sanskrit krimiga
carob
kharroub
casbah
Qasabah
chemistry
(see "Alchemy").
cipher
صفر Sifr "zero"
coffee
قهوة qahwah (via Turkish kahve)
copt
Qibt, possibly from Greek Aigyptios, but ultimately from Ancient Egyptian Hi'ku Pit'ah, the House of the God Pitah.
cork
qoorq, ultimately from Latin quercus "oak"
cotton
قطن quTn
crimson
qirmizi, from qirmiz "red dye" (see "Kermes")
crocus :

D

damask
from the city of Damascus, Syria
dhow :
dragoman
Turjjoman

E

elixir
الإكسير al-'iksiir "philosopher's stone" (via Greek)

F

fatwa
فتوى fatwa, religious opinion
fellah
fallah, فلاح "peasant"

G

garble
gharbala "sift", ultimately from Latin cribellum "sieve"
gauze
qazz "raw silk"
gazelle
غزال ghazaal
genie
جنّ jinn
gerbil
yarbu
ghoul
غول ghuul
gibraltar
Jibal Tariq, the "mountain of Traiq" after the general who led the Muslim conquest of Spain.
giraffe
زرافة zaraafah

H

harem
  1. 1581;ريم h'aram "prohibited, set apart"
hashish
حشيش Hashiish "grass"
hazard
الزهر az-zahr the die
hegira
hijrah "departure" - hajara "separate, go"

I

imam :

J

jar
جرة jarrah "large earthen vase"
jerboa
Jarbou'
jihad
جهاد jihad "struggle"
jin
jinn
Jinn
جنّ jinn "spirits"

K

kabob
kabab possibly from Persian.
kermes
قرمز qirmiz (via Spanish; ultimately from Sanskrit krmi-ja "worm-produced")
kismet
via Persian, qisma "portion, destiny, fate"
kohl
kohl

L

lacquer :
lake pigments
lute
العود al-`uud "the lute", The fore-runner of the guitar.

M

macrame
miqrama "embroidered veil"
magazine
makhaazin "storehouses", possibly from Crusades
marzipan
mawthaban "coin featuring a seated figure"
mascara
maskhara "buffoon"
mastaba
mastabah
mattress
مطرح maTraH "place where something is thrown, mat, cushion"
mecca
مكّة Makkah
minaret
manarah, nar "fire"
mocha
مخا al-mukhaa "Mocha" Yemen
mohair
mukhayyar "having the choice"
monsoon
mawsim "season" (via Portuguese)
mosque
مسجد masjid (via Italian)
mummy
mumiyaa "embalmed body"
myrrh
from Greek, ultimately from one of the Semitic languages, but which one is unclear; cf. Arabic مر murr "bitter"

N

nadir
- nazeer "parallel"

O

  ; Ottoman : uthman 

P

Q

qibla
Qiblah, direction

R

   
racket
raaha "palm of the hand"
ream
rizma "bale, bundle"
rigel
The star's name comes from its location at the "left foot" of Orion. It is a contraction of "Rijl Jauza al-Yusra", this being Arabic for "left foot of the Central One".

S

safari
سفر from Arabic سفر safar "travel" through Swahili
saffron
زعفران za`faraan, maybe Persian
sahara
صحراء ah'ra "desert"
sash
شاش shaash "muslin"
scarlet
sequin
sikkah "die, coin"
satin
probably zaytuni "of Zaytun"
sherbet
شربات sharbaat "drinks", same root as "syrup"
shrub
as in the drink
sirocco
sharqiyah, "eastern"
soda
From sudaa, meaning headache.
sofa
suffa whole
sorbet
same origin as sherbet (via French)
sultan
سلطان sulTaan "ruler"
sumac
سماق Simmak or Persian Sumak
suq
ﻖﻭﺳ "Middle Eastern marketplace"
syrup
شراب sharaab "beverage, drink" (via French and Spanish/Portuguese)

T

tabby
based on a city in Iraq where striped fabric was made
talc
talq
tamarind
tamr-hindi "date of India"
tambourine
via Persian, tanbur a small "tambour"
tarboush :
tare
when speaking of weight
tariff
ta`riifa "notification, price list"
typhoon
طوفان Tuufaan "flood", itself from Persian Tufaan or Greek Typhon; also affected by Cantonese taai-fung

U

V

W

wadi

X

Z

zenith
samt ar-ras "zenith, vertex"
zero
صفر sifr empty, via Italian zefiro.

See also

Arabic

 

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