You Already Speak Arabic! : Arabic Loanwords in European Languages

You Already Speak Arabic!

Arabic Loanwords in European Languages

Mourad DIOURI
eLearning Lecturer in Arabic Language Studies
Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World
University of Edinburgh | University of Manchester | University of Durham

Hello & Welcome
© Mourad Diouri | Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW) | Universities of Edinburgh, Durham & Manchester
e-Arabic.com | v-Arabic.com

ْ ‫اب ِذ‬
‫ْنان‬ baadhinjaan

Aubergine Eng, Fr

Meaning “the eggplant”. From Persian “bâdinjân” ultimately from
Sanskrit “vatin gana”


‫اخلُ ْرشوف‬ al-khurshuuf

Artichoke Eng

Artichoux, Alcachofa
Sp, Fr

Early Spanish “carchiofa” (1423), is reasonably close to the Arabic
precedent and so are today's Spanish “alcachofa”.


sabaanikh

Spinach Eng
From Persian “isfānākh/aspanakh”.
It was the Arabs who introduced the spinach into Spain, whence it spread to the rest
of Europe.


laymoun

Lemon Eng

The cultivation of lemons, limes, and bitter oranges was introduced to the
Mediterranean Basin by the Arabs in the Middle Ages.

liimah

Lime Eng

"type of citrus fruit," 1638, from Sp. lima, from Arabic limah "citrus fruit," a back-
formation or a collective noun from limun "lemon"

naranj

Orange Eng

From Old French orenge from M.L. ,“pomum de orenge”, from Italian. arancia, originally
narancia , alteration of Arabic naranj, from Persian narang, from Sanskrit. naranga-s
"orange tree,”
The Persian orange, grown widely in southern Europe after its introduction in Italy 11c., was
bitter; sweet oranges were brought to Europe 15c. from India by Portuguese traders


Al-barquuq

Apricot Eng

Arabic is traceable back to Byzantine Greek and then to classical Latin “praecoqua”, which was a type
of peach in ancient Rome. The Arabic was passed onto the 14th century Portuguese “albricoque” and
Catalan “albercoc”.


ّّ
‫ي‬ ِ
ِ‫ث َ ْمره ْند‬ tamr hindiyy

Tamarind Eng

Meaning "dates of India"

‫ـد‬َ‫الق ْن‬ al-qand

Candy Eng

Meaning „liquid of sugar cane‟ ‫ قندي‬qandi, sugared.
Arabic is from Persian qand = "cane [sugar]", and possibly from Sanskritic before that, since
cane sugar developed in India.


‫ه َْوة‬ َ‫قـ‬ qahwa

Coffee, Café Eng

“Qahwa” begot Turkish “kahveh” which begot Italian “caffè”. The latter form
entered most Western languages in and around the early 17th century. Cafe
“mocha”, a type of coffee, is named after the city of Mocha, Yemen, which was an
early coffee exporter.

‫حول‬ُ‫الك‬ al-kohūl

Alcohol Eng

From Arabic “al-kuhl” i.e " the fine powder used to darken the eyelids”.
This definition was later extended to "any sublimated substance, the pure spirit of
anything"


َّ‫سك‬
‫ُ ر‬ sukkar

Sugar Eng

Azucar, Sucre
Sp, Fr
Sugar is derived from Arabic sukkar, and originally from Persian Shaker i.e.
"ground or candied sugar“

َ
‫َشاب‬ sharāb

Syrup, Sherbet,
Sorbet
From French sirop and perhaps from Italian siroppo, both from Arabic sharab "beverage,
wine," lit. "something drunk," from verb shariba "he drank"
Spanish jarabe, jarope, are from Arabic;
Derived from the root-word “ ‫ شرب‬sh-r-b” i.e. “to drink”.

ّ‫ميْياء‬ ‫الك‬ ‟
al-kīmyā‟

Chemistry,
Alchemy
Derived from the Arabic “Alchimia ”‫ الكيمْياء‬which entered Latin but was
originally based on the Greek word “khēmeia”.

‫َب‬
ّ َ ‫ع ْن‬ „anbar

Amber
Meaning ambergris, i.e. a waxy material produced in the stomach of sperm
whales and used historically for perfumery. Amber passed into the Romance
languages from Arabic in the later medieval era.


How do you feel when looking
at this picture?
Headache?

‫صداع‬
ُ sodā3‟

Soda, Sodium Eng

Soda (sodium carbonate) is based on the Arab word “sudaa3”
meaning “headache” for which the plant, containing soda, was used
as a remedy. Hence sodium (chem.) metal forming the base of soda.

‫الزهـْر‬
َّ az-zahr

Hazard Eng, Fr

Evidence is incomplete but the English+French word is usually reported to be
َّ
descended through Spanish “azar” from an Arabic ‫ الزه ْـر‬az-zhr i.e "the dice". The
original sense was certainly a game of dice.


qaalib

Calibre
Meaning mold. The original Western meaning was 'diameter of a bullet or cannon-ball‟
derived from the Arabic sense 'mould for casting met‟


‫راحـة‬
َ rāha

Racket Eng

Meaning "device used in tennis, etc.," probably originally "tennis-like game played
with open hand" (late 14c.), from Fr. requette "racket, palm of the hand," perhaps Sp.
raqueta, both from Arabic rahat, a form of raha "palm of the hand."

‫العواريَّة‬
ِ َ al- 3awāriyah

Average
The early meaning of the word was a lot different from
what it is today.
Original meaning was "financial loss incurred through
damage to goods in transit," from O.Fr. avarie "damage to
ship," from It. avaria, a word from 12c. Mediterranean
maritime trade.
Sometimes traced to Arabic 'arwariya "damaged
merchandise,“


‫وب‬ّ‫الط‬ aṭ-ṭūb

Adobe
From Sp. adobe, from oral form of Arabic al-tob "the brick," from Coptic tube
"brick," a word found in hieroglyphics.


‫َمسخ َرة‬
َ ْ makharah

Mask
Late medieval Italian maschera = mask and/or Spanish mascara = mask is/are the
source for the French and English set of words.
The source for the Italian and Spanish is is the Arabic precedent buffoon, jester. In the
context where mask was used, "the sense of entertainment is the usual one in old
authors”


ّ
‫ب‬ ْ َ‫اجل‬ al-jabr

Algebra Eng

Al-jabr means "reunion of broken parts" or „combination‟ initially used by al-Khwarizmi
as the title of his famous treatise on equations ("Kitab al-Jabr w'al-Muqabala" "Rules of
Reintegration and Reduction")


ِ‫اخلَوار ْزم‬
ّّ‫ِ ي‬ al-Khawārizmi

Algorithm Eng, Fr

Surname of a Muslim Mathematician from Baghdad, Abu Ja'far
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who pioneered sophisticated
mathematics, including Algebra. Algorithm (an anglicized form of al-
khawārizmī), is currently used for calculation, computer science,
and many other related fields.


‫ر‬ ِ
ْ‫صف‬ Sifr

Zero, Cipher Eng

Cipher came to Europe with Arabic numerals. Original meaning zero, then any
numeral, then a numerically encoded message. The last meaning, and decipher,
date from the 1520s in English.


‫ة‬ َ‫ث َ ْعريف‬ ta‟riifah

Tariff
Arab root meant “a notification”. In late medieval Mediterranean commerce it
meant a statement of inventory on a merchant ship, or a bill of lading. The
association between the statement of inventory and the import taxes payable
gave rise to the modern meaning.


waziir

Vizier Eng
From Turkish vezir "counsellor," from Arabic wazir "viceroy," lit. "one who
bears (the burden of office)," lit. "porter, carrier," from wazara "he carried.“
Arabic wazir is from Avestan viçira "arbitrator, judge." And replaced Arabic
katib, lit. "writer," in the sense "secretary of state."


ّ
‫الشـاهّمات‬ ash-shāh māt

Checkmate, Check
“ash-shāh māt” means „the king died‟. The many uses of the word "check" in English are
all descended from Persian shah = king and the use of this word in the game of chess.
Chess was introduced to Europe by Arabs, who pronounced the last h in ‫الشاه‬shāh hard,
giving rise to the Old French form eschac, which the English is derived from.


ّ
‫الشـاهّمات‬ ash-shāh māt

Cheque,
Exchequer
Meaning widened from chess to general sense of "adverse event" (c.1300), "sudden
stoppage" (early 14c.), and by c.1700 to "a token used to check against loss or theft"
(surviving in hat check) and "a check against forgery or alteration," which gave the
modern financial use of "bank check, money draft" (first recorded 1798 and often
spelled cheque), probably influenced by exchequeur.


‫َرح‬ ْ‫َمط‬ matrah

Mattress
Originally borrowed in Sicily from Arabic, and derived from the root-word t-r-h
i.e. to throw down. The literal meaning of mattress is “is the thing thrown down"


‫َمخازن‬
ِ makhaazin

Magazine Eng, Fr

Taken from the Arabic “makhzan” i.e. "storehouse”.
Originally it meant “a printed list of military stores and information”.
In the West the meaning evolved to arsenal, gunpowder store, and receptacle for storing
bullets. A magazine in the publishing sense of the word started out meaning a storehouse of
information about military or navigation subjects.

َّ‫صف‬
‫ُ ـة‬ suffa

Sofa Eng

A couch or bench. This word was adopted into Turkish and entered Western Europe
from Turkish in the 16th century.


‫قيثارة‬
َ qithaarah

Guitar
a kind of guitar. "The name reached English several times, including 14th
century giterne from Old French. The modern word is directly from Spanish
guitarra, from Arabic qitar." (Harper (2001)).
The Arabic is descended from ancient Greek kithara (which might be
connected to ancient Persian Tar meaning string, and string instrument).


ّ‫ِس‬
ّ ُ
ِ ‫ك ْر‬
)...‫(الطب, احلديث, إخل‬
kursiyy

Chair-Person

‫مـ ََرة‬ َ‫الق‬ al-qamarah

Camera Eng
Meaning "a darkened room;" c.1730, "a device for project pictures;
Camera Obscura,
In a darkened room (qamara) in Arabic, Ibn Al Haitham (a Persian or Arab scientist ) observed light coming
fthrough a small hole in the window shutters producing an up-side down image on the opposite wall. This early
pin hole camera has led to the camera we know today
Ibn al-Haytham also gave the first clear description and correct analysis of the camera obscura and pinhole
camera.

‫ن‬ْ‫ُقط‬ quTn

Cotton Eng

Entered the Romance languages in the mid-12th century and English a century later.
Cotton fabric was known to the ancient Romans but it was rare in the Romance-
speaking lands until imports from the Arabic-speaking lands in the later medieval era
at transformatively lower prices.


‫مريال ِبحار‬
ُ َ‫أ‬
amīr al-bihār

Admiral
“amir [commander] of the seas", a title in use in Arabic Sicily and continued by the
Normans in Sicily in a Latinised form, and adopted successively by Genoese and French.
Modern French is "amiral".
An English form under King Edward III (14th century) was "Amyrel of the Se". Insertion of
the 'd' was doubtless influenced by allusion to common Latin "admire".

‫جبَّة‬
ُ jubbah

Jumper
“jubbah “ a "loose outer garment". But this derivation is a little insecure: The French
“jupe” = dress is certainly from Arabic jubbah, but the connection of the French to
English is incompletely documented.


jarrah

Jar Eng, Fr

“Jarrah” meaning „earthen vase‟.


‫دارّالصناعَة‬
ِّ ُ daar as-sinaa‟a

Arsenal
“house of manufacturing”
Arsenal's nickname is the Gunners. The club was formed by people working at the Royal
Arsenal - a weapons factory

Ibn Khaldoun quotes an order of the Caliph Abdalmelic to build at Tunis a daar ssiaaʿa
for the construction of everything necessary for the equipment and armament of
[seagoing] vessels.“ In English the word originally meant a dock-yard for repairing or
building ships. This is still the meaning of the modern Italian darsena. Italian also has
„arsenale‟ meaning the storage of munitions.

jamal

Camel Eng

O.E. camel, perhaps via O.N.Fr. camel (O.Fr. chamel, Mod.Fr. chameau), from L.
camelus, from Gk. kamelos, from Heb. or Phoen. gamal,related to Arabic
jamala "to bear."


ّ‫ة‬َ‫َزراف‬ zarāfah

Giraffe Eng

Entered Italian and French in the late 13th century


ghazaalah

Gazelle
1600, from Fr. gazelle, from N.African pronunciation of Arabic ghazal.
Entered medieval Latin in the early 12th century


‫اس‬ ّ‫الغَط‬ al-ghatās

Albatros Eng, Fr

Literally "the diver", The derived Spanish „alcatraz‟ is attested 1386 as a type of pelican. The
albatross family of birds was unknown to both Arabs and Europeans in the medieval era.
Beginning in the 17th century, every European language adopted the word "albatros" with a
'b' for these birds, the 'b' having been mobilized from Latinate alba = white.


ْ‫َستّالرأ‬
ّ‫َ ْ َّ س‬ samt ar-ra's

Zenith Eng

late 14c., from O.Fr. cenith (Fr. zénith), from M.L. cenit, senit, bungled scribal transliteration
of Arabic samt "road, path," abbreviation of samt ar-ras, lit. "the way over the head.
Origin in texts of Astronomy in medieval Islam.


‫السموت‬
ُّ as-sumūt

Atlas

Azimuth
Meaning the paths, the directions. Origin in texts of Astronomy in
medieval Islam.


‫س‬َ‫أَطـل‬
ْ „atlas

Atlas Eng, Fr, Sp.


َ‫سف‬
‫َر‬ safar

Safari
Safari is from Arabic: ‫سفر‬‎“safar” meaning journey.
‎


ْ
‫َصراء‬َ sahraa‟

Sahara Eng, Fr, Sp.

Sahara from Arabic çahra "desert" (pl. çahara), according to Klein, "prop. fem. of
the adj. asharu 'yellowish red,' used as a noun."

‫غَ ّّر‬ َ‫الط َرفّاأل‬
َّ at-taraf al-‟agharr

Trafalgar Eng, Fr, Sp.

Cape Trafalgar‎( in Arabic at-taraf al-‟agharr) is a point in the
south west shore of the Iberian penninsula, north of Gibraltar.
This is the place where the famous battle of Cape Trafalgar
happened in October of 1805, and Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated
the combined fleet of France and Spain, assuming supremacy of the
seas for Britian for a century.


• Dozens of the stars in the night sky have Arabic name etymologies.

• In Western astronomy, most of the accepted star names are
Arabic, a few are Greek and some are of unknown origin.

• Very old star names originated among people who lived in the
Arabian Peninsula more than a thousand years ago, before the rise of
Islam.


Quizz

Can you guess how many English words of Arabic origin there are
in the paragraph below?


After a game of chess with his mates, the admiral checked a safari
magazine for a camera and an Atlas of Europe. He is planning a trip to
Gibraltar.
He went to the souq to buy a jar of candies, apricots, spinach, aubergine,
artichoke and oranges. He also got himself a Zenith watch and a tennis
racket.
He paid by cheque an average 10 dollards (probably followed by two zeros!)
Then he went to a Café near Trafalgar square to relax on a cotton sofa. He
had coffee with sugar and some syrup while watching a game of Arsenal.
After that, he had an alocohol-free drink: a lime sherbet followed by a
soda.
At night, he laid down on his mattress, listened to guitar music and looked a
the bright stars from his window.

 Video Documentaries
◦ An Islamic History of Europe (BBC)
◦ Science and Islam (BBC)
◦ What the Ancients did for us? The Islamic World
◦ Islam Empire of Faith
 Books
◦ Muslim Heritage in Our World
◦ Europe Speaks Arabic
 Contact
Mourad Diouri
e-Learning Lecturer in Arabic Studies
Centre for the Adv. Study of the Arab World,
University of Edinburgh
mourad.diouri@e-arabic.com

Thank You


You Already Speak Arabic! : Arabic Loanwords in European Languages

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You Already Speak Arabic! : Arabic Loanwords in European Languages