List of Arabic loanwords in English

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Star names are not included in this article. For star names, please see List of Arabic star names, List of traditional star names, and other articles listed here.

There are dozens of Arabic loanwords in English, i.e., words of English acquired directly from Arabic or indirectly, by passing from Arabic into a third language (often Spanish) and then into English.

But some of these loanwords from Arabic (a Semitic language) are not of Arabic origin: they are loanwords in Arabic itself. Arabic acquired words from Latin, Greek, Persian, or from fellow members of the Afroasiatic language family. Within the Afro-Asiatic language family, Arabic borrowed words from the Semitic languages Hebrew, Aramaic, and Akkadian and the non-Semitic language Coptic (Ancient Egyptian).

[edit] Reliability of etymological claims

Speaking about etymological claims in general, interested persons are cautioned to examine them carefully for validity and detail. Many claimed etymologies are difficult to verify. Various dictionaries may differ among themselves on the etymology of a given word, to a minor extent or a major extent. Some etymological claims are nothing more than a speculation as to what the etymology could possibly be; an example of this is the claim that "monkey" derives from Arabic. Speculative claims are identified properly (as being speculative) by some dictionaries and not by other dictionaries. In cases where parts of the claimed etymology are beyond doubt, perusal of various dictionaries may reveal that the dictionaries differ among themselves on the details.

Content and substantiation of list entries

A list of dictionaries consulted has been given. Detailed explanations have been given only for the few loanwords whose interpretation has been impacted by substantial developments in intellectual or social history. For example, the meaning conveyed by "alcohol" seems not to have been borrowed from Arabic, but seems rather to have arisen among European alchemists after the word had been borrowed. Furthermore, efforts have been made to indicate which Arabic words are themselves loanwords. But it has been deemed unnecessary to provide sources or detailed etymologies for the mere purpose of confirming that an entry is indeed an Arabic loanword, given: the ready availability of online dictionaries; the length of this list; and, the fact already mentioned that different dictionaries differ on the details of some word etymologies.

[edit] Rationale for inclusion in the list

Words not proven to be Arabic loanwords are listed below separately, following the section for the letter Z.

This list has been edited to serve the purpose of identifying words that represent some lasting influence of one culture upon another, specifically, of the Arabic speaking world upon Europe. Examples of "influence" are: the adoption by European societies of new material objects, technology, intellectual knowledge, ideas, or cultural practices from the Arabic speaking world; the adoption of new words for already possessed material objects, technology, etc. This does not describe the situation of people referring to objects or beliefs in the course of discussing foreign places or societies. For example, the fact that a speaker of English may be curious about boats, beverages, or fairy tales distinctive to Arabic speaking cultures does not make the Arabic language names of boats, beverages, or fairy tale characters loanwords in English.

This principle may be explained by examples. The word "alidade" is the name of a measuring instrument traditionally used by surveyors to determine direction. Although very few English speaking persons have been surveyors, traditionally this device was part of the craft of English speaking surveyors. Also, the name of the Islamic holy city of Mecca has come to mean "a place that is regarded as the center of an activity or interest", and is fairly widely used in this sense by educated people even when they are not Muslim and they are not referring to the city of Mecca itself. Therefore the words "alidade" and "Mecca" rate as additions to English speaking culture and/or technology. By contrast, English speaking people do not use the Arabic word tell meaning 'hill' and would not have occasion to use it except in the context of "this is what Arabs call a hill". Nor do English speaking people refer to fortresses as "alcazars". Spanish speaking people may, but that is a matter of Spanish speaking history or culture, and English speakers would not have occasion to use alcazar except to discuss Spanish history or culture. Similarly, the English language has the word "God". English speakers who have monotheistic religious belief but do not follow Islam use the word "God", not "Allah". Therefore, 'tell', 'alcazar', and 'Allah' do not rate as loanwords in English. As for star names, even astronomy enthusiasts do not know most of the star names of Arabic origin; therefore, Arabic star names are not part of any English speaking subculture, except for a handful of names that refer to the some of the most prominent stars.

For explanations of words pertaining to Arabic speaking cultures, Islamic practices, or Middle Eastern geography, and for words which are loanwords in languages other than English, consult articles addressing those topics.

[edit] Phonetic transcriptions

As for phonetic transcriptions, three symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), [ʕ, x, γ] have been consistently applied.

  • [ʕ] is found in [ʕarab] 'Arab'. Traditionally, it is spelled with a single opening quote mark, but computer keyboards do not distinguish between opening and closing quote marks.
  • [x] is like 'ch' in German, and it is usually spelled 'kh' in spelling Arabic words.
  • [γ] (lower case Greek gamma) represents the voiced counterpart of [x].

Other transcriptions use non-IPA symbols which are standard in the literature on Arabic grammar and literature. The numeral '7' denotes the glottal stop as in the middle sound of the English interjection, "uh-oh". When an entire word is spelled in IPA, it is enclosed in square brackets per IPA standard.

[edit] Loanwords listed in alphabetical order

Contents

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Top of page — See also — External links

[edit] A

admiral 
أميرالبحار, amīr al-bihār commander of the seas
adobe 
الطوب aṭ-ṭūb, the bricks
albacore 
الباكورة al-bakūra, perhaps from bakūr, premature
albatross (or algatross) 
الغطاس al-γaṭṭās (or al-ghaṭṭās), the diver
alchemy 
الكيمياء al-alkīmiyā7, from Greek khēmia, khēmeia, art of transmuting metals[1]
alcohol 
الغول - الكحول in the literature of late European alchemy, the quintessence of an earthly substance. See kohl in this list. The idea of "quintessences of earthly substances" and the use of "alcohol" to denote quintessences are developments in European alchemy in the 14th century. From the 1500s on, the denotation of "alcohol" narrowed down to "quintessence of wine" or "spirit of wine", i.e., ethanol, CH3CH2OH, as the term "alcool vini" (quintessence of wine) got shortened to "alcool" or "alcohol". The term alco(h)ol vini supplanted the original quinta essentia vini, 'fifth essence of wine'.[2][3]
alcove 
قبة - طاقة al-qubba, the vault
alembic 
الإنبيق al-anbiq, still (the distillation device), from Greek ambix, stem ambik-, cup
algebra 
الجبر al-jabr, the restoring of missing parts. This word is reported to have entered Middle English in the sense of 'the setting of broken bones'. The modern mathematical sense comes from the title of a book, al-kitāb al-muxtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wa-l-muqābala, "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing", by the 9th-century Muslim mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsa al-Xwārizmī. The appellation al-xwārizmī means literally "the Khwārizmian", referring to Khwārizm, now Khiva, in Uzbekistan. Another legacy of this mathematician is that his appellation gave rise to the word algorithm الخوارزمية.
algorism
[1] see algorithm in this list.
algorithm or algorism  
al-xwārizmī, the Khwārizmian. Appellation of the Persian scientist, Muḥammad ibn Mūsa al-Xwārizmī, who wrote the first book on algebra. See algebra in this list.
alidade 
عضادة , عِضَادة . A surveying instrument.
alizarin
from al-ʕaṣārah, the juice. A dye. العصارة
alkali 
القلي from qalā, to fry, to roast. 'Alkali' originally meant a saline substance derived from the ashes of plants.
almanac 
المناخal-manāx (or al-manākh), "the climate", possibly from Greek almenichiakon, calendar
alfalfa
al-fisfisa, fresh fodder [2]
alkanet
From the Arabic word الحنة '"al-hinna'"=the henna. [3]
amalgam
الملغم al-malgham. [4]
amber
amber/anbar, yellow [5]
aniline 
نيلة - صبغ النيل al-nili, from Persian and Sanskrit
apricot
al-birquq
arsenal 
دار الصناعة dār aṣ-ṣināʕa, house of manufacturing
artichoke 
الخرشوف al-xurshūf or from ardi chawki meaning 'land thorn'
assassin 
from حشاشين ḥashshāshīn, those who use hashish (cannabis resin).
attar
itr/utur, perfume,aroma. [6]
aubergine 
from الباذنجان al-bādhinjān, from Persian bâdinjân ultimately from the Sanskrit vatin gana.
azimuth 
السموت as-sumūt, the paths

[edit] B

barding (archaic term for horse armour)
bardaʿah, packsaddle -any of various pieces of defensive armor for a horse covering, from Persian.
benzoin 
لبان جاوي labān jāwī, "frankincense of Java". Benzoin is an organic chemical solvent extracted from a resin of an Asian tree.
bezoar
bazahr, from Persian.
bonito
bainīth.
burnous/burnoose 
برنوس burnūs, from Latin byrrhus
borax
بورق buraq, from Persian.

[edit] C

caliber 
قالب qâlib, 'mould', possibly from Greek.[4]
camphor
كافور kafur. [7]
candy
قند qandi, possibly a loanword.
carat
qirat, from Greek
caraway 
كراوية karāwiya
carmine 
ultimately from Sanskrit krmi-ja. See 'kermes' below.
carob 
خرّوب xarrūb, (1) locust; (2) carob bean
carrack 
qarāqīr plural of qurqur
checkmate 
shah māt, from Persian
chemistry 
see alchemy in this list
cipher 
صفر ṣifr, zero
civet
zaba’d [8]
coffee 
قهوة qahwa, itself possibly from Kefa, Ethiopia, where the plant originated.
cotton 
قطن quṭun
curcuma
From Arabic word kurkum =saffron, turmeric.[9]

[edit] D

divan
ديوان dīwān, from Persian.
dragoman 
ترجمان tarjumān, from Aramaic turgemānā, in turn from Akkadian.[5]

[edit] E

elixir 
الإكسير al-'iksīr, (1) philosopher's stone; (2) medicinal potion. From Greek xērion, powder for drying wounds
emir 
أمير, amīr.

[edit] F

fustic 
الفسطيط أو الفستيق fosṭeeṭ, ultimately from Greek πιστακη pistakē, pistachio tree[5]

[edit] G

garble 
γarbala, sift; ultimately from Latin cribellum, sieve
gauze 
qazz, in turn from Persian kazh (كژ) "raw silk".
gazelle 
غزال ghazāl
genie  
الجني,jinny
gerbil 
See jerboa in this list. The word "gerbil" is a European created diminutive of "jerboa", but the words refer to distinct species.
ghoul 
غول ghūl
giraffe 
زرافة zarāfa[6]

[edit] H

harem 
حريم ḥarīm, forbidden thing or place
hashish 
حشيش ḥashīsh, grass
hazard 
الزهر az-zahr, chance, name of the pieces used in the game of 'nard,' or 'tawola.' It can also represent a type of flower.
henna 
حنة ḥinna

[edit] I-J

jar 
جرة jarrah, large earthen vase
jasmine
from French. jasmin, , from Arabic yas(a)min.[10]
jerboa 
جربوع jarbūʕ. See also gerbil in this list.

[edit] K

kermes 
قرمز qirmiz perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit krmi-ja, worm-produced
kohl 
الكحل al-kuḥl, kohl. Powdered stibnite, used for millennia to decorate the eyes and as an eye medicine. (Stibnite is an ore of the element antimony.)

[edit] L

lacquer
lakk.
lilac
from Arabic lilak, from Pers. lilak, variant of nilak "bluish," from nil "indigo" [11]
lime
Arabic limah "citrus fruit," a back-formation or a collective noun from limun "lemon"[12]
loofah 
from the Egyptian Arabic word lūfa.
lute 
العود al-ʕūd, "the oud", a forerunner of the guitar.

[edit] M

macrame 
miqrama, embroidered veil
magazine 
maxāzin, (or makhāzin), storehouses,
mascara 
uncertain origin; possibly from maskhara "buffoon" or from an unknown language. In modern Arabic maskhara means to ridicule
massage 
uncertain whether ultimately from either Arabic massa, to stroke, or from Latin massa, dough
mattress 
مطرح matrah, (1) spot where something is thrown down; (2) mat, cushion
mocha 
مخا al-muxā (or al-mukhā), city of Mocha, Yemen
mohair 
مخير muxayyar, having the choice
monsoon 
موسم mawsim, season
mummy  
موميا mūmiyyā, embalmed corpse (ultimately from Persian).
muslin 
derived from the name of the Iraqi city of Mosul, where cotton fabric was manufactured

[edit] N

nadir 
نظير naẓīr, parallel or counterpart
nucha (anatomical term for 'nape of the neck') 
نخاع ، منخع , nape of the neck. Via Medieval Latin, from Arabic nuḫā', marrow, spinal cord.[7]
nunation 
from the Arabic name of the 'n' sound. Medical term: overly frequent or abnormal use (as in stammering) of the sound of the letter n.

[edit] O

orange
From Arabic word naranj, from Sanskrit via Persian.

[edit] P

popinjay 
ببفا babaγā Parrot.

[edit] Q

qat / khat 
قات kat The plant Catha edulis.

[edit] R

racquet or 'racket' 
راحة rāḥah, palm of the hand
realgar 
rahj al-ghar,[5] a mineral
ream (quantity of sheets of paper) 
رزمة rizma, bale, bundle
roc
rukhkh, possibly from Persian.

[edit] S

safari
from Swahili safari, journey, in turn from Arabic safar. [13]
safflower
aṣfar, yellow.
saffron 
زعفران zaʕfarān (or za9farān), species of crocus plant bearing orange stigmas and purple flowers.
sash 
شاش shāsh, turban of muslin. See muslin in this list.
sequin 
sikka, die, coin
sherbet, sorbet, shrub, syrup 
شراب sharāb, a drink
soda 
perhaps from suwwāda, suwayd, or suwayda, a species of plant
sofa 
ṣuffa, stone ledge
sugar
sukkar, sugar, ultimately from Sanskrit [14]
sumac
summāq, from Aramaic.

[edit] T

tabby (fabric) 
عتابي ʕattābī (9attābī), deriv. of (al-)ʕattābiyya, quarter of Baghdad where watered silk was first made, named after a prince, ʕattāb
tahini 
طحين ṭaḥīn, flour, which derives from the Arabic verb for "grind"
talc 
طلق ṭalq, from Persian.
tamarind 
تمر هندي tamr-hindī, date of India
tare 
tarḥa, a discard (something discarded)[5]
tariff 
تعريفة taʕrīfa (or ta9rīfa), act of making known; notification
tazza 
طشت ṭašt, round, shallow, drinking cup made of metal. Amer. Heritage Dict.
typhoon
a blend of Arabic Ṭūfān (ultimately from Greek) and the completely independent Cantonese word 'Taaîfung'. Amer. Heritage Dict.

[edit] U-Z

zenith 
سمت الرأس samt ar-ra's, zenith, vertex
zero 
صفر sifr, cipher, zero.
Contents Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] Words not proven to be Arabic loanwords

average 
عوارية (بضاعة اصابها عطب في البحر) - متوسط of disputed origin; possibly from ʕawārīya, damaged merchandise, or from Italian avere or French avoir, property, from Latin habere, to have
monkey
barbican or Barbacan
Outer fortification of a city or castle, perhaps from Arabic or Persian ‘ bab-khanah =gate-house".[15], [16]
caramel 
possibly from Arabic, more likely from Latin cannamellis, burnt honey
date
دقل - بلح Possibly from Arabic daqal "date palm". [17]
drub
gala
perhaps from Arabic khil'a, fine garment given as a presentation. [18]
Mulatto
disputed etymology either from Spanish or Arabic.
risk
possibly from Arabic rizq, but also argued to be from Greek [19].
satin 
probably from Arabic zaytūnī, of Zaytun
scarlet
siqillat, fine cloth. ".[20]
talisman
a blend of the Arabic loan from Greek and the Greek itself [21]
tobacco
from Arabic tabbaq".[22]
toque
kind of round hat, possibly from Arabic taqa.
traffic
tafriq, distribution. This is one scholar's published suggestion.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ AskOxford: alchemy
  2. ^ Ball, chapter 9
  3. ^ Priesner and Figala, entry on "Alkohol"
  4. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
  5. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (1979)
  6. ^ W. Montgomery Watt. The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe. Edinburgh University Press. 1972
  7. ^ nucha - Definitions from Dictionary.com
For a list of words relating to with Arabic language origins, see the Arabic derivations category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

[edit] Bibliography

  • Ball, Philip. 2006. The Devil's Doctor: Paracelsus And The World Of Renaissance Magic And Science. 1st American edition. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. 436 p.
  • Concise Oxford English Dictionary (OED). 2004. Oxford Press
  • Dictionary.com
  • Madina, Maan Z. 1973. Arabic-English Dictionary of the Modern Literary Language. Pocket Books.
  • Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (MWCD) Online
  • Priesner, Claus and Figala, Karin. 1998. Alchemie. Lexikon einer hermetischen Wissenschaft. München: C.H. Beck. 412 p.
  • Salloum, Habeeb and Peters, James. 1996. Arabic Contributions to the English Language. Beirut: Librairie du Liban.
  • Wehr, Hans. 1979. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (Arabic-English), 4th ed. Edited by J Milton Cowan. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links