List of Christian terms in Arabic
The following list consists of concepts that are derived from both Christian and Arab tradition, which are expressed as words and phrases in the Arabic language. These terms are included as transliterations, often accompanied by the original Arabic-alphabet orthography. Although Islam is the dominant religion among Arabs, there are a significant number of Arab Christians in regions that were formerly Christian, such as much of the Byzantine empire's lands in the Middle East, so that there are over twenty million Arab Christians living around the world. (Significant populations in Egypt, Lebanon, Brazil, Mexico, Jordan, Syria, Sudan, Iraq, USA, Canada, UK and Australia.) Christianity has existed in the Arab world since the 1st century. Readers should also note that Arabic is written with the Arabic alphabet, and that different individuals and Christian groups may transliterate certain Arabic words into the Latin alphabet in various ways.
A
- al-Āb (الآبُ)
- God the Father
- Allāh (الله)
- literally "God"; is also used as a religious term by Arab Muslims and Arab Jews.
- Roman Catholics in Malta call God Alla in the Maltese language. The name Allah is also used by Christians in predominantly Islamic countries and countries where both faiths exist side by side regularly such as Indonesia, Israel (part), Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Iraq
- Aiqūna (أَيْقونة)
- Icon
B
- Bābā Nuwayl (بابا نويل)
- Santa Claus (A partial translation and partial borrowing of French "Père Noël")
- Bismi l-Ābi wa l-Ibni wa r-Rūḥi l-Qudus (بِاسْمِ الآبِ وَالاِبْنِ وَالرُّوحِ الْقُدُسِ, also spelled بِسْمِ الآبِ وَالاِبْنِ وَالرُّوحِ الْقُدُسِ)
- "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" (See also: Trinitarian formula, Basmala). Sometimes followed by الإله الواحد al-Ilāhu l-Wāḥid "The One God", to emphasize monotheism.
- Brūtistāntī (بروتستانتي)
- Protestant (a more foreign-imitating pronunciation is Prōtistāntī)
I
- ‘Īd Kulli l-Qiddīsīn (عيد كل القديسين)
- All Saints' Day
- ‘Īdu l-‘Anṣarah (عيد العنصرة)
- Pentecost
- ‘Īdu l-Fiṣḥ (عيد الفصح) or ‘Īdu l-Qiyāmah (عيد القيامة)
- Easter
- ‘Īdu l-Jasad (عيد الجسد)
- The Catholic feast of Corpus Christi
- ‘Īdu l-Mīlād (عيد الميلاد)
- "Day of the Birth (of Jesus)" Christmas.
- ‘Īdu ṣ-Ṣu‘ūdi (lil-Masīḥ) (عيد الصعود)
- Feast of Ascension
- ‘Īdu l-Mawtā (عيد الموتى)
- All Soul's Day
- Injīl (إنجيل)
- One of the four gospels (from Greek Ευαγγελια "Good News"); Muslims use it to refer to the entire New Testament, or rather to the hypothetical "uncorrupted" gospel of Jesus.
K
- Kanīsa (كنيسة)
- Church, similar to the Hebrew Knesset literally "Assembly". See Alcañiz for a Spanish cognate through Mozarabic.
- Kathūlīkī (كاثوليكي)
- Catholic
- Kātidrā'iyyah (كاتدرائية)
- Cathedral
M
- Maryamu l-‘Adhra' (مريم العذراء)
- Virgin Mary
- al-Masīḥ (المسيح)
- Christ (literally "the Messiah" or "the Anointed")
- al-Masīḥiyyah (المسيحية)
- Christianity (literally "Messianity")
- Masīḥī (مسيحي)
- Christian (literally "of the Messiah")
- Mubaššir (مبشر)
- Christian missionary (positive sense, literally means "carrier of good news")
- Munaṣṣir (مُنصِّر)
- Christian missionary (neutral sense, literally "Christianizer")
N
- Naṣrānī (نصراني)
- A traditional Islamic term for Christians (literally "Nazarene"). Arab Christians do not use it to refer to themselves. It can have a negative connotation in some contexts.
- Nāṣirī (ناصري)
- Person from Nazareth (also a follower of Gamal Abdel Nasser)
O
- Orthodoksī (أرثوذكسي)
- Orthodox Christianity
Q
- Qibti, Qubti (قبطي)
- Coptic
- Quddās (قداس)
- Mass
- Qudsi (قدسي)
- Saint, holy, sacred
R
- ar-Rūḥu l-Qudus (الرُّوحِ الْقُدُسِ)
- The Holy Spirit
S
- Ṣalīb (صليب)
- Cross
- Sim‘ān l-Ghayūr (سِمْعَان الْغَيُور)
- Simon the Zealot
- Sim‘ān Butrus (سِمْعَان بطرس)
- Simon Peter
T
- Tabšīr (تبشير)
- literally "the Spreading of Good News" - Christian missionary work
- Tanṣīr (تنصير)
- literally "spreading Christianity, or Christianizing" - Christian missionary work
- Tajassud (تجسد)
- Incarnation (of Jesus Christ)
- ath-Thālūth (الْثاَلُوث)
- The Holy Trinity
U
- Ūrašalīm (أوراشليم)
- Christian Arabic version of Jerusalem (as opposed to the Islamic Arabic term al-Quds القدس)
- Ūsquf (أُسْقُف)
- Bishop (pl. أَسَاقِفَة), Archbishop (رئيس الأساقفة)
Y
- Yasū‘ (يَسُوعَ)
- Christian Arabic version of the name of Jesus (as opposed to the Islamic Arabic term Isa عيسى)
- Yasū‘u l-Masīḥ (يَسُوع المسيح)
- Jesus Christ
- al-Jum‘atu l-Ḥazīna (الجمعة الحزينة)
- Good Friday
- al-Jum‘atu l-‘Aẓīma (الجمعة العظيمة)
- Good Friday
- Yuḥanna (يوحنا)
- Christian Arabic version of the name of John (as opposed to the Islamic Arabic term Yaḥya يحيى)
See also
External links