List of English words of Arabic origin

This is a list of English words of Arabic origin. Many of these words have come to us via Spanish, heavily influenced by the Arabic of al-Andalus. See also: Lists of English words of international origin

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A

; admiral : أمير البحر amiir al-baHr "commander of the sea" ; adobe : الطوب aT-Tuub "the brick" (itself originally from Coptic tôbe) ; albacore : الباكورة al-bakoura ; albatross : possibly from al-qadus ; alchemy : الكيمياء al-keemiyaa (from disputed origins; possibly from Greek khemeia "alchemy" or Arabic al-kammiyah) ; 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 álgebra; الجبر al-jabr (literally "repairing") ; algol : al-ghul "the ghoul" ; alkali : al-qaliy "calx" ; Allah : الله Allah "God" ; almagest : al-majisti ; almanac : al-manaakh, "the climate" ; altair : "the flying eagle" ; amalgam : ultimately from Greek amalgama ; amber : anbar, "ambergris" ; aniline : ultimately from Sanskrit nilah "dark blue" ; antimony : possibly from al-íthmid (="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. ; 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 : ; camel : - jamal , from Latin camellus, from one of the Semitic languages (which one is uncertain, but the term is found in Latin before Arabic) ; 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 Hiku'' Pitah'', 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, "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 ; gypsum : from Greek gypsos "chalk", from unidentified Semitic root; akin to Arabic jibs

H

; harem :حريم 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" ; massage : ; 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" ; 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"

S

; safari : سفر from Arabic سفر safar "travel" through Swahili ; saffron : زعفران za`faraan, maybe Persian ; sahara : صحراء çah'ra "desert" ; sash : شاش shaash "muslin" ; scarlet ; sequin : sikkah "die, coin" ; satin : probably zaytuni "of Zaytun" ; sesame : سمسم simsim ; sherbet : شربات sharbaat "drinks" ; shrub : as in the drink ; sirocco : sharqiyah, "eastern" ; soda : From sudaa, meaning headache. ; sofa : suffa "stone ledge"' ; sultan : سلطان sulTaan "ruler" ; sumac : سماق Simmak or Persian Sumak ; suq : ﻖﻭﺳ "Middle Eastern marketplace" ; syrup : شراب sharaab "beverage, drink"

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-ra’s "zenith, vertex" ; zero : صفر sifr

See also

• List of Islamic terms in Arabic
• List of Arabic phrases
• 99 Names of God

Arabic Category:Arab

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