Arabic words in English
Several hundred English words came from Arabic. Most arrived the middle ages,
but they are still coming.
Arabic was also a conduit for words from Persian, Malay and African languages
into English, because words of those languages had to
pass through Arabic speaking countries on their way to England.
Because Arabic-speaking
countries are a long way from England, usually they passed through other
languages before making a home in England. These other languages include
Middle French, Middle Latin, Spanish, and Italian.
The oldest Arabic words in English mostly have to do with goods and trade
with Arabic-speaking countries.
Most of ancient Greek learning was recorded in the middle ages
only in Arabic, and came known to the English world during the early
renaissance from Arabic sources. Arabic also preserved some
ancient Egyptian and Aramaic words.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, due to European and British expansion,
many political words of Arabic origin appeared in English.
In modern times, many more Arabic words have arrived in English in relation
to Islam and the social systems of Arabic countries.
This is a list of words that passed into English through Arabic.
It excludes words that are the same in English and Arabic for some other reason:
for instance, some old Semetic words, probably from Aramaic or Hebrew, were
passed to English from ancient Latin and Greek, but are therefore similar
to the modern Arabic word.
I use “via”, meaning “by way of”, for languages the word passed through
on the way to English, and “from” for languages from which Arabic
acquired the word.
math
- algebra
- الْجَبْر al-jabr, a term
coined by the Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi,
meaning “the restoration”, as one might restore a broken bone
- average
- عَوَار ʿawār,
“defect”, ʿawārī “defective merchandise”
- algorithm
- الخُوَارِزْمِيّ not an Arabic word but the name
of al-Khwarizmi (see algebra, above.) The latinized word has been
re-introduced into Farsi as الگوریتم
- cipher, cypher
- صِفْر ṣifr “zero”,
via Latin, from India, originating in Sanskrit.
It was originally taken to mean “employing Arabic numerals”,
but took the meaning of “secret writing” on account of
its strangeness to medieval Europeans.
- zero
- صِفْر a more latinized form of cipher
(see above,) via Latin and Italian
(How the “Arabic numerals” 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, besides 0,
came into use in English-speaking countries is another interesting story!)
chemistry
- alcohol
- اَلْكُحْل al-kuḥl “a very
finely ground powder”, came to be associated with distilled beverages,
due to the fact that powders precipitate out during distillation
- soda
- صُدَاع ṣudā
via Italian, Latin
- camphor
- كَافُور kāfūr
via Latin, from Tamil, from Malay
- borax, boron
- بَوْرَق būraq
(dialectical) from Persian
- talc, talcum
- طلق ṭalq
“mica” from Persian, via Latin
- natron
- نَطْرُون naṭrūn
via French, Spanish and Latin,
from Greek, from Ancient Egyptian,
- alkali
- اَلْقِلْي al-qalī
“[ashes of] the saltwort”, via French
- alembic
- الإِنْبِيق al-anbīq
“the still”, via Latin, from Greek
- alchemy
- اَلْكِيمِيَاء al-kīmiyā'
“the chemistry”, via French and Latin, from Greek
- amalgam
- اَلْمَلْغَم al-malgham
via French and Latin, from Greek for “softening agent”
- elixir
- اَلْإِكْسِير al-ʾiksīr
via French, from Greek “powder for drying wounds”
religion
- Islam
- إِسْلَام ʾislām
“submission [to God]”
- Muslim
- مُسْلِم muslim
“one who submits [to God]”
- Allah
- اللّٰه allāh
“the God” (related to biblical Hebrew אֱלֹהִים
elohím)
- hajj, hajji
- حَجِّيّ, حَجّ ḥajj, ḥajjiyy
“pilgrimage, pilgrim”
- hegira (or hejira)
- هِجْرَة hijra
“exodus, emigration”
- jihad
- جِهَاد jihād
“struggle, effort”
- mosque
- مَسْجِد masjid
“place of prostration” via French and Italian
- halal
- حَلَال ḥalāl
“permissible” (contrast with harem.)
social / politics
- sultan
- سُلْطَان sulṭān
“authority, ruler”,
via French and Ottoman Turkish, from Aramaic
- imam
- إِمَام ʾimām
“leader”
- caliph (or calif)
- خَلِيفَة ḵalīfa
from خَلِيف ḵalīf
“successor”, via Latin and French
- sheik
- شَيْخ šayḵ “elder”
- emir
- أَمِير ʾamīr
“commander”, via French
- admiral
- أَمِير اَلبَحْر ʾamīr al-baḥr
“commander of the fleet” via French.
(The ‘d’ probably comes from influence of French
admirable).
- mufti
- مُفْتِي muftī
“fatwa-deliverer”, literally “deliverer of formal opinion”
(Also refers to a kind of clothing.)
- vizier
- وَزِير wazīr
“minister”
- fakir
- فَقِير faqīr
“poor man”
- sharia
- شَرِيعَة šarīʿa
“path, way”
- harem
- حَرَم ḥaram
“something prohibited; sanctuary”, via Ottoman Turkish
(Contrast with halal.)
- assassin
- أَسَاسِيِّين ʾasāsiyyīn
“those who are faithful to the foundation [of the faith]”
via French or Italian
(The name of a group of Nizari Ismailis who killed political targets.
The etymology that this derives from “hashish users” is disputed.)
- salaam
- سَلَام salām
“peace”
(Compare Hebrew שָׁלוֹם shalóm,
whence also Salem and Jerusalem.)
honorifics
- al, bin, ibn, ben, bat
-
dyes / color / jems
- henna
- حِنَّاء ḥinnāʾ
(the name of the tree the dye comes from)
probably from Persian “stain”
- crimson
- قِرْمِز qirmiz
via Spanish and French
- amber
- عَنْبَر ʿanbar
“ambergris” via Old French, from Persian
- azure
- لَازَوَرْد lāzaward
“lapis lazuli”, via French, from the Persian name of the
region Lajward of Turkestan where the stone is found
- saffron
- زَعْفَرَان zaʿfarān
via French and Latin
- zircon, zirconium
- زَرْقُون zarqūn
via German, maybe also French
food and drink
- sugar
- سُكَّر sukkar
via French, Latin and Italian, from Persian, from Sanskrit
- candy
- سُكَّر قَنْدِي sukkar qandī
“sugar candy” via Old French, from Persian;
likely from the Sanskrit term for “rock candy“
- sherbet, sorbet
- شَرْبَة šarba “drink”,
via French, Italian, Ottoman Turkish, and Persian
(The verb is شَرِبَ šariba
“to drink”)
- syrup
- شَرَاب šarāb
“beverage”, via French, Latin. (See sherbet.)
- coffee
- قَهْوَة qahwa
“coffee, a brew”, via Dutch, Ottoman Turkish
(Note: the Arabic beverage was a mixture of wine and coffee.)
- mocha
- اَلْمُخَا al-muḵā
after the port Mocha in Yemen
- julep
- جُلَاب julāb
via French, Latin, from Persian for “rosewater”
- falafel
- فَلَافِل falāfil
“peppers”, from either Persian and Sanskrit, or Aramaic
- hummus
- حُمُّص ḥummuṣ
via Turkish. (Note: this resembles the modern Greek word
χυμός for “juice”, but is evidently
unrelated.)
- kabob, kebab
- كَبَاب kabāb
via each of Urdu, Persian and Turkish
- tabbouleh
- تَبُّولَة tabbūla
- tahini
- طَحِينَة ṭaḥīna
clothing / fabric
- cotton
- قُطُن quṭun
via French and Italian
- muslin
- لموصل al-Mawṣil,
the name of the city Mosul in northern Iraq, via French and Italian.
(The name is very old — likely that of an Assyrian town “Mépsila”)
- burnoose (bernouse, bornous, bournous, burnous, burnouse)
- بُرْنُس burnus
- gilet
- جَلِيقَة jalīqa via French
- sash
- شَاش šāš
“muslin cloth”
- mohair
- مُخَيَّر muḵayyar
“choice”, via French and Italian
- mufti
- see entry under politics
- sequin
- سِكَّة sikka
“die for coining, coin”, via French and Italian.
- satin
- زَيْتُون zaytūn
the name of a city in China, Quanzhou, where the cloth was made
(but the word also means “olive”)
- macramé
- ﻢِﻗْﺮَﻣَﺓ miqrama
“ornamental fringe, embroidered veil”
French, via Italian, Turkish
mythology
- ghoul
- غُول ḡūl
via Persian
- jinn, jinni
- جِنّ, جِنِّيّ jinn, jinniyy
- talisman
- طِلَسْم ṭilasm
from Ancient Greek “payment” and from
Byzantine Greek “religious rite, completion”
astronomy / astrology
- zenith
- سَمْت samt
“direction, path”, via Latin
- nadir
- نَظِير السَّمْت naẓīr as-samt
“counterpart of the zenith”, via Latin
- azimuth
- اَلسُّمُوت as-sumūt
“the directions”, via French
visible stars
The English names of the 5000 or so visible stars are
mostly of Arabic origin.
Here are a few familiar ones.
- Aldebaran
- لدَّبَرَان ad-dabarān
“the follower” (because it follows the Pleiades.)
- Algol
- الْغُول al-ḡūl
“the ghoul”
- Altair
- لنَّسْر اَلطَّائِر an-nasr aṭ-ṭāʾir
“the flying eagle”
- Betelgeuse
- يَد الجَوْزَاء yad al-jawzāʾ
“hand of the central one”
- Deneb
- ذَنَب الدَجَاجَة ḏanab ad-dajāja
“hen’s tail”
- Fomalhaut
- فَمُ الْحُوت famu l-ḥūt
“the fish mouth”
- Mizar
- المئزر al-miʾzar
“apron, waistband, girdle”
- Rigel
- اَلرِّجْل اَلْجَبَّار ar-rijl al-jabbār
“the foot of the great one”
- Vega
- النَّسْر الوَاقِع an-nasr al-wāqiʿ
“falling eagle”
animals
- giraffe
- زَرَافَة zarāfa
via French, from Persian for “flute leg”
- civet
- زَبَاد zabād
via French, Italian, Latin
- fennec
- فَنَك fanak
- gazelle
- غَزَال ḡazāl
via French
- gerbil
- جَرْبُوع ,يَرْبُوع jarbūʿ, yarbūʿ
via French, Latin
- albatross
- الْغَطَّاس al-ḡaṭṭās
“the diver” probably via Spanish or Portuguese
(describing various sea birds.)
- tuna
- تُنّ tunn
via Spanish, from Latin, from Ancient Greek θύννος,
verb θύνω (thúnō), “I rush, dart along”
- albacore
- اَلْبَكُورَةal-bakūra
via Portuguese, “the young camels”
- popinjay
- بَبْغَاء babḡāʾ
via Old French, probably Old Occitan
plants
- alfalfa
- الفصفصة al-fisfisa,
via Spanish, from Persian
- artichoke
- الْخُرْشُوف al-ḵuršūf
“the artichoke”, via Italian and dialectical Spanish
- sumac
- سُمَّاق summāq
via Old French or Latin,
from Classical Syriac for “red; sumac”
- caraway
- كَرَاوِيَا karāwiyā
via Latin, from Aramaic from Ancient Greek
- tarragon
- طَرْخُون ṭarḵūn
via Middle French (modern estragon), Latin,
from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον “dragonwort”
- aubergine
- اَلْبَاذِنْجَان al-bāḏinjān
via French, Catalan, from Sanskrit “the plant that cures the wind”
- jasmine
- يَاسَمِين yāsamīn
via French, from Persian
- couscous
- كُسْكُس kuskus
via French, from Tagargrent
- carob
- خَرُّوب ḵarrūb
via French, from Classical Syriac
- lemon
- لَيْمُون laymūn
(or possibly from Ottoman Turkish limon),
from Persian līmū. See lime.
- lime
- لِيمَة līma
via French, Spanish, from Persian līmū.
See lemon.
- orange
- نَارَنْج nāranj
via Old French pome orenge (“orange fruit”),
influenced by Old Occitan, calqued from Old Italian,
mela “apple”
and (n)arancia “orange”,
from Persian, Sanskrit, Dravidian
- apricot
- الْبَرْقُوق al-barqūq “plums”
via dialectal Catalan (influenced by French and Latin,)
from Byzantine, from Ancient Greek, from Late Latin
“[peaches or apple] which ripen early”
- spinach
- إِسْفَانَاخ ʾisfānāḵ
via Old French, Old Occitan, from Persian
- safflower
- ﺄَﺼْﻓَﺭ ʾaṣfar,
“yellow”
from Middle French (but influenced by saffron and flower.)
- tamarind
- تَمْر هِنْدِيّ tamr hindiyy
“Indian date” via Old French, Latin
spices
- carmine
- قِرْمِز qirmiz
“crimson”, from Sanskrit, meaning “produced by worms”
- salep
- سَحْلَب saḥlab
“foxe’s” via French, Turkish
- senna
- سَنَا sanā
“senna”
incense and fragrance
- benzoin, benzene
- لبان جاوي lubān jāwiyy
“Javanese frankincense”, via French, Spanish and Portuguese
- camphor
- كَافُور kāfūr
probably from Malay (or similar,) from Sanskrit
chess
The game of chess is very old, and certainly originated in India.
It arrived in the West via Arabic traders from Persia, and the names
of the game and some of the pieces are derived from the Arabic
versions of those names. Note that the names and interpretations of
some of the pieces differ by language.
- chess
- شَاه šāh
via Old French, Latin, from Persian šâh,
“king”
- checkmate, check, checkerboard, checker, exchequer
- شَاهُ مَاتَ šāhu māta
via Old French, from Persian šâh mât,
“the king [is] dead” (The use of “check” to mean “restrain” or
“restraint”, as well as the use as “verify” and “bill of exchange”
(British “cheque”) are derivative. The term “exchequer”
retains its French spelling, and refers to a method of financial
reckoning that involved a board resembling a chessboard. The word
“checkers” is an Americanism for the game called “draughts” in
Britain which is played on a chessboard.)
- rook
- رخ rakha “fortress, castle”
via Old French, from Persian, possibly from Sanskrit meaning “chariot”.
trade / measure
- caliber, caliper
- قالب qālab
“mold”, via French and Italian, from Greek “shoe last”
literally “wood-foot” (caliper appears to be a variant of caliber,
dating from about 1580.)
- carat, karat
- قِيرَاط qīrāṭ
via French and Italian from Greek “carob bean”, literally “little horn”
- jar
- جَرَّة jarra
“earthen receptacle” via Latin or French or Spanish.
- ream
- رِزْمَةrizma
“bundle” via French
(Note: ream has two other meanings, with unrelated etymologies.)
- tare
- طَرْحَة ṭarḥa
“that which is thrown away” via French, Italian
- tariff
- تَعْرِيف taʿrīf
via German, Italian
- safari
- سَفَر safar
“journey” via Swahili
building
- alcove
- القُبَّة al-qubba
“the vault, chamber with vaulted roof” via French, Spanish or Portuguese
- arsenal
- دَار الصِّنَاعَة dār aṣ-ṣināʿa
via Italian and French
- adobe
- اَلطُّوب aṭ-ṭūb
via Spanish adobe, from Sahidic Coptic for “brick”,
Egyptian for “brick, block, ingot”
- casbah, kasbah
- قَصَبَة qaṣaba “citadel”,
“city center”
furniture
- mattress
- مَطْرَح maṭraḥ
“place where something is thrown” via French
- sofa
- صُفَّة ṣuffa
“a long seat made of stone or brick” via French perhaps via Turkish,
from Aramaic for “mat, matting”
place-names
Of course English has many Arabic place-names; it would be
beside the point of this page
to list place-names in Arabic-speaking countries.
Some are perhaps surprising. Especially in Spain, a large portion
towns and regions have Arabic names; many more old place names there
were modified to fit Arabic. Also Portugal and Italy have a few.
- Andalusia
- الْأَنْدَلُس al-ʾandalus
“[land of] the Vandals”, perhaps from Latin or Vandalic
- Gibraltar
- بل طارق Jabal Ṭāriq
“Mount of Tariq”, named after a military leader
- Granada
- غرناطة Ġarnāṭah
possibly “hill of strangers”
- Marsala
- مَرْسَى عَلِيّ marsā ʿaliyy, “Ali’s harbor” or
مَرْسَى اللّٰه marsā llāh, “God’s harbor”.
- Sahara
- صَحَارَى ṣaḥārā
“deserts”
musical instruments
- guitar
- قِيثَارَة qīṯāra
via Spanish, from Latin, Ancient Greek κιθάρα
(Note: “zither” has the same origins, but came to English via
German and Latin, not Arabic.)
- lute, luthier
- اَلْعُود al-ʿūd
“the wood” (Cognate with the name of the modern Arabic instrument
oud. Just why it is so named is a matter of debate:
it is indeed made mostly of wood, and it is played with a
wooden plectrum.)
- tabla
- طبلة ṭabla
(a small hand drum, usually with two heads.)
via Hindi (!)
- tambourine, tambour
- طُنْبُور ṭunbūr (lute)
via French (drum), from Medieval Greek pandoúra
publication / reference
- almagest
- اَلْمَجِسْطِيّ al-majisṭiyy
from Persian, from Greek μεγίστη
“greatest”
- almanac
- الْمَنَاخ al-manāḵ
Andalusian Arabic “calendar”, from Greek
ἀλμενιχιακά,
perhaps from Coptic
- magazine
- مَخْزَن maḵzan
“storeroom, storehouse” via French, Italian
(Means “journal” only in English; presumably a confusion with
the store where the magazine was bought.)
more
- hashish
- حَشِيش ḥašīš
“hay, dried herb”
- dhow
- دَاو dāw
- loofah
- لُوفَة lūfa
(Egyptian Arabic.)
- wadi
- وَادٍ wādin
“valley, riverbed, ravine”
- mummy
- مُومِيَاء mūmiyāʾ
via French, Latin, from Persian mumyâ,
from mum “wax”.
- hazard
- اَلزَّهْر az-zahr “the dice” (probable origin.)
via Old French for “a game of dice”
- monsoon
- مَوْسِم mawsim “season”
via Dutch, Portuguese
- racket (as in tennis)
- رَاحَةْ اَلْيَد rāḥat al-yad “palm of the hand”
via Middle French
- barrio
- بَرِّيّ barriyy “wild; open country”
via Spanish
- carafe
- غَرَفَ ḡarafa “to ladle”
via French, Italian
- kismet
- قِسْمَة qisma
“destiny, lot, division”