List of English words of Arabic origin
Words of Arabic origin have entered the
English language and many European languages. One of the primary routes that they have entered other languages is via the
Spanish language, heavily influenced by the Arabic of
al-Andalus.
aba : عباءة abaáh "A loose-fitting sleeveless garment of this fabric worn by Bedouins."admiral : أمير البحار amiir al-bihar "commander of the seas";
adobe : الطوب
aT-Tuub "the brick" (itself originally from
Coptic tôbe)
albacore : الباكورة al-bakoura;
albatross(or algatross) : from
Portuguese alcatraz.
alchemy : الكيمياء al-keemiyaa (from disputed origins; possibly from the Greek, from Ancient Egyptian "Khm" or "Khmt" meaning the "Black Land" as the Ancient Egyptians called their land, khemeia "alchemy" via Arabic or from Arabic origin al-kimiyya: the chemistry.);
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"";
algebra : via Spanish
álgebra; الجبر
al-jabr from the name of the book of the
Persian scientist
al-Khwarizmi Hisab al-jabr w'al-muqabala : the
Calculus of subtraction and equality which has presented the first
algorithm for solving a first order
Equation.
;
algorithm : from the Persian scientist
al-Khwarizmi who wrote
Hisab al-jabr w'al-muqabala the
Calculus of subtraction and equality which has exposed the first
Algorithm for solving a first order
equation,
see also algebra.
alkali : al-qaliy "the calcined ashes";
almanac :
al-manaakh, "the
climate", possibly from Greek
almenichiakon, "calendar"
altair : "aţ-ţaa'ir" الطير the flying one;
aniline : al-nili from
Persian 'nili' meaning indigo, ultimately from Sanskrit
nilah "dark blue"
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 Ardhi-Shoki أرضي شوكي);
assassin : from حشاشين the
Hashshashin. The word means "those who use hashish" (cannabis resin). According to
Crusader histories, that group used to ingest hashish before carrying out military or assassination operations, in order to be fearless.
assegai : az-zaghayah originally from Berber;
average : disputed origin; possibly from
'awira "to be damaged," or from Italian
avere or French
aveir, "property", from
Latin habere, "to have"
azimuth : as-sumutالسموت "the paths";
azure : Middle English 'asur' > Old French 'azur' > Old Spanish 'azul' > Arabic lazeward "لازورد" from
Persian 'lajevard'
bedouin : - بدويين badawiyyiin "nomads"benzoin : لبان جاوي "Frankincense of Java," an organic chemical solvent from a resin in an Asian tree.;
betelgeuse : بيت الجوزاء "House of Gemini"
burnous/burnoose : برنوس Arabic burnuus (itself from Latin byrrhus)coffee :قهوةcaliph : khalifah meaning successor (of Muhammad)
; camel : - جمل jemel , from Latin camellus, from one of the Semitic languages (which one is uncertain, but the term is found in Latin before Arabic) -->;
camise : قميص
ghamees, A loose shirt, shift, or tunic ---possibly borrowed from Spanish (camisa) or French (chemise)
carafe : ghiraaf "handfuls of water";
caramel :, possibly from
Arabic, more likely from
Latin cannamellis "burnt honey"
caraway : karaawiyaa;
carmine :, ultimately from
Sanskrit krimigacarob : kharroub;
checkmate :
sheikh maat "
the king has died"
chemistry : (see "Alchemy").;
cipher : صفر
Sifr "
zero"
copt : Qibt, possibly from Greek Aigyptios, but ultimately from Ancient Egyptian Hiku Pitah, the House of the God Pitah.;
cotton : قطن
quTncrimson : Crimson entered English during the 15th century from an Old Spanish version of the Arabic word for kermes from Persian 'ghermez' meaning reddhow : الدّهو ؛ الدّاو : مركب شراعي , Al-Daw.dragoman : ترجمان tarjuman from Persian 'tar-zaban' (ترزبان): one who knows several languages.;
decipher : the word cipher means zero in Arabic, which was used as a prominent symbol in early secret codes.
elixir : الإكسير al-'iksiir "philosopher's stone" (via Latin)emir : أمير, ameer meaning commander or rulerfellah : فلاّح, fallah = farmerfustic : الفسطيط أو الفستيق fosteet.garble : gharbala "sift", ultimately from Latin cribellum "sieve"gauze : qazz from Persian kazh (كژ) meaning "raw silk".;
gazelle : غزال
ghazelle genie : جنّ jinn;
gerbil :
yarbugiraffe : زرافة zaraafah giraffe;
ghoul: غول
harem :حريم harim "sanctity" "wife"hashish : حشيش Hashiish "grass";
hegira :
hijrah "departure" -
hajara "expatriation" "immigration"
henna : حنة hinnaimam :"front man" "leader of prayer" "leader"jar : جرة jarrah "large earthen vase"jerboa : Jarbou';
jihad : جهاد
jihad "struggle"
kaaba : الكعبة "The House of Allah (God)" in Islam.kermes : قرمز qirmiz (via Spanish; ultimately from Sanskrit krmi-ja "worm-produced");
kohl :
kohl"congenital blackness of the eyelids"
lacquer (or Lake) loofah : from the Egyptian Arabic word lufah.;
lute : العود
al-`uud "the lute," The fore-runner of the
guitar.
lemon : الليمون, From Middle English lymon > Middle French limon > Spanish limón > Arabic laymoon ليمون from Persian leemo (ليمو)macrame : miqrama "embroidered veil"magazine : makhaazin "storehouses," possibly from Crusades;
mascara : uncertain origin; possibly from
maskhara "buffoon" or from an unknown language. In modern
Persian maskhara means
to ridiculemassage : from French, ultimately from either Arabic massa "to stroke" or Latin massa "dough";
mastaba :
mastabah mattress : مطرح maTraH "place where something is thrown, mat, cushion";
mecca : مكّة
Makkahminaret : manarah, something enlightening its surrounding;
mocha : مخا
al-mukhaa "Mocha" [
Yemen ]
mohair : mukhayyar "having the choice";
monsoon :
mawsim "
season" (via Portuguese)
muslin : based on a city in Iraq (Mosul) where cotton fabric was made ;
myrrh : from Greek, ultimately from one of the
Semitic languages, but which one is unclear; cf. Arabic مر
murr "bitter"
nadir : نظير nazeer "parallel"Ottoman : uthmanpopinjay : ببفاء , From Middle English papejay or papengay > Middle French papegai and papejai > from Arabic 'babagaa' ببّفاءqantar : قنطار 'qentar'racket : raaha "palm of the hand"ream : rizma "bale, bundle";
rigel : The star's name comes from its location at the "left foot" of Orion. It is a contraction of "Rijl Jauza al-Yusra," this being Arabic for "left foot of the Central One".
safari :سفاري sahara : صحراء sa-huh-rá "desert";
sash : شاش
shaash "muslin"
satin : probably zaytuni "of Zaytun";
sequin :
sikkah "die,
coin"
shrub : as in the drink;
sirocco :
sharqiyah, "eastern"
sofa : suffa whole;
sorbet : same origin as
sherbet (via Persian & French) "for rose water drink" "shurab" "sherbat"
souk : سوق "Middle Eastern marketplace";
sultan : سلطان
sultaan "ruler"
syrup : شراب sharab "drink"tabby : based on a city in Iraq where striped fabric was madetahini : tahinia Arabic word derived from another Arabic word "tahn" which means to grind;
tamarind :
tamr-hindi "date of
India"
tarboush : طربوش ;
tare : when speaking of weight
vizier : wazeer وزيرwadi : "valley"xebec : الشبّاكة, From French chebec > Italian sciabecco > Arabic shabbak الشبّاكzenith : samt ar-ra's "zenith, vertex"*
List of Spanish words of Arabic origin*
List of French words of Arabic origin*
List of Islamic terms in Arabic*
99 Names of God
