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 .
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 the Greek khemeia "alchemy" via Arabic or from a purely arabic origin al-kammiyah : the quantity).
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 from the name of the book of Al-Khwarezmi Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala : the Calculus of substraction and equality which has exposed the first algorithm for solving a first order Equation .
algol al-ghul "the ghoul"
algorithm from Al-Khwarezmi who wrote Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala the Calculus of substraction and equality which has exposed the first Algorithm for solving a first order equation , see also algebra .
alkali al-qaliy "calx "
Allah الله Allah "God "
almagest al-majisti
almanac al-manaakh , "the climate "
altair "the bird"
amalgam ultimately from Greek malagma
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 and Greek.
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
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 Pit ah , 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
decipher the word cipher means zero in Arabic, which was used as a prominent symbol in early secret codes.
E
elixir الإكسير al-'iksiir "philosopher's stone " (via Greek )
F
fatwa فتوى fatwa , religious opinion
fellah fallah , فلاح "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
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 from French, ultimately from Arabic massa "to stroke"
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 " (via Portuguese)
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"
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".
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"
sherbet شربات sharbaat "drinks", same root as "syrup"
shrub as in the drink
sirocco sharqiyah , "eastern"
soda From sudaa , meaning headache.
sofa suffa whole
sorbet same origin as sherbet (via French)
sultan سلطان sulTaan "ruler"
sumac سماق Simmak or Persian Sumak
suq ﻖﻭﺳ "Middle Eastern marketplace"
syrup شراب sharaab "beverage, drink" (via French and Spanish/Portuguese)
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 empty, via Italian zefiro .
See also
