Arabic words

When the classical civilizations in the West declined in the early Middle Ages it was left to the flourishing cultures of the Islamic world to preserve and expand on the knowledge of the classical world. At the same time the area ruled by Arabic overlords expanded rapidly, with much of Spain governed by Islamic rulers, while at the height of its power the Ottoman Empire controlled much of Eastern Europe as well as North Africa, many Mediterranean islands, and the Middle East. As a result, many of our basic scientific terms and Eastern trade goods have Arabic origins, often mediated through Spanish or Italian.

 Mathematics owes algebra [L16th] to Arabic, formed from al-jabr from al ‘the’ and jabr ‘restoration (of broken parts)’, i.e. finding the missing numbers, as well as algorithm [L17th] from al-Ḵwārizmī, the surname of a 9th-century mathematician, and average [ME], originally a customs duty, from ʿawâr ‘damage to goods’. Chemistry [E17th] and its earlier form alchemy [LME] from the Arabic al-kīmiyā', the branch of science trying to transmute base metal into gold gets, gets alcohol [M16th] from al-kuḥl originally referring to kohl [L18th], which comes from the same root, and alkali [LME] from al-qali ‘soda, potash’.

 On the domestic front we get alcove [M16th] from al-qubba from al ‘the’ and qubba ‘dome, rounded vault’, minaret [L17th] ultimately from Arabic manāra ‘lighthouse, minaret’, carafe [L18th] from gharafa ‘to draw water’, and mattress [ME] from maṭraḥ ‘place where something is thrown’, hence ‘carpet, cushion, bed’. The latter might be covered in cotton [LME] from quṭn, but perhaps not mohair [L16th] from muḵayyar ‘select, choice’ which could be dyed with crimson [LME] ultimately from Arabic qermazī, the name of the kermes [L16th] insects that were used for the dye and which also lie behind carmine [E18th]. Among foodstuffs we get coffee [L16th] from Arabic qahwah via Turkish kahveh and the sugar [ME] to go in it from sukkar. Add qandī ‘crystallized’ and you get sugar candy [M17th]. Sherbet [E17th] comes via Turkish and Persian sherbet from Arabic šarba, also the source of sorbet [L16th] and syrup [LME], and saffron [ME] from za'faran.

 Other words from Arabic include albatross [L17th], an alteration, borrowed via Romance languages, of Arabic al-ġattās from al ‘the’ + ġattās a kind of sea eagle; amber [LME] from ʿanbar ‘ambergris’; ghoul [L18th] from ġūl a type of desert demon believed to rob graves for food; giraffe [L16th] from zarāfa; and sequin, originally a Venetian gold coin whose name came from Arabic sikka, ‘a die for making coins’.

 Islam and Muslim are both from the same word, ’aslama, meaning ‘to submit, surrender’ or ‘to submit to Allah’, and both were first recorded in English in the early 17th century. Imam [E17th] is from 'imām, ‘leader’ derived from 'amma ‘lead the way’. Haram [E17th] is a complex word, from ḥarima, which literally means ‘forbidden’, but this can either be because of impurity or because a place is sacred, such as an area around a shrine. In Ottoman times this developed into ḥarīm the forbidden part of a house which became English harem [M17th]. Its opposite is often halal [M19th] from ḥalāl ‘according to religious law’.

 See also admiral, blighty, calibre, camel, carat, chemist, cork, elixir, false, haphazard, hash, hummus, jacket, jar, jump, lemon, magazine, marzipan, mascara, mocker, mogul, mosque, orange, parrot, ream, sack, sap, sash, satin, scarlet, sesame, tariff, tobacco, typhoon, water, zenith.