List of English words of Arabic origin

Table of contents: 0-9 | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | See also | External links

A

• Admiral أمير البحر amiir al-baHr "commander of the sea"
• Adobe الطوب aT-Tuub "the brick" (itself originally from Coptic tôbe)
• Albacore al-bakoura
• Albatross
• Alchemy الكيمياء al-keemiyaa (from disputed origins; possibly Greek)
• Alcohol, via Spanish alcohol الكحول al-kuHuul (original meaning "eyeshadow", from a root meaning "dark"; cf. kohl)
• Alcove, al-qubba, "the arch"
• Alfalfa al-fasfasa "fodder"
• Algebra via Spanish álgebra; الجبر al-jabr (literally "repairing")
• Algorithm from the name of الخوارزمي al-Khwarizmi
• Alkali al-qaliy "calx"
• Almanac al-manaakh, "the climate"
• Amber anbar, "ambergris"
• Apricot al-birqouq
• Arsenalدار الصناعة daar sinaa`a, "house of manufacturing"
• Artichoke via Italian from Arabic الخرشوف al-khurshouf (which, ironically, was reborrowed into Lebanese Arabic as أرضي شوكي)
• Assassin - حشّاشين al-hashaasheen "users of hashish" (from the drugs used by the original Assassins of Alamut)
• Average
• Azimuth as-sumut "the paths"
• Azure via persian , al-lazward "lapis lazuli"

• Balsam balsam
• Bedouin - بدويين badawiyyiin "nomads"
• Borax via persian , buraaq

• Caliber qaalib "mold, model"
• Camel - jamal , from Latin camellus, from one of the Semitic languages (which one is uncertain, but the term is found in Latin before Arabic)
• Camphor كافور kaafuur (via Medieval Latin), probably from Malay kapur.
• Candy from sugar qandi "candied", from qand "cane sugar"
• Carafe ghiraaf "handfuls of water"
• Caramel
• Caraway karaawiyaa
• Check - shah "king"
• CheckMate shah mat "the king is dead"
• Chemistry (see "Alchemy")
• Cipher صفر Sifr "zero"
• Coffee قهوة qahwah (via Turkish kahve)
• Cork qoorq, ultimately from Latin quercus "oak"
• Cotton قطن quTn
• Crimson qirmizi , from qirmiz "red dye" (see "Kermes")
• Cumin from Greek kuminon, from an unidentified Semitic language; c.f. Arabic kamuun

E

• Elixir الإكسير al-'iksiir "philosopher's stone" (via Greek)

G

• Garble gharbala "sift", ultimately from Latin cribellum "sieve"
• Gauze qazz "raw silk"
• Gazelle غزال ghazaal
• Genie جنّ jinn
• Gerbil yarbu
• Ghoul غول ghuul
• Giraffe زرافة zaraafah
• Guitar qithaar , via Spanish, ultimately from Greek

• Haremحريم h'aram "prohibited, set apart"
• Hashish حشيش Hashiish "grass"
• Hazard الزهر az-zahr “the die”
• Henna حنة hinaa

J

• Jar جرة jarrah "large earthen vase"
• Jasmine ياسمين yaasamiin (ultimately from Persian)
• Jinn جنّ jinn "spirits"
• Julep جلاب julaab "rose water" , ultimately from Persian gulaab

• Kermes قرمز qirmiz (via Spanish; ultimately from Sanskit krmi-ja "worm-produced")
• Kismet via Persian, qisma "portion, destiny, fate"

• Lacquer
• Lake, as in the dye
• Lemon via Persian, laymoun
• Lilac via Persian, laylak
• Lime limah "citrus fruit"
• Lute العود al-`uud "the lute" , The fore-runner of the guitar.

• Macrame miqrama "embroidered veil"
• Magazine makhaazin "storehouses" , possibly from Crusades
• Marzipan mawthaban "coin featuring a seated figure"
• Mascara maskhara "buffoon"
• Massage
• Mattress مطرح maTraH "place where something is thrown, mat, cushion"
• Mecca مكّة Makkah
• Minaret manarah , nar "fire"
• Mochaمخا al-mukhaa "Mocha" [Yemen]
• Mohair mukhayyar "having the choice"
• Monsoon mawsim "season"
• Mosque مسجد masjid (via Italian)
• Mummy mumiyaa "embalmed body"
• Muslin muslim "submitter"
• Myrrh from Greek, ultimately from one of the Semitic languages, but which one is unclear; cf. Arabic مر murr "bitter"

• Nadir - nazeer "parallel"

• Orange
• Ottoman uthman

Q

R

• Racket raaha "palm of the hand"
• Ream rizma "bale, bundle"

• Safari سفر safara "travel"
• Saffron za`faraan
• Sahara çah'ra "desert"
• Sash shaash "muslin"
• Sequin sikkah "die, coin"
• Satin probably zaytuni "of Zaytun"
• Sesame simsim
• Sherbet شربات sharbaat "drinks"
• Shrub, as in the drink
• Soda
• Sofa suffa "stone ledge"
• Spinach isfanakh
• Sugar سكّر sukkar (possibly from an Indian language, cf. Sanskrit sharkara)
• Sultan سلطان sulTaan "ruler"
• Syrup sharaab "beverage, drink"

• Talc talq
• Talisman ultimately from Greek telesma
• Tamarind tamr-hindi "date of India"
• Tambourine via Persian, tanbur a small "tambour"
• Tariff ta`riifa "notification, price list"
• Typhoon طوفان Tuufaan "flood", itself from Greek Typhon; also affected by Cantonese taai-fung

V

• Vizier وزير waziir "minister" (via Turkish vezir)

X

Y

Z

• Zenith samt ar-ra’s "zenith, vertex"
• Zero sifr
• Zircon siriqun, ultimately from Persian azargun, "fire color"

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