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Words from Arabic

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May 29, 2007, 13:16
wordcrafter
Words from Arabic
Arabic has given us many common, ordinary words, such as apricot, syrup and chemistry, that do not look particularly Arabic. This week we look at some less-familiar words, from Arabic, that retain a Middle-Eastern flavor.

Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina, in 622 A.D., is called the Hagira, from hajara "to depart". (The Muslim calendar begins in this year, equivalent to our year 1.) Hence:

hagira - an exodus or departure
Some dictionaries define hegira as a flight to escape danger. t is often used this way (see first quote), but "from danger" need not be an element (see second quote, perhaps familiar from a few days ago).
May 30, 2007, 07:55
wordcrafter
loofah – a scratchy bath-sponge, made from the fibrous insides of the fruit of the loofah plant (seems to be rather popular nowadays)
[from lufah, the name of the plant in Egyptian Arabic (botanical name Luffa ægyptiaca)]

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May 30, 2007, 13:13
goofy
With apricot, Arabic is only one stage in the development. The word comes into English from Spanish albaricoque, from Arabic albarqūq, from Greek berikokkon, from Latin praecoquum, from PIE *pekʷ-, *kʷekʷ-. It's cognate with cook, precocious, and of course pukka.

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May 31, 2007, 11:19
wordcrafter
Today's word comes from Arabic through Turkish. Its cognates in Arabic include manarat "lighthhouse", manar "candlestick", nar "fire", a rather nice progression.

minaret – a slender tower of a mosque, with a balcony from which a crier (the muezzin) calls Muslims to prayerBonus word:
masjid
– a mosque (also musjid)
May 31, 2007, 16:19
Seanahan
From the Decemberists song "Constantinople"

quote:
Oh, the minarets of Constantinople
Are plated gold, ivory and opal
Their cupolas all onion-domed and light

June 01, 2007, 08:30
wordcrafter
giaour - an infidel; a non-Muslim, esp. a Christian
[from Persian "fire-worshipper," originally applied Zoroastrians]

In our thought-provoking first quote, where Zorba recalls his youth, the term is used almost affectionately. But in general it is a term of contempt, as in the other quotes.Notice that in the last quote Burton equates giaours with 'dogs', in the figrative sense. Is it this that caused Lewis Carroll to think it meant 'dogs' literally?

Carroll did have that misunderstanding, for whatever reason, and it shows up in his famous poem Jabberwocky. In the Alice books, Humpty-Dumpty explains some of the poem's odd words. But when Carroll had privately published the first stanza some years earlier, he had different explanations:

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June 02, 2007, 07:29
wordcrafter
dura mater – the outermost membrane (of three) enveloping the brain and spinal cord

Latin loan-translation of Arabic umm al-dimagh as-safiqa, "thick mother of the brain." Says Klein, "In Arabic, the words 'father,' 'mother,' and 'son' are often used to denote relationships between things." Wonder if this is where Saddam Hussein got his "Mother of all Wars".

The dura mater is the toughest and the outermost of three such layers. The other two are the the arachnoid mater and the pia mater. The three collecively are called the meninges (singular meninx).
June 02, 2007, 19:52
Kalleh
quote:
Carroll did have that misunderstanding, for whatever reason, and it shows up in his famous poem Jabberwocky. In the Alice books, Humpty-Dumpty explains some of the poem's odd words. But when Carroll had privately published the first stanza some years earlier, he had different explanations:

Interesting! I wonder if Bob saw this.
June 02, 2007, 22:40
wordcrafter
Like yesterday's giaour, today's term is a usually-contemptuous word for "someone not of our kind".

feinghee – a European (term used in India)
[from Old French Franc + Arabic. ethnic suffix -i. Why did the r-sound move so that FRanc became FeRingee? Because the fr- sound is not possible in Arabic.]
June 03, 2007, 16:43
goofy
Hindi ferengi, from Persian from Arabic, is a current derogatory term for westerners. It's also apparently where they got the name for the Star Trek race.
June 03, 2007, 20:44
wordcrafter
kismet – fate; fortune; destiny
[from Arabic qisma, portion, lot, from qasama, to divide, allot]
June 04, 2007, 15:26
wordcrafter
A reader sent me the following. Based on it, I question whether feinghee is truly from European Franc (as my sources state) rather than from hingi rang.Fascinating. He said would be checking one further point, and I'm asking him to let us know.
June 04, 2007, 16:18
jerry thomas
You might ask your friend if "feinghee" could be a local mispronunciation of "foreigner," like farang in Thai.
June 04, 2007, 16:18
Pekin B
The Turks at this day count us no better than of dogs, so they commonly call us giaours, infidels, miscreants, mave that their main quarrel and cause of Christian persecution.
– Robert Burton, [i]The Anatomy of Melancholy


just figured i'd take the time and put in my two cents.. the word.. as we "Turks" call it these days.. 'gavur', is really no longer based on religious bases, its more of a word used to describe someone that is not Turkish, a foreigner.. but i can do see some religious backround to it, for we dont call arab's that.. nor do we call anyone that is muslim the word.. but we call anyone that is i guess none musliman.. but i really do believe that at this point the younger generations really, use the word really to describe a foreigner.. that they arent very fond of.. its really not a word devived through hatred, its just a way to point out a foreigner.. im sure back in the old days.. it did have alot more weight to it.. but in these modern times, i dont see it being used in a way that brings hatred.. but rather.. and indifference..
June 04, 2007, 19:21
goofy
The Hindi word is not Sanskrit, since it contains /f/ which is not a Sanskrit sound. I see no reason to doubt the OED.
June 04, 2007, 22:34
zmježd
The term Frank was used by and for the Crusaders during their many attempts to "reconquor" the Holy Land. The etymology of ferengi is the only one I've seen in dictionaries. Angrezi from English and gora (literally 'white' in Urdu) are other terms one sees, at least, in a South Continental context.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
June 05, 2007, 13:05
shufitz
Everyone, please give a big welcome to Pekin, who is a friend and neighbor of mine. His family travelled quite a bit during his growing years - the years in which a person most readily learns a language - and the young Pekin took full linguistic advantage.

Pekin, we have a rule here. Each new member is required to drink one beer for every greeting he receives. Wink
June 05, 2007, 14:16
BobHale
Hi Pekin. If you pop round to shu's house you can ask him for another beer now. I know for a fact that he always has a houseful of great beer.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
June 05, 2007, 20:35
goofy
Hi Pekin!
June 06, 2007, 07:37
arnie
Hi Pekin!

Have a beer on me as well (or rather on shu).


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.