LINGUISTIC JOURNEY

Check Out These 10 Words You Probably Didn't Know Came From Arabic!

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Arabic may seem a world apart from English, but you may be surprised to learn that many of the words you use every day have Arabic roots! While English is spoken by over 1.4 billion people worldwide, our language has been in contact with many others throughout history. This interesting past has helped enrich its vocabulary in ways you wouldn't imagine.

Today, we’re sharing 10 English words you probably didn't know come from Arabic!

Image: MARIOLA GROBELSKA

Despite being among the most impressive and beautiful animals in the world, giraffes are not native to the Americas. Likewise, the word for this unique animal doesn't originate from English but from Arabic. The Arabic zarāfah can be translated as "fast-walker," a meaning probably related to the animal's extensive limbs.

Zarāfah was first adapted into Italian as giraffaand then into French as girafe. Finally, English adopted it in the 16th century, turning it into the word we use today.

But that's not all! Before the word "giraffe" was established, there was a very different expression. Archaic English used the term "camelopard," based on the belief that the giraffe was a hybrid of a camel and a leopard! Weird, right?

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While algebra can be a challenge for many of us, understanding the origin of this word may be a bit easier.

TheArabic wordal-jabrmeans "completion" or "reunion of broken parts." This word was first used in a text from 820 CEentitled Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala ("The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing"). This text, one of the fundamental pillars of algebra, was translated into Latin around the 12th century, and the word al-jabr -with its very appropriate meaning, we have to say- passed into Latin as algebra.

Spanish, Italian, and French took the word from Latin without major modifications, and so did English when it borrowed the term.

Image: Nathan Dumlao

There's nothing like a delicious cup of coffee in the morning, right? Or in the afternoon, or even in the evening! Yes, like many Americans, we love coffee.

We have Ethiopia to thank for this beverage that enriches our days and wakes up our brains, and the Arabs for giving us the word to name it. Although coffee was discovered in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia, it was the Arabs who commercialized and distributed this delicacy to the rest of the world.

The word the Arabs had for coffee was qahwa, which originally meant "wine" or "elixir." This term evolved to kahve in Turkish and qahveh in Persian. When coffee arrived in Europe in the 16th century, the Italians called it caffè, and the Dutch koffie. Finally, it was adapted to café in Spanishand "coffee" in English.

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You know what to do if life gives you lemons, but what if it gives you laymūn? Well, it'd be pretty much the same!

The lemon tree is believed to have been first cultivated in Asia. Once it reached the Middle East, the Arabs did an excellent job with its propagation in the Middle Ages.

Just like the yellow citrus fruit, the word to call italso had a big journey across continents. The Arabic laymūn, used specifically to refer to lemon, was first adapted to Old French limun and Italian limone.

Probably during the Norman conquest of England, limun was adapted to Middle Englishas lymon and then to the familiar "lemon." When Europeans arrived in America in the 15th century, they brought not only the term but also the fruit and eventually established lemon groves in different parts of the continent. Lucky us!

Image: Faran Raufi

Sugar, so common today, was once a luxury that only a few could enjoy.

As with many other products, the Arabs brought sugar from the Middle East and Asia to Europe, with their own word for it: sukkar. That term was, in turn, derived from the Sanskrit śarkarā and the Persian shakar, which can be translated as "grit" or "gravel."

Medieval Latin adapted the Arabic term to succarum, which then mutated into the Old French sucre and eventually into the English word "sugar."

At first, "sugar" referred to various sweet substances from different types of plants, and over time, it came to designate the product derived from sugarcane, i.e., the sugar we all know!

Image: Timothy Dykes

What would you say if we told you that, in ancient times, the word "alcohol" designated makeup? Well, the truth is that the Arabic term al-kuhlwas used to refer to a type of antimony powder that some groups used as an eyeliner!

Over time, al-kuhl began to expand its meaning and was used to designate any product obtained through distillation, which included spirits.

Later, when the word came in contact with Latin, it was adapted to alcohol. Through this change, the word began to refer to ethanol, the alcohol present in beverages. By the 16th century, the word was already established in English, Spanish, and other languages.

Image: Sarah Dorweiler

Magazines are still an important part of our lives, whether in digital or analog format. Surprisingly, the Arabic word that gives origin to "magazine" didn't refer to what you're probably thinking.

Makhzan referred to a storehouse or a warehouse. In the 14th century, Old French adopted it as magasin, and this word passed into English as "magazine" in the 17th century. However, its meaning was still linked to the original sense given by the Arabs.

The modern meaning of the word began to take shape in the 18th century when publications similar to today's magazines became widespread. With topics such as science, literature, philosophy, and many others, magazines came to be seen as a "storehouse of information" or a place where knowledge is kept. Poetic, don't you think?

Image: Paul Weaver

Nothing like spending a night on the sofa watching a movie and eating some tasty treats, right? Well, it seems that, back in ancient times, the Arabs did that too - without the movie part, of course.

Ṣuffaor soffah is the word the Arabs used to describe a raised platform covered with blankets, carpets, and cushions, designed for people to sit or lie on comfortably.

This word evolved into Italian as sofà and Old French as sofa. Finally, those terms were adapted to our beloved "sofa" that graces the living rooms of many Americans and people around the world.

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Hard candies, gummy bears, chocolate bars; with so many delicious options, it's impossible to pick just one! While these treats are everywhere today, there was a time when your favorite candies didn't exist, and the word we use to designate them was different from the one we know today.

Our "candy" comes from the Arabic qandi, meaning "made with sugar."When qandi encountered Latin, it evolved into candi, which then became candie in Old French.

Finally, Middle English adopted the word as "candy," originally referring to crystallized sugar. Over time, its definition expanded to reach its current meaning.

Image: Kathyryn Tripp

In the Middle Ages, people in the Middle East used mats or cushions that were thrown on the floor to sleep or rest on. The term for them was matrah, which can be translated as "something thrown down."

In the 12th century, during the Crusades, Europeans not only adopted the Arabic practice but also the word, which was incorporated into Latin as matratium. Later, the word evolved into Old French as materas.

In the 14th century, the word entered Middle English as matresse, which evolved into today's "mattress."

A group of what?

Shrewdness, siege, business, and other words for animal groups

A shrewdness? A murder? An unkindness? None of these words even suggests that we are talking about apes, crows, or ravens, but we are. Why are animal collective nouns so strange? During the Middle Ages, English nobles developed a hunting language. These ‘terms of venery’ were not intended to be practical, but to show erudition and mastery of an elite code. Some of these names were adopted into everyday language and continue to be used nowadays.

Boars are wild pigs, so why isn’t a group of boars just a herd? While ‘herd’ can be used, linguists believe that the collective noun ‘sounder’ —from the Old English sundor, meaning ‘to separate’— was used as a reference to the fact that boar herds were led by sows (the female adult), separate from the males that were solitary or formed male-only groups.

All across Europe, ravens bore a reputation for being tricksters and bad omens. In several folk traditions, they were seen as messengers for the Gods and bearers of prophecies, an ominous task reinforced by their black plumage. The term ‘unkindness’ to refer to a group of ravens reflected the perceived malice or cruelty of these animals.

Since classical times, owls have been a symbol of wisdom and knowledge, and in the Greek tradition, these birds were the companions of Athena, goddess of wisdom. This led to the idea of a group of owls meeting for serious gatherings, such as a parliament.

This is indeed an odd term to use as a collective noun, but it stems from a copying mistake. The 1486 Book of St. Albans, which describes several of these animal collective nouns, states that a group of ferrets is called a besynes —meaning ‘activity’— due to the scurrying habits of these animals. Over time, the word was miscopied as ‘business’, and the term stuck.

There are several theories about the reason for this particular term as a collective noun for herons. Some say that it is a reference to their patient hunting stance (siege comes from the Latin sedere, ‘to sit’). Other opinions refer to the use of ‘siege’ as a synonym for ‘plague’ or ‘vexation’, as these animals are noisy and generally unpleasant to have around.

This one is quite straightforward. Male peacocks are known to parade their colorful feathers in front of the females, and have always been used as a symbol of vanity and flamboyance. Therefore, calling a group of peacocks an ‘ostentation’ seems quite fitting.

Several collective nouns can be used to describe a group of pheasants, but the term ‘bouquet’ stands out because it doesn’t just refer to the group of animals, but to flying pheasants. When hunters startled these birds, they took flight all at once in different directions, their colorful feathers looking like a ‘bouquet’ against the sky.

Like ravens, apes were perceived to be wicked, and this term reflected that idea. Originally, ‘shrewd’ was used to mean ‘evil, ‘mischievous, or ‘malicious’, so a group of apes was named a ‘shrewdness’. Later on, ‘shrewd’ came to mean ‘clever’ or ‘astute’, both qualities that apes do possess.

Were mice thought to be mischievous? Not really. The word ‘mischief’ was originally used to mean ‘harm, trouble, or annoyance’, and mice were troublesome pests that ate stored food and caused property damage.

We are so used to the use of ‘pride’ as a collective noun that it might not sound as strange as other words in this list, but this term originated in the same way. Lions were a symbol of royalty, courage, and authority, so the word used to describe them had to reflect these qualities. While ‘pride’ can be used negatively, it also carries the positive connotation of ‘dignity’ and ‘high standing’.