Six English Words Which Originated From Arabic

posted on: Oct 26, 2014

The English world seems to have an apparent hostility with the Arabic world for decades now. However, history reveals that the English language was often influenced by Arabic. There are several major words in English that originate from Arabic. Here are six of those.

Alcohol

It may seem ironic that Arabic, majorly spoken by Muslims around the world, is the origin of the word “Alcohol.” Though consuming alcohol is strongly discouraged in Islam, the word “alcohol” in English originates from “Kohl” which refers to the dark eye-shadow used by women as their beauty accessory. The similarity between the process of creating alcohol and kohl was the reason why there is a connection between the two words.

Ream

The word, which is used as the unit of paper bundles, originated from Arabic. In English, ream means a bundle of 480, 500, or 516 paper sheets. In Arabic, it has a similar meaning. It means bungle or package in Arabic as well.

Genie

Thanks to Arabic fairy tales like the Arabian Nights, this word became a part of the English vocabulary. In English, Genie means a guardian angel that helps a human being achieve several things with the help of its supernatural powers. The word originates from “One Thousand and One Arabian Nights.” In Islam, the Jinn is created from smokeless fire. It apparently has free will to do good or evil.

Apricot

This word became a part of the English vocabulary in the 16th century. Though originally it had Spanish or Portuguese influence, it was later modified with a French influence. However, the Spanish word responsible albarcoque originated from al-borcoque, an Arabic word which roughly meant “early ripe.”

Syrup

The English word originated from the French by the end of the 14th century. The Medieval Latin “siropus” or the Old French “sirop” was ultimately derived from the Arabic word “sharaab” which means wine.

Sounak Mukhopadhyay
International Business Times