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The National
20-07-2025
- General
- The National
From candy to zero: 20 English words with Arabic origins
The Middle East's cultural influence on the world is vast and enduring – evident not only in food, fashion, mathematics and medicine, but also in the global lingua franca, the English language that millions around the world use everyday. If you ordered a coffee this morning, you were – perhaps unknowingly – speaking Arabic, or at least a version of it. Some of the most common English words, including lemon, sofa, giraffe and, US president Donald Trump's favourite buzzword, tariff, all trace their roots back to Arabic. Here are 20 such words – and the fascinating stories behind them. Admiral The naval term entered English via the Anglo-French 'amiral', meaning commander, which came from the Arabic 'amir al-bahr' – 'amir' meaning commander and 'bahr' meaning sea. Algebra This mathematical term stems from the Arabic 'al-jabr', which originally referred to the surgical setting of bones. It was adopted into mathematics by ninth-century Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi in his influential book Al-Kitab al-Mukhtasar fi Hisab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing). Candy This sweet-sounding word originates from the Arabic 'qandi', meaning sugar. It likely entered English via the Old French çucre candi – 'sugar candy'. Checkmate The final move in chess comes from the Persian 'shah mat', meaning the king is helpless. As the game spread through the Arab world into Europe, it evolved into chequemate, and later checkmate in English. The Arabic 'mat' also means died. Coffee Coffee culture began in 15th-century Yemen, and the word itself derives from qahwa. The chocolate-infused cafe mocha takes its name from the Yemeni port city of Mocha, once a hub for the global coffee trade. Elixir Meaning a magical or medicinal potion, elixir comes from the Arabic 'al-iksir', which itself was derived from the Greek 'xerion', meaning powder for drying wounds. Giraffe The long-necked animal's name evolved from the Arabic 'zarafa'. It entered European languages in the 13th century, likely after giraffes were transported from Cairo to Italy. Hazard Today associated with danger, hazard originates from 'al-zahr', the Arabic word for dice – an object once used in games of chance. It entered English via the Old French 'hasard'. Jar From the Arabic 'jarra', meaning earthenware vessel, the term appeared in medieval European texts referring to containers for oil or preserves. Jasmine This fragrant flower, prominent in traditional Arabic medicine, entered western texts in the 13th century from the Arabic 'yasmin', and became widely known across Europe by the 16th century. Jumper The cosy pullover's etymology leads back to the Arabic 'jubba', a loose outer garment. It passed through Latin (iuppa), then French (jupe), before arriving in English as jump or jumper in the 17th century. Lemon Though now strongly associated with the Mediterranean, lemons were introduced to southern Europe by Arabs in the Middle Ages. The Arabic 'limun' or 'al-lamun' referred to a citrus fruit that was larger and thicker-skinned than those known in classical antiquity. Magazine From the Arabic 'makhazin' (plural of makhzan), meaning storehouse, the word entered English via Italian and French. In early English usage, a magazine referred to a place where ammunition or supplies were kept, before evolving into its current meaning as a printed periodical. Today it is used to refer to both, written publications and an ammunition storage device for a firearm, more commonly known as mag. Mattress Derived from the Arabic 'matrah', meaning place where something is thrown down – such as a mat or cushion. It reflects the traditional practice of sleeping on floor cushions. Orange The English word comes from the Persian 'naranj' after the word was adopted in Arabic, introduced to Europe via Arabic-speaking traders around the 10th century. The Spanish word 'naranja' retains this older form. Safari From the Arabic ' safar ', meaning journey, the word entered English in the 19th century via Swahili, where it described long overland expeditions. Serendipity Coined in 1754 by English writer Horace Walpole, the word has its roots in Sanskrit, and was then inspired by the Persian folktale The Three Princes of Serendip – a reference to Sri Lanka's old Arabic-language name Serendip. The story's heroes were known for their knack for making unexpected discoveries. Sofa Sofa entered English through Turkish in the 16th century, describing a cushioned bench or seat. The Turkish word came from the Arabic 'soffa', meaning a raised platform or long bench. Tariff A word frequently in the headlines, tariff stems from the Arabic 'tarif', meaning notification or definition. It passed into European languages through Latin and Italian, often used in shipping and trade contexts. Zero A cornerstone of modern mathematics, zero comes from the Arabic 'sifr', meaning empty or nothing. The concept reached Europe through Latin translations of Arabic texts, although the term didn't appear in English until the 17th century.
The National
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Why heroes of the Arab Golden Age have been left out of Western history books
When Egyptian-French author Gilbert Sinoue walked through the gates of Manarat Al Saadiyat and witnessed the dynamic discussions on arts, policy and technology at the Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, he thought of the vibrant intellectual gatherings that defined the Golden Age of Islamic civilisation. From the hallowed halls of Bayt Al Hikmah under the Abbasid Caliphs to Morocco's University of Al Qarawiyyin during the reign of the Almoravids and Almohads, such gatherings from the 8th to the 13th century brought together scholars and experts from across disciplines to exchange knowledge and cultures. 'I do feel that what is happening here in Abu Dhabi is in the spirit of those exchanges,' Sinoue tells The National at the summit. 'And that's because there is a curiosity here to know and understand from others. 'While these exchanges can be done in various ways, from big investments to smaller events, that curiosity is the key – and it is what really laid the foundations of what became the Islamic Golden Age all those centuries ago.' Sinoue lays out some of these examples in The Golden Age of Arab Civilisation, published in April in Arabic and French. The accessible work explores key figures from the era and makes a case for the Arab world's significant contributions to culture and science. It is a project Sinoue felt compelled to undertake in response to the divisive commentary about the region emanating from certain European thinkers. 'There were some astonishing assertions made by certain western historians in books claiming that the West owes nothing to Arab civilisation and that we are completely wrong to believe Arabs had any influence on the shaping of European history,' he says. 'Arabic, as a Semitic language, was even described as being incapable of expressing the complex ideas of ancient Greek philosophy. That's why it became so easy for some to claim that Christian Europe was the true and only successor to Greek philosophy and science.' Sinoue ascribes these arguments, which he describes as both 'ridiculous and an oversimplification', to a combative understanding of culture and civilisations. 'Why is there this need to place one civilisation against another, and why must one culture be diminished for another to shine?' he says. 'These kinds of assertions are aimed at minimising Europe's intellectual debt to the Arabs – because when there is no debt, there is no need to give credit.' The book is divided into chapters exploring the important people and achievements that marked the era Sinoue says Europe once regarded as the Dark Ages. Among those featured are Ibn Khaldun, considered the father of sociology; Avicenna, a pioneering figure in medicine; and Al Khwarizmi, regarded as the founder of algebra and algorithms. Sinoue notes that many of these achievements built on concepts first developed in other parts of the world. The book notes how Al Khwarizmi played an important role in popularising the mathematical concept of zero, which initially came from India through 7th-century mathematicians such as Brahmagupta. The modern hypodermic syringe traces some of its roots to the 9th-century Arab physician Ammar ibn Ali Al-Mawsili. He is credited with inventing a practical syringe for use in surgical operations. 'These achievements go against the arguments that Arabs were merely caretakers who simply translated ancient texts into their own language without truly understanding, shaping or adding anything to them,' Sinoue says. 'In reality, cities like Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo were alive with scholars, scientists and translators who were deeply engaged with Greek and Latin texts – translating them into Arabic, studying them and expanding upon them with original ideas of their own.' This points to a deeper characteristic responsible for some of the Arab world's historic successes, he adds, which could only be achieved through a spirit of coexistence and intellectual tolerance. 'History clearly shows that the Arab Islamic world went through a golden age because it was a time full of knowledge, creativity and intellectual openness,' he says. 'The ability to think, to question, to seek knowledge is not owned by one culture or one religion.' With advances in artificial intelligence potentially leading to another golden age of science, Sinoue says they should not come at the expense of culture, as they complement each other. 'One is the brother of the other and they need to work together,' he says. 'While technology can make us more free, we should also provide the same liberty of writing and thinking, and not put up walls against knowledge. The history of our region shows that all great things have begun with knowledge and curiosity.'
