Influence of Arabic on world languages

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manaal

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I'm very interested to know how many Arabic words have found their way into English vocabulary and other languages as well. I got intrested in this when I discovered that a condiment called "tamarind", comes from "tamer hind", which means "indian date"! I imagined Arab merchants sailing east along the silk route in search of exotic spices. They return home with a black sweet and sour fruit. When the people back home asked them what it was, the merchants would have replied, "these are Indian dates". They do not resemble actual dates in any way, but in colour. But it would have been the best way to explain to the locals, given their limited experiences!

Also, English "cup" = Arabic "coob"

Similarly I found these words in other languages:

In Tamil, "Asal" means original. In Arabic it is "asli" (right?)

In Sinhalese (Sri Lankan language - Arab merchants traveled here too) "kadadhasi" means paper. In Arabic "Qurthasi" means stationary. Also "one pound" (in weight) means "raththala", I think it is the same in Arabic.

So, let's make a whole glossary shall we?
 
seems chemistry is derived from alkemia
alkali is also arabic derived though i dont know its root.
there are countless arabic words in languages related to it like urdu and persian.
some are used as they are, whereas some with variations that adapt them to the local dialect.
 
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manaal said:


In Tamil, "Asal" means original. In Arabic it is "asli" (right?)
Click to expand...
:sl:

In Indonesian language :
Asli = Original.
Example : Ini asli, bukan tiruan (This is original, not imitation).

Asal = Origin.
Example : Asal saya dari Indonesia (My origin is Indonesian).

Asal = Source
Example : Kertas ber-asal dari kayu (paper is sourced from wood)


Day names in Indonesian language :
Sunday = Ahad (later becomes Minggu). From Ahad.
Monday = Senin. From Isnaini.
Tuesday = Selasa. From Salasa.
Wednesday = Rabu. From Arba'a.
Thursday = Kamis. From Khomsa.
Friday = Jum'at. From Jumu'ah.
Saturday = Sabtu. From Sab'atun


There are many words that sourced from Arabic in Indonesian and Malaysian language.
 
^its al-jabr actually...from khwarizmi's book, al-jabr wal muqabalah, the first ever text on algebra.
 
We have quite a few Arabic words in Hinko. I remember in Arabic A2 class, I'd come across certain words that we use in Hinko and think they sounded familiar.

Hardly surprising, really. It seems as though Hinko is actually a mixture of many languages.
 
I was reading (in wikipedia) about the difference between Turkish during the time of the Ottomans and Turkish nowadays. The Turkish language language then was heavily influenced by Arabic. The linguistics of spoken language in the Islamic Empire is fascinating, subhanAllah.
 
The name for malyalam language comes from arabic.

Some merchants were travelling from kerala. There they met some malayalam people, and they said

"maa lam y3 lam"

and hence the name malayalam.
 
:sl:

abdussattar said:
The name for malyalam language comes from arabic.

Some merchants were travelling from kerala. There they met some malayalam people, and they said

"maa lam y3 lam"

and hence the name malayalam.
Click to expand...

Possibly, but I have seen an alternative explanation.

The word /malayALam/ originally meant mountainous country) (/mala/- mountain + /aLam/-place).
Click to expand...

:wa:
 
I think the english word EARTH is derived from the arabic word "ARDH" (ا رض), but I need to check if this is correct in language references.

The same with the latin word "Terra" meaning earth/soil/dust, is derived from the arabic word "Thera" (ثرى ) which means soil/earth.
 
marwen said:
I think the english word EARTH is derived from the arabic word "ARDH" (ا رض), but I need to check if this is correct in language references.

The same with the latin word "Terra" meaning earth/soil/dust, is derived from the arabic word "Thera" (ثرى ) which means soil/earth.
Click to expand...

"Cheque" in English came from the word "صك"in arabic.
"Azimuth" --> "السمت"
"Alcohol" --> "كحل"
"Assasins" --> "حشاشين":D
 
Actually, both English 'earth' and Latin 'terra' are native words in origin.
Earth from Anglo-Saxon 'eorthe' from Proto-Germanic 'ertho' from Proto Indo-European 'er-'
Terra from Proto Indo-European 'ters-'

But, this can be an evidence of the relations between Indo-European and Semitic. An interresting case: the number 7.
 

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