Traces of Arabic in English
By Molly Briguglio
As one of the oldest spoken languages, Arabic is a language with a rich history. Its influence has spanned across many languages around the world, including English. The language was once contained to the modern day Middle East, yet spread quickly throughout the 7th century as Islamic Empires moved their armies into Northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. Once armies occupied these lands, a new civilization began to develop which melded the Arab culture with that of the locals. Beginning in the 8th century, Arabic became an essential language to know in the academic world. European students traveled to Arabic-speaking countries and returned to their homelands with enhanced vocabularies of Arabic words. Today we can see the lasting effects of this convergence of languages. There are an estimated 10,000 words in the English language believed to have stemmed from Arabic.
Did you know? Arabic has at least 11 words for the word love, and hundreds of names for the word camel!
The word safari comes from the Arabic word 'safara' (سفر) meaning “to travel.” In colonial times, a safari referred to taking a hunting trip to East Africa. This meaning eventually transitioned into the definition we know today; an expedition taken to observe animals in the wild.
The word coffee comes from the word ‘qahwa’ whose meaning originally translated to "power" and "energy." Once reveled for its ability to give energy for prayer and contemplation, coffee today has generally become less about prayer and contemplation, and more about getting through the work day.
The word ‘assassin’ comes from the Arabic word 'hashishin' (حشّاشين) or “hashish eaters”. There are both literal and metaphorical contexts to this word. The literal being “drug user,” while the metaphorical meant as a “rowdy group of people.”. All in all, the term 'hashishin' morphed from its original form to what we know today as the English word ‘assassin’, meaning one who commits murder.
Today, Arabic remains the official or co-official languages of ~ 25 countries.
To learn more about where Arabic is spoken around the world, check out Al Fusaic writer Nezha Almahi-LeBrasseur's video titled "Where is Arabic Spoken?"