Friday, 30 September 2011

Arabic Trade's Influence on International Languages

Due to the flowering of the Arab navigation and shipbuilding industry, many of Egypt's Arabic trade words appeared in the West in the same form. The word "admiral," for example, is derived from the Arabic words "amir al-bahr" meaning commander of the sea, "boussle" is from the Arabic word "busla" meaning compass, "mousson" is from the Arabic words "riyah musimiyya," meaning seasonal winds, while "coble" comes from the Arabic word "habl," meaning rope.

In the field of trade, the word "tariff" is derived from the Arabic term "al-ta'rif al-jumruki," while the French word "cheque" is from the Arabic word "sakk." The Arabic word "makhzan," which means storage space and features frequently in the documents for Ottoman wakalas, or trade markets, became the word "magasin," which is present in a number of European languages. The word "wissel" is derived from the Arabic word "wasl," meaning receipt. Some of the names for the goods traded are also of Arabic origin. Muslin, called "mousseline" in French, is originally an Arabic cloth named for the city of Mosul and "cotton" comes from the Arabic word "qutn." Many Arabic words made their way into the Spanish language. The Spanish word "Albaricoque," meaning apricot, is from the Arabic word "al-barquq." This was also the name of one of the Mamluk Sultans, Sayf al-Din Barquq. The Spanish word for tax, "alcabala," is the Arabic word "al-qibala." The word for silk market, "alkasiria," is the Arabic word "al-qaysariyya," meaning covered market. The Spanish word "alkafor" is the Arabic word "kafur," meaning eucalyptus. The Arabic word "qasaba" is a term often found in the books of Egyptian historians of the Middle Ages and is the source of the Spanish word "alcazaba." Other words in the Spanish language of Arabic origin include the word "alhena" from "al-hinna," meaning henna in Arabic, "alhelba" from "al-hilba," meaning fenugreek, "almacige" from "al-mistika," meaning mastic, "almazara" from "al-ma'sara," meaning press, "almirez," meaning mortar and pestle, and "almizcle," meaning the vessel in which musk, from "al-misk," is held.

The word "almwd" is derived from the Arabic measuring unit "al-madd." The word "altromus" is the Arabic word "al-tirmis," meaning lupine. "Lubia" from "lubya" means bean, "alquitran" from "al-qitran" means tar, "alfange" from "al-khinjar" means dagger, "algarroba" from "al-kharrub" means carob. In the field of medical goods, the Spanish word for mouth wash, "algazul," is derived from the Arabic word "al-ghasul," while in the culinary field, the Spanish word "alfajar," meaning a kind of cake, is derived from the Arabic word "al-fakhur

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