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English Words of Arabic Origin

Based on a definition and starting letter guess these English words that came to us via Arabic.
Some words passed through intermediate languages to English
The definition is the English definition not necessarily the Arabic one
Quiz by Kestrana
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Last updated: December 31, 2019
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First submittedDecember 28, 2015
Times taken43,791
Average score70.0%
Rating4.50
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Definition
 
Word
Dip made of chickpeas, tahini, etc...
H
Hummus
Animal with a long neck
G
Giraffe
Trip to hunt or photograph wild animals
S
Safari
Deep red color
C
Crimson
Leader of an Arab tribe or village
S
Sheik
Leader of the Ottoman Empire
S
Sultan
Unit of weight used to measure gems
C
Carat
Commander of a fleet of ships
A
Admiral
Embalmed human corpse
M
Mummy
Tropical rainy season where it rains for
several months with little interruption
M
Monsoon
A demon who feeds on corpses;
Alternately, a graverobber
G
Ghoul
Definition
 
Word
Medieval string instrument
L
Lute
Opposite of zenith
N
Nadir
One who kills a political leader or
other prominent figure
A
Assassin
Branch of mathematics dealing with
rules for solving certain equations
A
Algebra
Group of wives and concubines
H
Harem
Plant whose white flowers are used
to flavor green tea
J
Jasmine
Something fun to drink with chemical
formula C2H6O
A
Alcohol
Type of bird with a long wingspan
A
Albatross
Plant that horses eat
A
Alfalfa
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60 Comments
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
Dec 31, 2019
Thanks also to Snev from whom some questions were taken.
Snev
+12
Level 40
Jan 8, 2020
Wow I can't believe my quizzes got recognized! Thanks for giving credit
Djilas
+10
Level 83
Dec 31, 2019
There could be easily a part two.
Jerry928
+16
Level 76
Jan 1, 2020
Interesting that the largely teetotal Arabic world has given us the word alcohol.
pitzikat
+23
Level 74
Jan 1, 2020
Maybe that says something about you (just joking).

Alcohol has other uses, though admittedly it was probably first used for drinking. Goes back to accidentally mixing water with honey, creating heavenly mead.

Anyway, Arabic was spoken for centuries if not millennia before the Muslim prohibition.

TheLastFish
+5
Level 70
Jan 1, 2020
Just for nitpicking: beer has been probably the oldest alcohol drink (archeology revealed beer jars some 5000 BC).
Eigengrau
+8
Level 60
Jan 8, 2020
Alcohol was not initially forbidden in Islam, but after an incident where an important Imam drank too much and was not able to lead the prayers correctly, it was banned for drinking and can only be used for medicinal purposes.
TomatosRaafatos
+5
Level 74
Jan 9, 2020
And which Imam was that? I have never heard this story. I know for a fact that alcohol was gradually banned by Muhammad himself through decrees of God, revealed and preserved to this day in specific verses of the Quran, which are easily found by searching Quran.com or a similar site with an index of the Quran.
TomatosRaafatos
+1
Level 74
Jan 9, 2020
If you mean this incident happened at the time of Muhammad before the prohibition, then yes that's possible.
partdavid
+2
Level 72
Oct 5, 2021
It's an interesting history, and far older than 5000 BC. It appears that beer was being produced in the ancient near east as much as 13,000 years ago. Ancient evidence from China, around 9,000 years ago (7000 BC) was of a beverage fermented from honey, rice and grapes, making it (technically, since it is fermented from a grain) beer, mead and wine, all at once!

I've never before heard the idea that any of these processes took place by "accident"; that is surely a folk conjecture. Indeed, fermentation is a natural process that can take place without human intervention at all; it's something that was discovered and refined, not invented, let alone by accident.

fuanacdc
+2
Level 85
Jan 3, 2020
Would apples fit the horse clue?
Arp2600
+11
Level 86
Jan 7, 2020
Apple is a germanic word.
LeoSpec
+7
Level 43
Jan 9, 2020
Alple
HinesBrothers
+2
Level 75
Jan 6, 2020
Could Jasmin work for Jasmine?
emwcee
+4
Level 46
Jan 8, 2020
I kept trying to put in absinthe for the drink. I was way too complicated, I guess.
emwcee
+1
Level 46
Jan 8, 2020
Also, I'm kind of surprised that so few people got alfalfa.
tranagceist
+8
Level 69
Jan 8, 2020
I only got it by guessing, I've never seen alfalfa, and horses in Ireland (where I live) don't eat it. I don't think it's cultivated or used much in Europe.
Eigengrau
+13
Level 60
Jan 8, 2020
I have never even heard of alfalfa.
Charliezard
+7
Level 66
Nov 23, 2021
It's the kid in Little Rascals.
Zupity
+2
Level 66
Nov 27, 2022
When I was a kid we used to grow alfalfa in a jar on the kitchen windowsill, so we ate it all the time, on its own, in salads, even in stir fry or jaffles. We are humans.
vermiciousknid
+1
Level 89
Dec 2, 2022
@Zupity, lol at that last sentence. Thanks for clarifying ;)

Also, your comment led me to look up jaffles, since I had never encountered the term before. They look quite tasty!

Arp2600
+5
Level 86
Jan 8, 2020
I just didn't know the English name. In French, we call it Luzerne...
caesaria
+3
Level 79
Jan 29, 2020
Same in German. And it is fed to horses regularly. But I had heard the plant name "Alfalfa" before, so I thought that might be it.
Shikari
+2
Level 33
Apr 21, 2021
It's not a well-known plant, at least in the UK. Most people will associate hay with horses, and little else bar grass and sugar-lumps.
martay
+3
Level 70
Nov 27, 2022
Two days ago, I probably wouldn't have known it, but just yesterday I read an article about a Saudi owned farm in Arizona that is growing alfalfa and using a lot of precious groundwater to do it.

That alfalfa gets exported as feed for Saudi dairy cows. Aquifers once used for farming in Saudi Arabia have long since run dry because of unsustainable practices, and so now, they can no longer grow their own feed.

BlackLab
+2
Level 66
Nov 29, 2022
mersey doats and dozy doats and little lambsy divey
Bemused
+1
Level 48
Jul 23, 2024
Would have had alfafa been accepted!
Sifhraven
+9
Level 72
Jan 8, 2020
I would have thought admiral to have come from latin. Via something like ad +mare.
kaderschaufel
+4
Level 72
Jan 8, 2020
Jasmine is a Persian word. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, it did pass through Arabic before coming to English, but the origin is Persian.
PeregrineFalcon
+7
Level 76
Jan 8, 2020
Same holds for about half of these words. Albatross and carat are ultimately from Greek.
Quizmaster
+13
Level ∞
Jan 9, 2020
Every word on this list came from another language first. Arabic didn't spring into existence fully formed from the ether.
emersonriley94
+3
Level 55
Jan 8, 2020
Did anyone else try ammonia for the 'something fun to drink' question? Probably just me...
Quizzer6794
+1
Level 65
Jan 8, 2020
Not just you
JWatson24
+4
Level 71
Jan 10, 2020
Well I tried acetone first and to be fair I was just one carbon off.
Kayeejo
+1
Level 85
Jan 8, 2020
Albatross!
Isfandiyar
+1
Level 43
Jan 9, 2020
The Alcohol formula is C2H6OH. There is one more atom of hydrogen in the end
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jan 9, 2020
Here's where I got my info. Please edit if incorrect:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol

Arp2600
+1
Level 86
Jan 9, 2020
CH3-CH2-OH, that's six hydrogens alright.
ChipOtley
+1
Level 74
Jan 14, 2020
commonly expressed as C2H5OH, so it's fine as is. But it's the formula for ethanol, not alcohol - ethanol is just one kind of alcohol.
wielblad
+4
Level 66
Apr 19, 2021
True, but people commonly say they're drinking alcohol and they mean specifically the alcohol ethanol. Methanol is not fun to drink.
MalyJacus
+1
Level 57
Jul 23, 2024
That's an understatement. CH3OH will lead you down a blind alley :)
TR4TC
+6
Level 43
Jan 9, 2020
I'm surprised alcabala, Al Capone, Al Pacino, Al Gore, Al Smith weren't included in the list.

(just joking, on the basis that teachers use to say everything beginning with 'al' is of Arabic origin)

bostjan
+5
Level 72
Mar 17, 2020
Allegedly they all met in an alley behind the Alamo. Although allergic to aloe, their ally Al Gore altruistically allowed an alternative meeting drinking ale and listening to altos in the Alps to slip.
smoceany
+3
Level 52
Apr 28, 2021
alpaca
Carry
+1
Level 63
Jan 20, 2020
I tried Gul, Ghul and Ghool. Then I gave up thinkging I must be wrong.
s374
+2
Level 21
Mar 9, 2020
I could not, for the life of me, spell hummus. It is quite humiliating.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Feb 10, 2021
I only missed alfalfa!!
smoceany
+1
Level 52
Apr 28, 2021
aint sheik zelda
TheMitskiCrave
+1
Level 57
Dec 23, 2021
aren't most of these loanwords instead of descended from Arabic words?
sergeantmalice
+1
Level 56
Jun 8, 2022
A sheikh is a religious leader, like a priest, not a tribe leader
skyraider112
+1
Level 51
Nov 11, 2022
Admiral is a good one. Amir-al-Bar is the word origin, meaning prince/commander of the sea. Learned that one in a Naval History book
Anonymouse123
+1
Level 33
Nov 27, 2022
Add bazaar?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 81
Nov 27, 2022
What about AlPacino? Or is that an Italian word?
Stoney
+1
Level 73
Nov 28, 2022
Took me way too long to get the red colour...
MalyJacus
+1
Level 57
Jul 23, 2024
Love it, great quiz. I do not know if I just have good vocabulary (humble brag) but this was uber easy. Except for Lute vs. lyre I didn't have to even think.
tshalla
+1
Level 76
Jul 23, 2024
Swahili is heavily influenced by Arabic, but I think that the word safari (derived from an Arabic word) is actually Swahili in origin. As in, I think the English got it from Swahili speakers, in the Swahili form.
Jiaozira
+1
Level 71
Jul 23, 2024
To be fair, a lot of these words didn't enter English directly but entered via another language like Greek or Spanish. At least with safari it is still very close to the original Arabic word 'safar' meaning journey. If a word changed a lot in the other languages, like a giant game of telephone/Chinese whispers, I think it would make less sense to include it (coffee comes from the Arabic word 'qahwa' but it reached English via Turkish, Dutch, etc. and changed a lot).
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 69
Jul 24, 2024
Just missed alfalfa
SpartanLlama
+2
Level 69
Jul 24, 2024
Assassin is a cool word, comes from the word Hashashin which means "user of hashish" or "hashish eater" because the legend, as spread by accounts such as Marco Polo's was that the Ismaili Nizari Muslims had an Order of Assassins where members would smoke hashish and be taken to the mountains where they'd be given missions, one of the first times where political assassinations were widely used as a form of warfare. This is also the inspiration for Assassin's Creed and R'as al Ghul in DC Comics
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 69
Jul 24, 2024
And then Shakespeare was the first one to popularize it in verb form, assassinate
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