The Arabic in Everyday English

Below is a list of everyday, non-specialized words in the English language that are of Arabic origin. They can be put into three categories: 1) words that refer to plants, crops, or foods that originate in the Middle East, South Asia, or Africa and were introduced to Europe by Arabic speaking peoples, such as “sugar,” “candy,” or “alfalfa”; 2) words that refer to inventions or discoveries of Arab civilization, such as “alcohol”; 3) scientific and mathematical words, such as “alchemy” (which simply means chemistry, by the way).

This list comes from “al-bab.com” with the reference given below. It is not the longest I’ve seen, and I verified most of the words on it years ago. Dictionary.com is a handy for general English etymologies.

If this topic interests you, see “Allahs Sonne über dem Abendland,” in French translation “Le Soleil d’Allah Brille Sur L’Occident.”

admiral

adobe

alchemy

alcohol

alcove

alembic

alfalfa

algebra

algorithm

alkali

almanac

amalgam

aniline

apricot

arsenal

arsenic

artichoke

assassin

aubergine

azure bedouin

benzine(?)

Betelgeuse

bint

borax cable

calabash

calibre

caliph

camel

camise

camphor

candy

cane

cannabis

carafe

carat

caraway

carmine

carob

casbah

check

checkmate

cinnabar

cipher

coffee

copt

cotton

crimson

crocus

cumin damask

dhow

dragoman

elixir

emir

fakir

fellah garble

gauze

gazelle

ghoul

Gibraltar

giraffe

grab

guitar

gypsum halva

harem

hashish

hazard

henna

hookah

imam

influenza jar

jasmine

jerboa

jessamine

jinn

kafir

khamsin

khan

kismet

kohl lacquer

lake

lemon

lilac

lime

lute magazine

mahdi

marabout

marzipan

massacre

massage

mastaba

mate

mattress

mecca

minaret

mizzen

mocha

mohair

monsoon

mosque

muezzin

mufti

mullah

mummy

muslim

muslin

myrrh nabob

nacre

nadir

orange

ottoman

popinjay racket

safari

saffron

saloop

sash

scallion

senna

sequin

serif

sesame

shackle

sheikh

sherbet

shrub

sirocco

sofa

spinach

sudd

sufi

sugar

sultan

sultana

syrup tabby

talc

talisman

tamarind

tambourine

tarboosh

tare

tariff

tarragon

Trafalgar

typhoon vega

vizier

wadi

zenith

zero

See: W Montgomery Watt: The Influence of Medieval Islam on Europe (Edinburgh University Press, 1982)

I would add these important ones:

azimuth

cornea (eye)

mascara

rice

The “x” in mathematics comes from the Spanish transliteration of the Arabic “š” at the beginning of “shay'” meaning “something” or unknown. See this The Meaning of X TED talk.

This graphic illustrates the paths some of the above words took.