List of 29 English Words That Originated From Arabic
Did you know?
Every order processed by ProofreadingServices.com provides funding for one day of food and education for a child in Tanzania. If you'd like to support our social mission, you can order proofreading, translation, or resume writing.
Every order processed by ProofreadingServices.com provides funding for one day of food and education for a child in Tanzania. If you'd like to support our social mission, you can order proofreading, translation, or resume writing.
Want some English words that originated from Arabic? This handy list of relevant terms can help you. Here you'll find words that entered English from your chosen language.
Arabic is spoken widely across the Middle East and North Africa. The largest populations of native speakers live in Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, and Somalia.
| Word | Origin |
| alcohol | al-kuhl |
| algebra | al-jabr |
| amalgam | al-malḡam |
| artichoke | al-khurshūf |
| candy | qand |
| carat | qīrāṭ |
| coffee | qahwa |
| cotton | quṭun |
| crimson | qirmizī |
| elixir | al-iksīr |
| ghoul | ghūl |
| henna | ḥinnā' |
| kohl | kuḥl |
| lemon | laymūn |
| loofah | lūf |
| macramé | miqrama |
| magazine | makhāzin |
| mattress | maṭraḥ |
| mohair | mukhayyar |
| muslin | mawṣilī |
| orange | nāranj |
| racket | rusgh |
| safari | safar |
| sash | shāsh |
| scarlet | siqillāt |
| sequin | sikka |
| sofa | ṣuffa |
| sugar | sukkar |
| zero | ṣifr |
