Arabic - English: Loan Words, B & C

Today's posting follows on from the previous'English loan words' and continues the list of words whose roots are said to have been borrowed, or loaned from the Arabic.

Words in the list below start with the letters 'B' and 'C' and are listed in alphabetical order. The English word is followed by the root word in Arabic [xxx] and then the Arabic meaning. On the line below is the meaning in English.

If I needed help with the English definition I used: 'The Oxford English Reference Dictionary' ISBN: 0-19-860046-1



B

Bedouin
[beduin]
nomads of the desert

Betelgeuse
[yad al-jauza]
'Hand of the Giant', the tenth brightest star in the sky in the constellation of Orion

Bezoar
[bazahr] antidote
A small stone which may form in the stomach of certain animals, esp. ruminants and which was once used as an antidote for various ailments

Bint
[bint] daughter, girl
Slang, usually offensive, girl or woman

Borax
[burak]
mineral salt

Burka
[burqa]
long enveloping garment worn in public by Muslim women

Burnous
[burnus]
An Arab or Moorish hooded cloak


C

Cable
[habl]
thick rope of wire or hemp

Calibrate
Mark with a standard scale of readings (see calibre)

Calibre
[Kalib] mould for casting metal
The name for the internal diameter of a gun or tube

Caliph
[khalifah] successor
The chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of Mohammed

Camel
[jemel]

Camphor
[kafur]
A white translucent crystalline volatile substance with an aromatic smell and bitter taste, used to make celluloid and medicine

Candy
[kand] sugar
Likely to have come from the Persian, 'kand' meaning sweet

Carafe
[gharrafa] drinking vessel
A glass container for water or wine, esp. at a table or bedside

Carat
[qirat] weight of four grains
Unit of weight for precious stones

Caraway
[al karawiya]
A plant bearing clusters of tiny white flowers, the fruit is used in flavouring and in oils

Carob
[khar-ruba]
An evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean bearing edible pods, sometimes used as a substitute for chocolate

Chemistry
see 'alchemy' {blog archive: 12/o3}

Cipher
[sifr] zero
Secret writing

Civet
[az zabad] perfume
A slender catlike mammal from central Africa, having well developed anal scent glands

Coffee
[qahwah]
The name of the drink made from the roasted and ground bean like seeds of a tropical shrub

Copt
[al kubt]
A native Egyptian from the Hellenistic and roman periods or a native Christian of the independent Egyptian church

Cork
[al corquue]

Cosine
co + sine
The ratio of the side adjacent to an acute angle (in a right angled triangle to the hypotenuse)

Cotton
[kutn]

Couscous
[kuskus] to pound
A type of North African pasta, in granules, made from crushed durum wheat

Crimson
[kirmizi]
a rich deep red, inclining to purple