Arabic Influences in Various Languages

In the table below, several words are compared between Romance languages. While Spanish is rather obviously a Romance (Latin derived) language (as shown in the first four examples), it has been heavily influenced by the Arabic language.

English	Latin	Italian	French	Provençal	Occitan	Catalan	Portuguese	Spanish	Arabic
*one*	unus	uno	un	un	un	un	um	uno	واحد waaHid
*two*	duos	due	deux	dos; doas	dos; doas	dos; dues	dois	dos	إثنين ithnayn
I	ego	io	je	ieu	iéu	jo	eu	yo	انا anaa
he	ille	lui	il	eu	el	ell	ele	él	هو *huwa*
*you*	vos	voi	vous	vos; vautres; vosautres	vos; vosautres	vostè	você	usted	أستاذ ustaadh "teacher"
*olive*	oliva	oliva	olive	oliva	oliva	oliva	oliva; azeitona	aceituna	الزيتون az-zaytuun
*oil*	oleum	olio	huile	òli	òli	oli	óleo; azeite	aceite	الزيت az-zayt "olive oil"
*rug*	tapete	tappeto	tapis	tapis		catife	tapete	alfombra	الخمرة al-khumrat "redness"
district; neighborhood	quartus	quartiere	quartier	quartier	barri	barri	bairro	barrio	برّا barraa "outside"
*village*	villa	villagio	village	vilatge	vilatge	vilatge	aldeia	aldea	الضيعة aD-Dy‘a "camp"
*scorpion*	scorpio	scorpione	scorpion	escorpion		escorpí; alacrà	escorpião	alacrán	العقرن al-‘aqran "scorpion"

The following tables show Arabic words borrowed by English, French, and Spanish in various fields. Note that, in general, words borrowed into Spanish kept the Arabic definite article (al- and its variants which mean "the ") while English and French generally dropped the article.

(Examples taken from research conducted during the National Endowment for the Humanities' National Arabic Language and Culture Institute at The Ohio State University during the summers of 1994 and 1995).

Place names

Spanish	Arabic العربية	meaning
Gibraltar	جبل طارِق jibl Taariq	Rock of Taariq
Guadalajara	وادي الحجرة wadii al-Hajara ¹	River of Rock ¹
Guadalquivir	وادي الكبير wadii al-Kabiir ¹	Big River ¹
Guadalupe	وادي wadii + lupum²	River of the Wolf ²

¹ وادٍ wadin actually means valley, not river.

² This is a hybrid between the Arabic وادٍ wadin (valley) and the Latin lupum (wolf)

Agriculture

Spanish	French	English	Arabic العربية	meaning
al aceite		oil	الزيت az-zayt
la aceituna		olive	الزيتون az-zaytuun
el albaricoque	l'abricot	apricot	البرقوق al-briquuq	yellow plum
la albóndiga		meatball	البندقة al-bundiqat	bullet
la alcachofa	l'artichaut	artichoke	الجرشوف al-jarshuuf
el alcohol	l'alcool	alcohol	الكُحول al-kuHuul
el algodón	le coton	cotton	القطن al-quTun
el arroz	du riz	rice	الأرُّوز al-’arruuz
el azafrán	le safran	saffron	الزعفران az-za‘afran
el azúcar	le sucre	sugar	السُكَّر as-sukkur
el jarabe	le sirop	syrup	الشَرِبَ ash-shariba	drink
el jazmín	le jasmin	jasmine	الياسمين al-yaasmiin
la naranja	l'orange	orange	النرنج an-naranj	bitter orange

Government and Culture

Spanish	French	English	Arabic العربية	meaning
la alcantarilla		sewer, drain	القنطرة al-qanTrat	bridge
la aduana	la douane	customs (house)	الديوان ad-dyuwaan	register, office
el alguacil		governor, bailiff	الوزير al-waziir	minister
ahorrar		to save (money)	حُرّ Hurra	free, available money
el albañil		mason	البَنّاء al-bannaa'	builder
el alcalde		mayor	القاضٍ al-qaaDin	judge
la aldea		village	الضَيعة aD-Day'at	camp
el almacén	le magasin le magazine	store, warehouse; magazine	المخزن al-makhzan
el dinero		money	الدينار ad-diinaar
la tarifa	le tarif	tariff fare, fee	تعرف ta'rifa	you know

Mathematics and Science

Spanish	French	English	Arabic العربية	meaning
el álcali	l'alcali	alkali	القِليٌ al-qilii
el álgebra (f.)	l'algèbre	algebra	الجَبر al-jabr	break into pieces
el almanaque	l'almanach	almanac	المطنوخ al-maTnuukh
la alquimia; la química	l'alchimie; la chimie	alchemy; chemistry	الكيمياء al-kymyaa'	chemistry
cero	zéro	zero	صِفر Sifr
la cifra	le chiffre	numeral; cipher	صِفر Sifr	zero
el elixir	l'élixir	elixir	الإكسير al-'iksiir	powder

Military

Spanish	French	English	Arabic العربية	meaning
el alcázar		fortress	القصر al-qaSr	castle; palace
la aljaba		quiver (for arrows)	الجعبة al-ja'aba
el asesino	l'assassin	assassin	الحَشّاشي الحَشّاش al-Hashaashii	hashish user
la hazaña		deed; exploit	الصَنيع aS-Sanii'
matar		to kill	مات maat

Home and Family

Spanish	French	English	Arabic العربية	meaning
la alcurnia		ancestry	الكُنية al-kunyyat	surname
la alcoba	l'alcôve	bedroom; alcove	القُبّة al-qubat	dome
la alfombra		rug	الخمرة al-khumrat	redness
la almohada		pillow	المُخَدة al-mukhadat
el anaquel		shelf	النقل an-naqal	transport
el alquiler		rent	الكرآء al-karaa'
el barrio		neighborhood	برّا barraa	outside
la azotea		flat roof	السّطيحة as-saTiiHa	roof; terrace

Miscellaneous

Spanish	French	English	Arabic العربية	meaning
la tarea		homework; chore	الطريحة aT-TariiHat	chore
hasta		until	حتّى Hatta
ojala		I wish…	و شاء ﷲ wa -shaa' Allah	God willing
he (aquí)		here is	ه (هَهُنا) ha ; hahunaa
el alacrán		scorpion	العقرب al-'aqrab
mezquino	mesquin	poor guy ; miser	مسكين maskiin	poor guy
Sahara	Sahara	Sahara	صحراء SaHaraa'

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