Sunday, July 12, 2020

Arabic Loanwords in English

Arabic is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world. Many English speakers may not realize how many Arabic loanwords exist in English. Here are twenty words:

admiral
alcohol
alfalfa
algebra
apricot
artichoke
average
caraway
cotton
giraffe
jar
lemon
saffron
sofa
syrup
tamarind
tangerine
tarragon
traffic
zero

Four of the words on the list are fruits: apricot, lemon, tamarind and tangerine. Three are spices: caraway, saffron and tarragon. Many of these words such as alcohol, algebra and giraffe are also used in other languages.

English has borrowed many words from Arabic. They includes the names of fruits and spices. Many of the words from the list are also found in various languages besides English.

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