Some English words have Arabic origins

November 2, 2026

Bismi Llāhir Raḥmānir Raḥīm Meaning: ‘In the name of Allāh, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful’. Allāh is the name of God Almighty.

⊕Photo of Tamarind – collected from Pixabay.com wherein it was uploaded by user u_15ydh8idy1 under the Pixabay content license. Link to Photo

I am deeply interested in learning small but new things about words in different languages, Alḥamdu liLlāhi taʿālā. It takes little effort and time and, on top of that, is entertaining to my childish self. In this post, I want to look at the Arabic origins of some English words. However, it is too much of a task for someone like me to focus on many words in depth. So, I’ve chosen one to focus on one: “Tamarind”.

So, Tamarind. Oxford Languages notes the origin of the word to be the Arabic word “(تَمَرْ هِنْدِيّ)”Transliterated in English as ‘tamar hindiyy’. See the English Wiktionary page of the Arabic word linked here for more information. which basically means “Indian Date”The same is noted in the English Wiktionary page for the English word ‘Tamarind’, with pictures and more details, as linked here. Of course, Date here is referring to the date fruit. What else could it be? Hahaha…. Those of us from the subcontinent are, generally, quite familiar with Tamarind. There is also a popular myth (?) that women like having sour food, especially tamarind. I heard it as a child and can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the claim as I am neither a woman nor have I had to manage pregnant women in particular. I just felt like reporting it here for the sake of remembering it. Well, that’s it for Tamarind.

Now, is this an isolated phenomenon? Are there only one or two such words scattered in the vast vocabulary of the English Language?As far as I’m aware, these are different from loan words - mind you. No, there are many such words. For example: Adobe, Admiral, Alchemy, Algebra, Alcohol, Alkali, Assassin, Azimuth, Benzene, Camphor, Carat, Cipher, CoffeeIs there anyone who hasn’t heard of Coffee these days?, Cotton, Elixir, GauzeDerived from the Arabic name of the area of ‘Gaza’ (or, preferably, ‘Ghazzah’) in Palestine (or, preferably, ‘Filasteen’)., Gazelle, Giraffe, Hashish, Jar, Jasmine, Lemon, Lute, Magazine, Mattress, Monsoon, Mummy, Nadir, Natrium, Orange, Ream, Rook, Saffron, Serendipity, Safari, Sequin, Sofa, Sorbet, Spinach, Sugar, Syrup, Talc, Talisman, Tangerine, Tariff, Tuna, Typhoon, Zenith, (the one and only) Zero - and the list goes on.

Well, a number of these words are well-known, widely used and must be words that the reader is familiar with. No one can deny the contribution of the Arab luminaries to the world and its inhabitants, in language or otherwise. Be that as it may, for more information on the topic of this write-up, I recommend seeing the Wikipedia page on this topic linked here.

Finally, thank you for your time and patience - dear reader. Your supplications are sought for this humble slave. As always, may peace be with you. ʾÃmīn.