Etymology

Hamas

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Today it means: A Palestinian Islamist militant group and political organization. Full definition →

Arabic حَمَاس
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Hamas · proper noun1

  1. Arabic · borrowed fromحَمَاس
  2. English todayHamas

Borrowed from Arabic حَمَاس (ḥamās, literally “enthusiasm”), an acronym for حَرَكَة الْمُقَاوَمَة الْإِسْلَامِيَّة (ḥarakat al-muqāwama l-ʔislāmiyya, “Islamic Resistance Movement”).

HAMAS · proper noun2

  1. Arabic · borrowed fromحَمَاس
  2. English todayHAMAS

Borrowed from Arabic حَمَاس (ḥamās, literally “enthusiasm”). The all-capitalized form reflects the term's origin as the Arabic abbreviation of حَرَكَة الْمُقَاوَمَة الْإِسْلَامِيَّة (ḥarakat al-muqāwama l-ʔislāmiyya, “Islamic Resistance Movement”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.