Etymology

Muharram

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Today it means: The first month of the Islamic calendar, when many Islamic communities hold a festival commemorating the deaths of the grandsons of Muhammad. Full definition →

Arabic مُحَرَّم
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The story

  1. Arabic · borrowed fromمُحَرَّم“forbidden”
  2. English todayMuharram

From Arabic مُحَرَّم (muḥarram, “forbidden”), from حَرَّمَ (ḥarrama, “to forbid”). Doublet of marrano.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. The first month of the Islamic calendar, when many Islamic communities hold a festival commemorating the deaths of the grandsons of Muhammad.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.