Etymology

al-Qaeda

Today it means: A worldwide network of militant Sunni Islamic organizations and individuals. Full definition →

Arabic الْقَاعِدَة (al-qāʕida)
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The story

  1. Arabicقَعَدَ (qaʕada)
  2. Arabicقَاعِدَة (qāʕida)
  3. Arabicالْقَاعِدَة (al-qāʕida)
  4. English todayal-Qaeda

From Arabic الْقَاعِدَة (al-qāʕida), definite form of قَاعِدَة (qāʕida, “a foundation, a base”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.