Word origins

• al-Thaqalaynthe Qur'an and the Ahl al-Bayt, said in a hadith to have been the two things left behind by the Prophet Muhammad for the guidance of the Muslim community.
• Al-Yasaa prophetic figure of Islam.
• AmatullahA female given name from Arabic, masculine equivalent Abdullah.
• amir al-umaraA senior military officer in the 10th-century Abbasid Caliphate.
• AmirulA male given name from Arabic.
• AmmiyyaColloquial, non-standard Arabic (used especially of eastern Arabic dialects).
• AntilyasA city in Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon.
• 'aqidaReligious views.
• aqiqahThe sacrifice of an animal after childbirth.
• ArabiziArabic written in the Arabic chat alphabet, which uses a combination of Latin letters and Western Arabic numerals.
• arayesA Levantine dish made from kofta and pita
• arghulA musical instrument in the reed family, used since ancient Egyptian times and still a traditional instrument in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine.
• argilehhookah
• ArnebAlpha Leporis, the brightest star in the constellation of Lepus.
• ArzewA city in Oran Province, Algeria.
• asabiyyahThe degree of shared purpose, solidarity, and social cohesion of a group, typically in Arabic or Islamic contexts.
• ashrafiA member of a particular Sufi Muslim order.
• Ash-ShaytanSatan
• asidaA lump of dough, obtained by stirring wheat flour into boiling water, sometimes with added butter or honey
• astaghfirullahA short prayer of redemption; I seek forgiveness from Allah; God forgive me.
• AsyutA governorate of Egypt.
• AtbaraA city located in River Nile State in northeastern Sudan.
• athelnoble, highborn
• AttounA surname from Arabic.
• AwadallahA surname from Arabic.
• awqiyyahAn Egyptian unit of weight equivalent to about 37 grams (1.3 oz.)
• awrahThe parts of the body that are required to be covered for reasons of modesty, with the specific areas varying by sect, gender, and context (such as in the presence of men versus women).
• AwwabA male given name from Arabic.
• AzdThe first tribe to inhabit Arabia, descended from the Nabataeans.
• baba ganoushA Middle Eastern dish made from a purée of roasted aubergine (eggplant), garlic, and tahini, often eaten as a dip with bread.
• Bab el MandebA strait between Arabia, Asia and Horn of Africa, Africa, connecting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean.
• baggalaA traditional two-masted sailing vessel, used in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
• baghrirA traditional North African semolina pancake, especially in Morocco and Algeria, characterized by many small holes on its surface and typically served with butter and honey.
• baharatA mixture of spices commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine.
• BahauddinA male given name.
• bahiraA classification of sea inlet; a depression in the land flooded by the sea during the Holocene transgression and connected to the sea by a narrow passage.
• Bahr al GhazalA river in South Sudan.
• bakhoorincense in the form of scented chips or blocks, used in Arab countries
• baladiyahA municipality in Iraq.
• bamiyehA traditional sweet snack of Iran, similar to a doughnut, made from a yogurt- and starch-based dough which is fried before being dipped in syrup.
• banjHashish or henbane.
• barakahThe spiritual power or wisdom that resides in holy places and people, especially in a Sufi.
• BarqaFormer name of Marj: a city in Libya.
• BarsoumA surname from Arabic.
• barzakhA place separating the living from the hereafter; a phase between death and resurrection.
• basbousaA traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake, made from cooked semolina or farina soaked in simple syrup which may also contain orange flower water or rose water.
• BashmurA historical region of the Nile Delta.
• basmalaThe prepositional phrase بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم (bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm, “In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate”).
• BassatneA surname from Arabic.
• batilA type of traditional sailing vessel used in the Arabian Sea.
• BattirA village in Bethlehem governorate, West Bank, Palestine.
• bazingera merchant lord-employed forced recruit
• BeidaneIn Mauritania, a lighter-skinned or white Moor, in contrast to a Haratin.
• BeirutiOf or pertaining to Beirut.
• Beit HanounA city in North Gaza Govenorate, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
• bejelEndemic syphilis, a chronic disease of skin and tissue caused by infection by a subspecies of the spirochete Treponema pallidum.
• belaidA male given name from Arabic.
• BelkadiA surname from Arabic.
• Beni AmerA member of an Arab tribe found in Algeria and Morocco, originally from the Zughba branch of Banu Hilal.
• BenishangulAn ethnic group inhabiting parts of western Ethiopia and Sudan.
• BenzemaA surname from Arabic.
• BeqaaA fertile valley in eastern Lebanon, spanning the Baalbek-Hermel and Beqaa governorates.
• berseemEgyptian clover
• bid'aheretical innovation in Islamic religious beliefs or worship
• BidoonA member of an ethnic group in parts of the Middle East, regarded by local governments as stateless people or illegal immigrants.
• Bir TawilA region of Africa, along the border between Egypt and Sudan, currently considered as terra nullius. It is declared by Egypt to be Sudanese and Sudan to be Egyptian, and claimed by neither country.
• BiskraA province of Algeria
• boltyA Nile tilapia, an edible fish of the Nile, of species Oreochromis niloticus (formerly Chromis nilotica).
• boozaSyrian and Lebanese ice cream
• bowabAn Egyptian doorman.
• buqshaA former currency unit of Yemen, worth one 40th of a rial.
• BuraqThe horse-like creature that Muhammad is said to have ridden during the Night Journey.
• Burj KhalifaA skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the world's tallest structure.
• ButnanA district of Libya. Capital: Tobruk.
• buzuqA mandolin-shaped lute of Arab origin, with a long neck, movable frets and two or three strings played with a plectrum.
• BzeekA surname from Arabic.
• cafilaA caravan of travellers or supplies.
• cassabaa Middle Eastern unit of length, in Egypt the 500th part of a parasang (فَرْسَخ (farsaḵ)), about 3.5 metres.
• chaabiA kind of Moroccan popular music.
• ChabaneA male given name from Arabic.
• ChakibA male given name from Arabic.
• ChemamaA region of Mauritania comprised of Gorgol and Guidimaka and the southern parts of her other provinces bordering the Senegal river.
• CherkiA surname from Arabic.
• coffleA line of people or animals fastened together, especially a chain of prisoners or slaves.
• colcotharPolishing rouge; a reddish-brown oxide of iron, used in polishing glass, and also as a pigment.
• cos lettuceSynonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce.
• cossidA courier or messenger.
• cowleA lease, or grant in writing; a safe-conduct, amnesty, etc.
• dabbabaA fairy chess piece that jumps two squares orthogonally (i.e. not diagonally), leaping over any intermediate piece.
• dabb lizardUromastyx geyri, an agamid lizard.
• DaggialAl-Masih ad-Dajjal, an evil figure in Islamic eschatology.
• dahabiehA traditional Egyptian sailing-boat.
• dajjaalThe false messiah, deceiver.
• daleelevidence
• dammaIn the Arabic script, the vowel point for u, appearing as a small curl placed above a letter ( ـُ ) and designating a short u /u/. If the Arabic letter و (w) immediately follows, it indicates a long ū /uː/.
• daniqA traditional Islamic silver coin weighing one sixth as much as a dinar.
• Dar al-IslamLands that practice Islamic law; the Muslim world.
• Dar es SalaamA region of Tanzania.
• DarijaMaghrebi Arabic, an Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Ceuta and Melilla (Spain). (Western Arabic)
• Deir ez-ZorA city in the Deir ez-Zor governorate, Syria