Word origins

• sakiaA water wheel, traditionally drawn by a draft animal, but now with a motor. It is about 2-5 meters in diameter.
• salaam alaikumA greeting said on meeting someone.
• sambuqA type of dhow (“small Arabian boat”).
• SameeA male given name from Arabic.
• SamiyahA female given name from Arabic, masculine equivalent Sami.
• SanaaniOf, from or relating to Sanaa.
• SanhajaOne of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zenata and Masmuda.
• SaniyahA female given name from Arabic.
• santimA subunit of Latvian currency. 100 santims equal a lat.
• sarakaA sweet, flat, and soft cake resembling mochi made with rice and a sweetener such as sugar and honey, originating from African American culture.
• SariyahA female given name from Arabic.
• saroojA traditional water-resistant mortar made of clay and limestone, used in Iranian architecture.
• SarsarA cold and piercing wind (especially one in an Arabic-speaking area).
• sawmFasting, abstention, abstinence; the third of the five pillars of Islam.
• s.a.w.w.peace be upon him
• SayhadicOld South Arabian, a subfamily within Semitic.
• ScheatA semiregular variable red giant, visible as a second-magnitude orange-red star in the northern constellation of Pegasus, one of four stars in the asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus.
• SchedarA red giant, visible as a second-magnitude orange star marking the breast of the figure in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia, a part of the constellation's prominent W asterism, used for celestial navigation.
• seacunnyA lascar helmsman.
• Seal of the ProphetsMuhammad.
• sebilA fountain, a small structure in a Muslim area where water is freely dispensed to members of the public.
• secretary birdA large terrestrial bird of prey, Sagittarius serpentarius, native to Africa with very long legs that preys on reptiles, especially snakes.
• seepweedAny of various plants in the genus Suaeda; sea blite.
• SelmaniA surname from Arabic or Albanian.
• SemaanA surname from Arabic.
• semsemiaA six- or seven-stringed Egyptian harp.
• serdabA sealed chamber in an Ancient Egyptian tomb that held the ka statue of a deceased person, having a small slit or hole to allow the soul of the deceased to move about freely.
• sfenjA Moroccan doughnut or fritter made from fried dough and served plain or with sugar.
• Sha'banThe eighth month of the Islamic calendar.
• shabiyahA top-level administrative division in Libya.
• shabkaAn engagement ring (traditionally with a golden net), symbolizing the intertwining or tying together of the couple.
• shaddaA diacritic (◌ّ) used in the Arabic script to indicate gemination of a consonant.
• shakshukaA Maghrebi dish of eggs simmered in a mixture of chopped tomatoes, chilies, cumin, peppers, and onions.
• ShammarA tribal Arab Qahtan confederation, descended from the Yemeni tribe of Tayy as they originated in Yemen before migrating into present-day Saudi Arabia.
• shammasA surname from Arabic.
• Shar'iOf or relating to the Shar or Shari'a.
• shari'aA body of religious law forming a part of the Islamic tradition based on the scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith.
• Shariatpur DistrictOne of the thirteen districts in the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh.
• sharifaThe wife of a sharif.
• Shariff AguakA municipality of Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines.
• ShariyahA poetess of the Abbasid era
• SharqiaA governorate in north-eastern Egypt.
• shashiyaA Maghrebi brimless cap with a tassel and straight sides.
• shatranjA board game, an ancestor of modern chess.
• Shatt al-ArabA river in Southwest Iraq, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris; the southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and Iran down to the mouth of the river as it discharges into the Persian Gulf.
• shaykh al-IslamAn outstanding scholar of Islamic interpretation, jurisprudence, theology, etc.
• shebkaA plateau cut up by a network of ravines.
• Sheikh JarrahA neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine.
• shemaghA headcloth designed for a desert environment to protect the wearer from sand and heat.
• shereefA member of an Arab princely family descended from Muhammad through his son-in-law Ali and daughter Fatima, the "Grand Shereef" being the governor of Mecca.
• Shi'aSynonym of Shiite.
• Shi'iSynonym of Shiite.
• shintiyanA kind of wide loose drawers or trousers worn by women in Muslim countries.
• ShuaibA prophet of Islam who prophesied to the Midianites, sometimes identified with the Biblical Jethro.
• Sidi Bel AbbèsA city and commercial centre in Algeria.
• sikbajA dish of meat cooked or marinated in vinegar and often also honey, eaten since at least the sixth century and historically popular among Arabs and Persians.
• silsilaLineage or genealogy, in Arab contexts.
• simoomA hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind of the desert, particularly of Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains.
• simsimSynonym of sesame.
• sintirA three-stringed, skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people of Morocco.
• Sirajganj DistrictOne of the eight districts in the Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh.
• sirwalA form of baggy trousers worn in North Africa, the Arab world, and parts of the Balkans.
• siryahAny of the battles in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad personally did not participate but to which he sent Sahabis.
• SiwarhaThe companion protostar in orbit around Betelgeuse.
• SmouhaA surname from Arabic.
• SofanaA female given name from Arabic.
• solar letterSynonym of sun letter.
• Souk AhrasA city, the capital of Souk Ahras province, north-east Algeria.
• sound pluralIn Semitic and other Afro-Asiatic languages, a regular plural formed by adding a suffix, without changes to the stem. An example in Arabic is مُسْلِمُونَ (muslimūna, “Muslims”), the plural form of مُسْلِم (muslim, “Muslim”), formed by adding the suffix ـُونَ (-ūna), and مُسْلِمَات (muslimāt, “Muslim women”), formed by adding the suffix ـَاتٌ (-ātun).
• South SinaiA governorate in north-eastern Egypt.
• SrourA surname from Arabic.
• SuakinA port city in northeastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea.
• SubhiA male given name from Arabic.
• suddA floating mass of plant matter, such as reeds, which obstructs the passage of boats.
• suddersupreme; chief
• suhurA pre-dawn breakfast during the Ramadan fasting.
• sujudprostration
• sukunA diacritic (ـْ) used in the Arabic abjad to mark the absence of a vowel.
• su'lukA type of pre-Islamic Arabic vagabond, living outside settled society, and often associated with writing poetry.
• sumudSteadfastness, as a Palestinian value; steadfast Palestinianness and resistance.
• sun letterOne of fourteen Arabic letters that cause the "L" of a preceding definite article اَل (al-) to be assimilated in pronunciation. The sun letter suppresses the sound of the "L" and then geminates: al + ṣīn = aṣ-ṣīn. The effect of the sun letter is limited to pronunciation and does not affect the spelling, except that a shadda may be written over the sun letter and in the fully vocalised spelling lām lacks any diacritics: الصِّين (aṣ-ṣīn). The fourteen sun letters are ت (t), ث (ṯ), د (d), ذ (ḏ), ر (r), ز (z), س (s), ش (š), ص (ṣ), ض (ḍ), ط (ṭ), ظ (ẓ), ل (l), ن (n). Phonetically, they represent coronal consonants.
• SuwaydaA city in southern Syria.
• sword verseAny of a number of verses in the Qur'an that may be interpreted as promoting violence against nonbelievers.
• SyedaAn honorific title borne by female descendants of the prophet Muhammad.
• Syrian Arab ArmyThe army of Syria from 1963 to 2024.
• Syrian Arab RepublicOfficial name of Syria: a country in West Asia, in the Middle East.
• taalimThe study of the Qur'an.
• tabiyaA position in the opening of a game that occurs after a sequence of moves that is heavily standardized, and from which the players have many possible moves again.
• tadelaktA type of waterproof plaster, commonly used in Moroccan architecture.
• taghutidolatry; the worship of anything except Allah
• taharahA state of ritual purity.
• taharrushSexual harassment of women by men in Arab cultures.
• tahinetahini (sesame paste)
• tahrifthe belief that alterations were made to the previous revelations of God
• tahtibAn Egyptian stickfighting martial art.
• tajwidThe rules governing pronunciation during recitation of the Qur'an.
• takbirA proclamation of the greatness of God, Allahu akbar.
• takfirExcommunication.
• takiyyaIn Arabic-speaking parts of the Ottoman Empire, a Sufi convent.
• taklifResponsibility or obligation.