Word origins

• AlphardAn orange giant star in the constellation of Hydra; Alpha (α) Hydrae.
• AlpheratzA spectroscopic binary, visible as a second-magnitude blue-white star marking the head of the chained woman in the northern constellation of Andromeda (formerly seen as part of Pegasus), one of four stars in the asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus.
• al-QaedaA worldwide network of militant Sunni Islamic organizations and individuals.
• al-QudsSynonym of Jerusalemas the capital city of Palestine.
• AlrakisMu Draconis A, a star in the constellation of Draco.
• Al RayyanA city and municipality in Qatar.
• AlrishaA binary star in the constellation Pisces; alpha (α) Piscium.
• AlshainBeta Aquilae, a star in the constellation Aquila
• Al-ShaytaanThe Devil.
• 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.
• AludraA star in the constellation of Canis Majoris.
• 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.
• Arab Republic of EgyptOfficial name of Egypt: a country in North Africa and West Asia.
• Arab streetPublic opinion in Arab nations.
• aranzadaA traditional Spanish unit of land area, equivalent to about 4472 m², chiefly used for vineyards and olive groves.
• arayesA Levantine dish made from kofta and pita
• ardebA Middle Eastern unit of volume used for agricultural crops.
• 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
• ashughA mystic bard, balladeer, or troubadour in the South Caucasus, Iran or Turkey who accompanied their songs with a long-necked lute (saz).
• 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
• Atlas MountainsA mountain range in northwestern Africa, occupying portions of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
• AttounA surname from Arabic.
• AvempaceAn Arab polymath.
• AvenzoarAn Arab physician.
• 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.
• axis of resistanceAn Iranian-led, anti-American, anti-Zionist, Shiite Islamist coalition in the Middle East whose significant participants include the IRGC, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
• AyyubidOf or pertaining to the Ayyubid dynasty, a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin founded by Saladin and centred in Egypt.
• AzdThe first tribe to inhabit Arabia, descended from the Nabataeans.
• AzelfafageThe first component of Pi¹ Cygni, a binary star in the northern constellation of Cygnus.
• 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.
• Bayoud diseaseA disease of date palms, caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum.
• bazingera merchant lord-employed forced recruit
• behenBehen rubrum or red behen: said in some sources to be Salvia haematodes (now Salvia pratensis subsp. haematodes), but in other sources to be Statice limonium, which is a synonym for Limonium vulgare.
• 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.
• Beni SuefA governorate in north-eastern Egypt.
• BenzemaA surname from Arabic.
• BeqaaA fertile valley in eastern Lebanon, spanning the Baalbek-Hermel and Beqaa governorates.
• berseemEgyptian clover
• bichirAny ray-finned fish of the genus Polypterus in the family Polypteridae, having elongated bodies covered in thick, bone-like, ganoid scales.
• 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.
• BilaliOf or relating to Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ, the first muezzin
• BilelA male given name from Arabic.
• 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
• BohairicThe Coptic dialect of the western Nile delta and Alexandria, used as a widespread standard dialect in the second millennium CE
• boltyA Nile tilapia, an edible fish of the Nile, of species Oreochromis niloticus (formerly Chromis nilotica).
• boozaSyrian and Lebanese ice cream
• bowabAn Egyptian doorman.
• Bride of the Red SeaSynonym of Jeddah.
• broken pluralAn irregular plural formed by changing the pattern of consonants and vowels inside the singular form, found in the Semitic languages and other Afroasiatic languages such as Berber. An example in Arabic is مَكَاتِب (makātib, “desks”), the plural form of مَكْتَب (maktab, “desk”).