Meanings
nounaljama (plural aljamas)
plural aljamas
- historicalA self-governing community of Jews and Moors living under Christian rule in the Iberian Peninsula.
[T]he Church received from them the customary tithes, oblations, and first-fruits. The revenues from the Jewish aljamas, or communities, were always regarded as among the surest resources of the crown.
1906, Henry Charles Lea, A History of the Inquisition of Spain, volume 1, New York: MacMillan, page 86
Origin
- Arabicجَمْع“to gather”
- Englishaljama
From Andalusian Arabic, from Arabic جَمْع (jamʕ, “to gather”).
More words from Arabic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
aljama. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aljama
MLA
“aljama.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aljama. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aljama,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aljama.
Source: aljama on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.