Tag: Arabic
-
typhoon
Fast Mash Typhoon reaches English–translated from the Italian, itself from the Portuguese tufão–in the late 1580s, and its various spellings point to various possible sources Typhoon may be from the Arabic tufan (“violent storm of wind and rain”), related to tafa (“to turn around”) It may also be from the Greek typhon (“whirlwind” and name of a monstrous,…
-
risk, part II
Fast Mash Risk might be rooted in the Arabic rizq, meaning “sustenance,” “provision,” “wages,” “fortune,” ultimately from Persian rozik, “daily bread” Greek origins are also possible, including rhiza, meaning “root” and “rhysis” meaning “deliverance”; Greek might have adopted Arabic rizq as well Last post, we saw some risks taken with the origin of risk. Roads led back to Latin’s risicum, signifying commercial…
-
citrus, part I
Fast Mash Citrus referred to the “citron tree” in Latin; possibly related to the Greek word for the cedar tree, kedros, and whose scent apparently can evoke citron Lemon (via French) and lime (via Spanish) come from Arabic laimun/limah, which may in turn trace back to Persian limun/lim (citrus) I hate to get too personal on this blog, but…
