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Quiz about Borrowed English Words from Arabic
Quiz about Borrowed English Words from Arabic

Borrowed English Words from Arabic Quiz


You may not be aware of it, but English has many borrowed words from languages throughout the world! Quite a number of English words come originally from Arabic. See if you can figure out which ones are from Arabic below...good luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by thejazzkickazz. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
105,799
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
4850
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 157 (8/10), Guest 31 (4/10), Triviaballer (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Which of these 'drink' words was originally drawn from Arabic?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Yes or no: Another 'drink' word, this time 'coffee', was also originally taken from Arabic.


Question 3 of 10
3. This word, derived from Arabic, originally described a place for storage, but now is more commonly used to describe a type of reading material. To which of these am I referring?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Two English words, related to mathematics have been derived from one Arabic word, 'sifr'. Name either one of the English words.

Answer: (You have two choices, just pick one)
Question 5 of 10
5. Which one of these commonly used English words beginning with Al- was not at least partially taken from Arabic?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Here's a tough one. Which of these English words finds its origins with an Arabic term meaning 'damaged goods'?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. One of these animal names was not originally derived from the Arabic, but which?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The name for one of the world's most useful substances employed in making fabrics comes to us from Arabic. Which of these wonderful products has a name with Arabic as its source?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. This word may not be the most common, but I really enjoy it and hence must include it here. Which synonym for 'fate', beginning with the letter 'k', was originally of Arabic origin?

Answer: (K_____)
Question 10 of 10
10. Well, my friends, we have come once again to the end of a quiz...the 'zenith', if you will. I consider this to be the zenith, or high point, of the quiz...the acme. Some might consider this the low point, however...the opposite of 'zenith'. What is the English word which is opposite of 'zenith', originally derived from Arabic?
Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 28 2024 : Guest 157: 8/10
Mar 17 2024 : Guest 31: 4/10
Mar 12 2024 : Triviaballer: 7/10
Mar 12 2024 : Joepetz: 10/10
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Mar 04 2024 : Guest 178: 7/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which of these 'drink' words was originally drawn from Arabic?

Answer: Alcohol

The word alcohol was first imported into English in the 16th century, from the Latin. Latin translators, in turn, had borrowed it from various scientific works in Arabic during medieval times. The Arabic term is 'al-kuhl', sometimes translated as 'the essence'.

The term 'kuhl' (or 'kohl') might be familiar to you, it is the name of the antimony based powder that ancient Egyptian (and later Arab) women used as eye shadow. Arab scientists apparently used the term 'al-kuhl' to describe many substances derived from distillation, hence why this word came to be synonymous with booze...*hic*.
2. Yes or no: Another 'drink' word, this time 'coffee', was also originally taken from Arabic.

Answer: Yes

Indeed, coffee was originally an Arab drink called 'qahwa' that was not imported into Europe until the 16th century. Once it entered Europe's borders, this potable became an instant sensation! Ways to say coffee in other languages: 'caffe' in Italian and 'kahveh' in Turkish.

Incidentally, the original Arabic word for coffee ('qahwa') actually meant 'wine', but was used to describe this delicious dark drink that was grown in Kaffa, Ethiopia.
3. This word, derived from Arabic, originally described a place for storage, but now is more commonly used to describe a type of reading material. To which of these am I referring?

Answer: Magazine

The original Arabic word was 'makhAzin' (plural of 'makhzan'), meaning 'storehouse'. The English word 'magazine' still may be used in this sense to describe a warehouse, especially one in which explosives and munitions are stored. However, in modern English the word is now most commonly used to describe weekly, monthly or quarterly periodicals that may contain (or store) a multitude of stories, articles or other writings (though these days it seems that advertisements make up the bulk of them!)
4. Two English words, related to mathematics have been derived from one Arabic word, 'sifr'. Name either one of the English words.

Answer: Zero

Both 'zero' and 'cipher' mean the same thing, that is, nothing. Actually that's an oversimplification, perhaps it's better to say that they mean 'the absence of quantity'? Regardless, both words are derived from the Arabic word 'sifr' which also means nuttin'! Zero was part of the Arabic system of numerals borrowed by the Europeans, it came with the package. However, the Arabs did not create the concept of zero, unknown scholars of south Asia (i.e. the Indian sub-continent) get that honor!
5. Which one of these commonly used English words beginning with Al- was not at least partially taken from Arabic?

Answer: Alphabet

Of course the word 'alphabet' was derived from the first two Greek letters 'alpha' and 'beta'. These letters, by the way, were originally of Phoenician origin, with the first two called 'aleph' and 'beth'. Alchemy is a tricky one. Though the 'chem' portion of the word is from the Greek, the 'Al-' prefix (Al meaning 'the' in Arabic) was added by the Arabs. Alcove is derived from the Arabic word 'al-qubbah' meaning 'arch'.

The word 'al-fasfasah', from which our 'alfalfa' is rooted, likewise referred to that commonly used grain. Alright! (No, 'alright' was not derived from Arabic...)
6. Here's a tough one. Which of these English words finds its origins with an Arabic term meaning 'damaged goods'?

Answer: Average

The one you wouldn't expect, right? The word 'average' comes circuitously to English from the original Arabic 'awariyah'. As you may well know, much trade has occurred between Arabs and Europeans throughout history. The term for average apparently derived from the working out of an equitable deal wherein the various parties involved in a shipment of goods paid their fair shares for the damaged goods on board a ship.

It all averages out in the end, no?
7. One of these animal names was not originally derived from the Arabic, but which?

Answer: Camel

Camel would make sense, wouldn't it? Actually, the word 'camel' is of Semitic origin, but is probably much more ancient than the Arabic language itself. It has its origin in the Semitic noun 'gml', common amongst languages such as Hebrew and Aramaic.

Interestingly...before Europeans found the wonderful word giraffe, they were calling that creature a camelopard. Gazelle and Albatross are also gifts to us from the Arabic, we must thank them for such charming words!
8. The name for one of the world's most useful substances employed in making fabrics comes to us from Arabic. Which of these wonderful products has a name with Arabic as its source?

Answer: Cotton

The word 'cotton' is originally derived from the Arab word 'qutun', and this makes sense considering that some of the world's best cotton is grown in the Middle East and in India. The Arabs played a huge role in the cotton trade, and thus the word for cotton came from the Arab traders into the European vocabulary.
9. This word may not be the most common, but I really enjoy it and hence must include it here. Which synonym for 'fate', beginning with the letter 'k', was originally of Arabic origin?

Answer: Kismet

What an excellent term, very useful! The original Arabic term is 'qisma', meaning 'lot'...as in, 'that's his lot in life'. The 't' ending was added by the Persians ('qismat') and it came to English via Turkish (via Persian, via Arabic!) I suppose you could say that this was the kismet of the word, to end up being celebrated at Quizzyland.
10. Well, my friends, we have come once again to the end of a quiz...the 'zenith', if you will. I consider this to be the zenith, or high point, of the quiz...the acme. Some might consider this the low point, however...the opposite of 'zenith'. What is the English word which is opposite of 'zenith', originally derived from Arabic?

Answer: Nadir

Both 'zenith' and 'nadir' are words taken from Arabic, and both were originally used by astronomers. Zenith meant the high point of the celestial sphere, above one's head, while the nadir was the low point, opposite the zenith. The Arabic terms were 'samt ar-ra's' meaning 'over one's head' (zenith), and 'nazir' meaning 'opposite'.

In modern English usage these terms may also refer to the high and low points in some activity. I hope you enjoyed the quiz, thank you for playing!
Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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