The proper name Arab or "Arabian" (and cognates in other languages) has been used to translate several different but similar sounding words in ancient and classical texts which do not necessarily have the same meaning or origin. The etymology of the term is of course closely linked to that of the place name "Arabia". Languages Arabic other languages (Arab minorities) Religions Predominantly Islam Some adherents of Druze, Judaism, Samaritan, Christianity Related ethnic groups Jews, Canaanites, other Semitic-speaking groups An Arab (Arabic: ); is a member of a Semitic group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to the... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ...

Semitic etymology

Any historical linguistic analysis, including the etymology of the word Arab, out of necessity has to be based on — learned or political — speculation, due to the fact that there is no etymological dictionary of Arabic, nor is there one of the Semitic languages as whole. In addition to this fundamental lack of knowledge or indeed curiosity, no comprehensive historical comparative grammar of the Semitic languages has ever appeared — despite Semitic being the oldest and best attested language group in the history of mankind.^{[citation needed]} Such essays as were produced in this field have the limited scope of "introduction", "outline" or are simply too abridged (Bergstrasser, Moscati, Gray, Grande, Kramer, Lipinski).

The root of the word has many meanings in Semitic languages including "west / sunset", "desert", "mingle", "merchant", "raven", "comprehensible" with all of these having varying degrees of relevance to the emergence of the name. It is also possible that some forms were metathetical from ʿ-B-R "moving around" (Arabic ʿ-B-R "traverse"), and hence, it is alleged, "nomadic". Metathesis is a sound change that alters the order of phonemes in a word. ...

The plurality of meanings results partly from the assimilation of the proto-Semitic ghayin with ʿayin in some languages. In Hebrew the word ʿarav thus has the same triconsonantal root as the root meaning "west" (maʿarav) "setting sun" or "evening" (maʿariv, ʿerev). The direct Arabic cognate of this is ġarb ("west", etc.) rather than ʿarab; however, in Ugaritic, a language which normally preserves proto-Semitic ghayin, this root is found with ʿayin adding to the confusion.^[1] Proto-Semitic is the hypothetical proto-language of the Semitic languages. ... () is one of the six letters the Arabic alphabet added to the twenty-two inherited from the Phoenician alphabet (the others being , , , , ). It represents the voiced velar fricative (IPA ). In name and shape, it is a variant of . ... or Ayin is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet (in abjadi order). ... This article has been illustrated as part of WikiProject WikiWorld. ... In the terminology used to discuss the grammar of the Semitic languages, a triliteral is a root containing a sequence of three consonants. ... al-Gharbiyah (Arabic: the western) may refer to: Al Gharbiyah Governorate, Egypt Al Gharbiyah Region, Bahrain Għarb, Malta West Bahr al Ghazal, Sudan (Gharb Bahr al-Ghazal) West Darfur, Sudan (Gharb Darfur) etymology of the word Arab Al Janobiyah (southern) Ash Shamaliyah (northern) Ash Sharqiyah (eastern) Al Wusta (central... The Ugaritic language is only known in the form of writings found in the lost city of Ugarit in Syria since its discovery by French archaeologists in 1928. ... Proto-Semitic is the hypothetical proto-language of the Semitic languages. ... () is one of the six letters the Arabic alphabet added to the twenty-two inherited from the Phoenician alphabet (the others being , , , , ). It represents the voiced velar fricative (IPA ). In name and shape, it is a variant of . ... or Ayin is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet (in abjadi order). ...

In Arabic

In the Qur'an, the word ʿarab does not appear, only the nisba adjective, ʿarabiyyun: The Qur'an is referring to itself as ʿarabiyyun "Arabic" and mubinun "clear". The two qualities are connected, for example in ayat 43.2-3, "By the clear Book: We have made it an Arabic recitation in order that you may understand", and the Qur'an came to be regarded as the prime example of al-ʿarabiyyatu, the language of the Arabs. The term ʾiʿrāb is from the same root, referring to a particularly clear and correct mode of speech. Bedouin elders still use this term with the same meaning; those whose speech they comprehend (ie Arabic-speakers) they call Arab, and those whose speech is of unknown meaning to them, they call Ajam (ajam or ajami). In the Persian Gulf region, the term Ajam is often used to refer to the Persians.^[2] This article or section seems to contain too many quotations for an encyclopedia entry. ... Arabic is a Semitic language. ... Surat Az-Zukhruf (Ornaments Of Gold, Luxury) is the 43rd sura of the Quran with 89 ayat. ... The are the nominal desinences of Classical Arabic. ... Ajami redirects here. ... Map of the Persian Gulf. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ...

The plural noun ʾaʿrāb refers to the Bedouin tribes of the desert who resisted Muhammad, for example in ayat 9.97, A Bedouin man resting on a hillside at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic ( ‎), a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic pastoralist groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via... Surat at-Tawba (Arabic: سورة التوبة ) (the Repentance) is the 9th sura of the Quran, with 129 ayat according to mainstream Islam and 127 ayat according to Quran Alone Muslims. ...

al-´a`rābu ´ašaddu kufran wa-nifāqan "the Bedouin are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy".

Based on this, in early Islamic terminology, ʿarab referred to sedentary Arabs, living in cities such as Mecca and Medina, and ʾaʿrāb referred to the Arab Bedouins, carrying a negative connotation due to the Qur'anic verdict just cited. Following the Islamic conquest of the 8th century, however, the language of the nomadic Arabs came to be regarded as preserving the highest purity by the grammarians following Abi Ishaq, and the term kalam al-ʿArab "language of the Arabs" came to denote the uncontaminated language of the Bedouins. This article is about an Islamic term. ... Age of the Caliphs The initial Islamic conquests (632-732) began with the death of Muhammad, were followed by a century of rapid Arab and Islamic expansion, and ended with the Battle of Tours—resulting in a vast Islamic empire and area of influence that stretched from India, across the... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... Ê¿Abd Allāh ibn AbÄ« Isḥāq (died AD 735 / AH 117) is the earliest known grammarian of the Arabic language. ...

In Assyrian

Although the term mâtu arbâi describing Gindibu in Assyrians texts is conventionally translated of Arab land, nothing is known with certainty about the exact location or extent of the land being referred to, nor what literal meaning the name had. In fact several different ethnonyms are found in Assyrian texts that are conventionally translated "Arab": Arabi, Arubu, Aribi and Urbi. The presence of Proto-Arabic names amongst those qualified by the terms arguably justifies the translation "Arab" although it is not certain if they all in fact represent the same group. They may plausibly be borrowings from Aramaic or Canaanite of words derived from either the proto-Semitic root ʿgh-r-b or ʿ-r-b. Gindibu was king of the Arab forces at the battle of Karkar (853 BC), fought against Assyria. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... The Canaanite languages are a subfamily of the Semitic languages, spoken by the ancient peoples of the Canaan region, including Canaanites, Hebrews, Phoenicians, and eventually Philistines. ...

It is in the case of the Assyrian forms that a possible derivation from ʿgh-r-b ("west") is most plausible, referring to people or land lying west of Assyria in a similar vein to the later Greek use of the term Saracen meaning in Arabic "Easterners", šarqiyyūn for people living in the east. In older Western historical literature, the Saracens were the people of the Saracen Empire, another name for the Arab Caliphate under the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. ...

In Hebrew

In Hebrew the words `arav and `aravah literally mean "desert" or "steppe". In the Hebrew Bible the latter feminine form is used exclusively for the Arabah, a region associated with the Nabateans, who spoke Arabic. The former masculine form is used in Isaiah 21:13 and Ezekiel 27:21 for the region of the settlement of Kedar in the Syrian Desert. 2 Chronicles 9:14 contrasts “kings of `arav " with “governors of the country” when listing those who brought tribute to King Solomon. The word is typically translated Arabia and is the name for Arabia in Modern Hebrew. The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible uses instead the literal translation “desert plain” for the verse in Isaiah. The adjectival noun `aravi formed from `arav is used in Isaiah 13:20 and Jeremiah 3:2 for a desert dweller. It is typically translated Arabian or Arab and is the modern Hebrew word for Arab. The New Revised Standard Version uses the translation "nomad" for the verse in Jeremiah. Cloudbreak over Wadi Araba, Jordan. ... Petra, the Nabataean capital The Nabataeans, a people of ancient Arabia, whose settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the border-land between Syria and Arabia from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, traditionally attributed to Isaiah. ... Ezekiel the Prophet of the Hebrew Scriptures is depicted on a 1510 Sistine Chapel fresco by Michelangelo. ... Kedar is an another name for Lord Shiva, one of the three major gods of Hindu religion, the other two being Brahma and Bishnu. ... The Syrian Desert is a combination of steppe and true desert that is located in parts of the nations of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, traditionally attributed to Isaiah. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, traditionally attributed to Isaiah. ... Bold text The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָהוּ Yirmiyahu in Hebrew), is a book that is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaisms Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianitys Old Testament. ... Bold text The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָהוּ Yirmiyahu in Hebrew), is a book that is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaisms Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianitys Old Testament. ...

In the Bible, the word `arav is closely associated with the word `erev meaning a "mix of people" which has identical spelling in unvowelled text. Jeremiah 25:24 parallels "kings of `arav " with "kings of the `erev that dwell in the wilderness". The account in 1 Kings 10:15 matching 2 Chronicles 9:14 is traditionally vowellized to read "kings of the `erev ". The people in question are understood to be the early Nabateans who do indeed appear to have been a mix of different tribes. The medieval writer Ibn an-Nadim, in Kitab al-Fihrist, derived the word "Arab" from a Syriac pun by Abraham on the same root: in his account, Abraham addresses Ishmael and tells him u`rub, from Syriac `rob, "mingle". Bold text The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָהוּ Yirmiyahu in Hebrew), is a book that is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaisms Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianitys Old Testament. ... The Books of Kings (Hebrew: Sefer Melachim ספר מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... Petra, the Nabataean capital The Nabataeans were a trading people of ancient Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. ... Ibn an-NadÄ«m was a bookseller who compiled the Fihrist (Index) around 988 which gave a full account of all Arabic literature available in the 10th century. ... Syriac ( Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... The angel prevents the sacrifice of Isaac (Rembrandt, 1634) Abraham (Hebrew: , Standard Avraham Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom Tiberian  ; Arabic: ,  ; Geez: , ) is a figure in the Bible and Quran who is by believers regarded as the founding patriarch of the Israelites and of the Nabataean people in Jewish, Christian and... Expulsion of Ishmael and His Mother. ...

The early Nabateans are also referred to as `arvim in Nehemiah 4:7 and the singular `arvi is applied to Geshem a leader who opposed Nehemiah. This term is identical to `aravi in unvowelled text but traditionally vowelized differently. It is usually translated "Arabian" or "Arab" and was used in early 20th century Hebrew to mean Arab. However it is unclear if the term related more to `arav or to `erev. On the one hand its vowelization resembles that of the term `arvati (Arbathite) which is understood as an adjective formed from `aravah; thus it is plausibly a similarly formed adjective from `arav and thus a variant of `aravi. On the other hand it is used in 2 Chronicles 21:16 for a seemingly different people located in Africa plausibly the same Africans referred to as an `erev (mix of people) in Ezekiel 30:5. Any of the other meanings of the root are also possible as the origin of the name. The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Tanach and to Christians as the Old Testament. ... Geshem (גשם) is one of the Hebrew words for rain, applied mostly to the heavy rains which occur in Israel in the fall and winter. ... Arbathite was a name given to Abi-albon, or, as elsewhere called, Abiel, one of David’s warriors (2 Samuel 23:31; 1 Chronicles 11:32), probably as being an inhabitant of Arabah (Joshua 15:61), a town in the wilderness of Judah. ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... Ezekiel the Prophet of the Hebrew Scriptures is depicted on a 1510 Sistine Chapel fresco by Michelangelo. ...

The words `aravim (plural of `aravi) and `arvim appear the same in unvowelled texts as the word `orvim meaning ravens. The occurrences of the word in 1 Kings 17:4-6 are traditionally vowellized to read `orvim. In the Talmud (Chullin 5a) a debate is recorded as to whether the passage refers to birds or to a people so named, noting a Midianite chieftain named Oreb (`orev: raven) and the place of his death, the Rock of Oreb. Jerome understood the term as the name of a people of a town which he described as being in the confines of the Arabians. (Genesis Rabba mentions a town named Orbo near Beth Shean.) One meaning of the root `-r-b in Hebrew is "exchange/trade" (la'arov: "to exchange", ma`arav: "merchandise") whence `orvim can also be understood to mean "exchangers" or "merchants", a usage attested in the construct form in Ezekiel 27:27 which speaks of `orvei ma`aravekh: "exchangers of thy merchandise". The Ferrar Fenton Bible translates the term as "Arabians" in 1 Kings 17:4-6. Species See text. ... The Books of Kings (Hebrew: Sefer Melachim ספר מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... According to the Bible, Midian (מִדְיָן Strife; judgment, Standard Hebrew Midyan, Tiberian Hebrew Miḏyān) was a son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... “Saint Jerome” redirects here. ... Genesis Rabba, (Breshit Rabba in Hebrew), is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... Bet Shean (Hebrew בית שאן unofficially also spelled Beit Shean, Beth Shean; Arabic بيسان Baysān) is a city in the North District in Israel. ... Ezekiel the Prophet of the Hebrew Scriptures is depicted on a 1510 Sistine Chapel fresco by Michelangelo. ... The Holy Bible in Modern English, commonly known as the Ferrar Fenton Bible, was one of the earliest translations of the Bible into modern English. ... The Books of Kings (Hebrew: Sefer Melachim ספר מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ...

2 Chronicles 26:17 mentions a people called `Arviyim who lived in Gur-baal. There name differs from those mentioned above in the Bible in that it contains an extra letter yod but is also translated "Arabian". 2 Chronicles 17:11 mentions a people called Arvi'im who brought Jehoshaphat tribute of rams and he-goats. Their name is also generally translated as "Arabians" although it differs noticeably in spelling from the above mentioned names as it contains the letter aleph at the end of the stem. Nothing else is known about these groups. The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... Yod can refer to: Yodh, the tenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... In the Bible, Jehoshaphat or Josaphat or Yehoshafat (יְהוֹשָׁפָט The LORD is judge, Standard Hebrew Yəhošafat, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhôšāp̄āṭ) was the son and successor of Asa, king of... is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician , Syriac , Hebrew Aleph , and Arabic . Aleph originally represented the glottal stop (IPA ), usually transliterated as , a symbol based on the Greek spiritus lenis , for example in the transliteration of the...

References

• Edward Lipinski, Semitic Languages: Outlines of a Comparative Grammar, 2nd ed., Orientalia Lovanensia Analecta: Leuven 2001. ISBN 90-429-0815-7
• The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Company, 1907, Online Edition, K. Night 2003: article Arabia
• The Jewish Encyclopedia, Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906, Online Edition, JewishEncyclopedia.com, 2002: article Arabia
• The New Revised Standard Version, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, 1989, 1995.
• Ferrar Fenton, The Holy Bible in Modern English, Destiny Publishers, Merrimac, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 1906, 1966

Endnotes

1. ^ If we assume that the word for "evening" was originally pronounced with ʿayin, or that the distinction between ʿayin and ghayin was not phonemic, it could be connected with the "mixture" meaning, as evening is when day mixes with night.
2. ^ An analogy would be the distinction in Slavic languages between Slav (speaking people, from slovo, word) and Niemiec (dumb people, used for the Germans).

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