![]() In contemporary Arabic sifr means both "zero" and "nothing". The word "zero" is a corruption of the Arabic word for nothing, sifr, which is itself a mistranslation of ūnya, the Sanskrit word for "empty". They usually arrived through other European languages, chiefly Spanish and Italian, and were of two main types: scientific terms - reflecting the preeminence of the Arab world in science during the Middle Ages, and the names of goods, reflecting both the origin of the goods and the status of Arab merchants in trade during this period.įirst and foremost, we have the Arabs to thank for the word zero, if not the concept, though it isn't clear which civilization invented it first – the Indians or the Babylonians. ![]() Word of the Day / Akhbarosh and khulda: How Hebrew wound up with two wrong words for ratĪrabic words generally didn't enter English directly. Word of the Day / Nesher: The great Hebrew battle of the birds Hebrew words in English you didn't even know you knew Here are 40 English words that you never knew came from the Arab Middle East. Nonsense! The two have been meeting for centuries, leaving their mark on both Arabic and the languages of Europe. ![]() "East is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet," Rudyard Kipling wrote. Spice store in Dubai souq: You might know more of the spice names than you thought.
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