Good at geography? Then you already know some Arabic
The Rock of Gibraltar. Do you know where the name comes from?
1. Medina = ‘city’
This city of Medina in Saudi Arabia is considered to be the second holiest city in Islam after Mecca. In Arabic, medina just means ‘city’. In some cities, though, people say medina to specify the old part of a city, contrasting it to the new, modern part.
2. Dar es Salaam = ‘abode of peace’
The largest and richest city in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam means ‘abode of peace’. Dar can translate to ‘home’ or ‘place’ as well. Salaam means ‘peace’. The word appears in the very common Arabic greeting, As-salaam aleykum, ‘peace be upon you.’ This sounds formal, but is very standard.
3. Bahrain = ‘two seas’
Just off the east coast of Saudi Arabia is the island country of Bahrain. In Arabic bahr means ‘sea’. The ending ayn means ‘two of something’. Hence bahrayn, meaning ‘two seas’.
4. Emirates = ‘principalities’
The United Arab Emirates is a country made of seven emirates, or principalities. Emir can mean ‘general’, ‘prince’, or ‘commander’. Emirate has come to mean the territory ruled by an emir.
5. Gibraltar ≈ Jebel Tariq = ‘mountain of Tariq’
A British Oversees Territory located at the bottom tip of Spain, Gibraltar gets its name from the huge chunk of rock that takes up most of the territory itself. ‘Gibraltar’ comes from a Spanish version of the Arabic Jebel Tariq meaning ‘mountain of Tariq.’ The history we will not go into now.
There you have it. Whether you knew it or not, you already knew the Arabic for ‘city’, ‘place’, ‘peace’, ‘sea’, ‘prince’, ‘principality’, and ‘mountain’.
Great post!