Glossary of Arabic toponyms

Glossary of Arabic terms found in Arabic toponyms
PEF Survey of Western Palestine Key Map

The glossary of Arabic toponyms gives translations of Arabic terms commonly found as components in Arabic toponyms. A significant number of them were put together during the PEF Survey of Palestine carried out in the second half of the 19th century.

A

'Ain, pl.: `Ayūn, ʿUyūn
Spring, fountain, source.[1] Examples: El Aaiún
  • All pages with titles containing Ain
  • All pages with titles containing Aiun
Ab, Abu
Father; as a geographical term it signifies "producing", "containing", etc.;[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Ab
  • All pages with titles containing Abu
Arak, pl.: Arkan
Cavern or cliff (among various meanings);[1] see All pages with titles containing Arak

B

Bab, pl.: Buwab
Gate.[1] Examples Bab el-Mandeb; see All pages with titles containing Bab
Bahr
Arabic: بحر - Sea, large river.[1] see All pages with titles containing Bahr
Beit
House.[1] see All pages with titles containing Beit
Balad
Arabic: بلد (sometimes transliterated as Beled or Belled) - Town;[1] see All pages with titles containing Balad
Bir
Arabic: بير, Well;[1] see All pages with titles containing Bir
Birkeh
Artificial pool, tank;[1] see All pages with titles containing Birkeh
Buhayra, Baheirah
Arabic: بحيرة, Lake, lagoon;[1] Diminutive of بَحْر (baḥr, “sea”).
Burj
Arabic: برج, Tower, castle;[1] see All pages with titles containing Burj

D

Deir
wikt:دير monastery, convent, cloister (often ruins thereof);[1] see All pages with titles containing Deir
Derb
wikt:درب road, pass;[1] see All pages with titles containing Derb
Dhahr
wikt: ridge;[1] see All pages with titles containing Dhahr

H

Haram
Sacred place;[1] see All pages with titles containing Haram
Haud
Reservoir,[1] pond; see All pages with titles containing Haud

I

Ibn
Son; as a geographical term it signifies "producing", "containing", etc.;[1] see All pages with titles containing Ibn

J

Jama'a, Djama'a, Jami'a
place of gathering, community, mosque;[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Jama'a
  • All pages with titles containing Jami'a
Jazira, Jezireh, Jeziret
Island;[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Jazira
  • All pages with titles containing Jezireh
  • All pages with titles containing Jeziret
Jebel, Djebel, Jebal, Jabal
mountain;[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Jabal
  • All pages with titles containing Jebal
  • All pages with titles containing Jebel
  • All pages with titles containing Djebel
Jisr
bridge;[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Jisr
Jubb
(Arabic: جُبّ ): well, pit;[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Jubb

K

Khirbet, Khurbet, Khirbat, etc.
is the conjunctive form "ruin of" (خربة) of the Arabic word for "ruin" (خرب, khirba, kharab ("ruined"))
  • All pages with titles containing Khirbet
  • All pages with titles containing Khirbat
  • All pages with titles containing Khurbet
  • All pages with titles containing Kharab
Kul'ah,[1] Kal'at, Kalat, Kala, Kaleh
Arabic, Persian. See "Qalat"
  • All pages with titles containing Kalat

M

Mazar
مزار: shrine, grave, tomb, etc. cf. "Mazar (mausoleum)". The placename usually refers to a grave of a saint, ruler, etc.. Examples: Mazar-i-Sharif
  • All pages with titles containing Mazar
  • All pages with titles containing Al-Mazar
  • All pages with titles containing Almazar
Mazra', Mazra'a, Al-Mazra'a, Mazraa
مزرعة, mazraʿa: farm, مزرع, mazraʿ: field, farmland, origin for majra, hamlet in Indian subcontinent[2]

N

Nahr
wikt:نهر, river, e.g., Nahr-e Mian; see All pages with titles containing Nahr-e

O

Oued
In North African Arabic, same as Wadi
  • All pages with titles containing Oued

Q

Qabr, Kabr, pl.:Qubūr
Arabic: قَبْر, pl. Arabic: قُبُور - tomb, grave[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Qabr
  • All pages with titles containing Qubur
Qasr, Kasr, al-Qasr, pl.:Qusūr
Arabic: قصر, lit. 'palace/castle/fortress', from Latin castrum
  • All pages with titles containing Qasr
  • All pages with titles containing Kasr
  • All pages with titles containing Qusur
  • It entered into Spanish and Portuguese placenames in the forms Alcazar, Alcácer
  • North African (Maghrebi Arabic) form: Ksar
The dictionary definition of qasr at Wiktionary
Qal'at, Qalat, Qala, Qalaat, Qal'a
Arabic, Persian. Fortified place, fort, fortress, castle;[3] see All pages with titles containing Qalat

R

Ras
wikt:رأس, head, cape, top, peak, etc.,[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Ras
Rujm, plural: rujum
wikt:رجم, mound, cairn, hill, spur, and also as "stone heap" or "tumulus".[4][5][1]
  • All pages with titles containing Rujm
  • All pages with titles containing Rujum

U

Umm
Mother; as a geographical term it signifies "producing", "containing", etc.; cf. "Mother of all";[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Umm

W

Wadi, Wad, North African Arabic: Oued
Watercourse: stream (often intermittent stream), sometimes dry waterbed, valley [1]
  • All pages with titles containing Wadi
  • All pages with titles containing Wady
  • All pages with titles containing Wad
  • All pages with titles containing Oued

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab C.R. Conder; H.H. Kitchener (1880). Map of western Palestine in 26 sheets / from surveys conducted for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund by C.R. Conder and H.H. Kitchener during the years 1872-1877. London: Ordnance Survey Office. Index sheet (27): Topographical and Geographical Terms in Arabic. OCLC 1166941168.
  2. ^ Siddiqi 1982, p. 335.
  3. ^ Siddiqi & Bastian 1985, p. 74.
  4. ^ Mann 2005, p. 139
  5. ^ Negev & Gibson 2005, p. 518

Sources

  • Mann, Joel F. (2005). An international glossary of place name elements. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5040-8.
  • Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (2005). Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land (4th, revised, illustrated ed.). Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-8571-7.
  • Siddiqi, Akhtar Husain; Bastian, Robert W. (1985). "Urban Place Names in Pakistan: A Reflection of Cultural Characteristics". Names. 29 (1): 65–84. OCLC 500207327.
  • Siddiqi, Jamal Mohd (1982). Significance of technical terms in place names—a case-study of Aligarh District. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol. 43. pp. 332–341. JSTOR 44141245.

External links

  • The intro to a 1950s gazeteer for 35,000 placenames of Arabian Peninsula and surrounding waters and islands contains a glossary of generic toponymic features
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