*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Cairo

Borrowed from Italian Il Cairo, from Arabic الْقَاهِرَة (al-qāhira)

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

The capital city of Egypt. · A governorate of Egypt, containing the capital city. · The Egyptian government. · A city, the county seat of Grady County, Georgia.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Italian Il Cairo, from Arabic الْقَاهِرَة (al-qāhira)

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 14 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "it:Il Cairo"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"pcalq.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Partial calque of\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"اَلْقَاهِرَة\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"partial calque\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Italian\", \"term\" : \"Il Cairo\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"it\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Cairo\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Cairo\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "Il Cairo"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian Il Cairo"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "الْقَاهِرَة"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic الْقَاهِرَة (al-qāhira)"
    },
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "ق ه ر"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "it:Il Cairo"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Il Cairo",
      "Il Cairo#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "الْقَاهِرَة",
      "القاهرة#Arabic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "The capital city of Egypt.",
        "A governorate of Egypt, containing the capital city.",
        "The Egyptian government.",
        "A city, the county seat of Grady County, Georgia."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "metonymically"
      ],
      "recordId": "f6fe9c6702a0e001e4ee9da4f73518a034177b2e6fddc6a3d5fbc55187b17abd",
      "rawRecordSha256": "53b24e3af585b3f5fcf5f70eaac89f8f248b05363bceecc9241f35277f6157fc",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 150551
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 14,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Cairo →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Q2Fpcm8