*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Arab

Borrowed from Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab, “Arabs”) or back-formation from Arabic.

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 ↗
adj

Of or pertaining to Arabs and their nations.

noun

A member of the Semitic ethnic group native to the Arabian Peninsula. · An Arabic-speaking person from anywhere in the Middle East and North Africa. · An Arabian horse. · A street Arab.

name

A city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States. · The Arabic language.

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

Borrowed from Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab, “Arabs”) or back-formation from Arabic.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "ع ر ب"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "عَرَب",
        "t": "Arabs"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab, “Arabs”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "backformation",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Arabic",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "back-formation from Arabic"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "عَرَب",
      "عرب#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "Arabic",
      "Arabic#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of or pertaining to Arabs and their nations."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "23c221331375e95a5cc57c99ef4e52b5e9fc9ca327aa99ccd174665dba2aa485",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b4e6fef2f51bce5353cafe73fc77126a7e462dc7228914b3c2e1791c63e14316",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 208926
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A member of the Semitic ethnic group native to the Arabian Peninsula.",
        "An Arabic-speaking person from anywhere in the Middle East and North Africa.",
        "An Arabian horse.",
        "A street Arab."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncommon",
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "8fe76b340d689d46305cde3acce840f29d06397e6b937b7361e221d7e239ad77",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4db8d2e2862b3b927006b850a868d953b47204aad4050b0bfd8d0a5dc0e47d51",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 208927
    },
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States.",
        "The Arabic language."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "rare"
      ],
      "recordId": "d018f67545359bbdb16d56dd2f4a458ee390de645bdc0460933a2d688b08c065",
      "rawRecordSha256": "caeb4a58924bfb9851cb221db1de7945b7a8c64c9aa7cce56aaf0f5565fd5003",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 208928
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "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 Arab →

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-QXJhYg