*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Arabic

Etymology tree Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab)bor. Ancient Greek Ἄραψ (Áraps) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós) Ancient Greek Ἀραβικός (Arabikós)bor. Latin Arabicus

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

Related to the Arabic language. · Expressed in a script that was developed in Arab lands (but is not always used in the Arabic language): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. · Of, from, or pertaining to Arab countries or cultural behaviour (see also Arab as an adjective). · Arab.

name

A major Semitic language originating from the Arabian peninsula, and now spoken natively (in various spoken dialects, all sharing a single highly conservative standardized literary form) throughout large sections of the Middle East and North Africa. · The Aramaic-derived script used to write the Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, and Uyghur languages, among others.

noun

A variety of the Arabic language. · An Arab. · Ellipsis of Arabic numeral.

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

Etymology tree Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab)bor. Ancient Greek Ἄραψ (Áraps) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós) Ancient Greek Ἀραβικός (Arabikós)bor. Latin Arabicusbor. English Arabic From Latin Arabicus, from Ancient Greek Ἀραβικός (Arabikós), from Ἄραψ (Áraps, “Arab”) [from Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab)] + -ικός (-ikós, adjective suffix). By surface analysis, Arab + -ic.

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": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:Arabicus",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nArabic عَرَب (ʕarab)bor.\nAncient Greek Ἄραψ (Áraps)\nProto-Indo-European *-kos\nProto-Hellenic *-kos\nAncient Greek -κός (-kós)\nAncient Greek -ικός (-ikós)\nAncient Greek Ἀραβικός (Arabikós)bor.\nLatin Arabicusbor.\nEnglish Arabic\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"عَرَب\", \"status\" : \"ambiguous\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"Ἄραψ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjectives\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-kos\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*-kos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-κός\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-ικός\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\", \"pos\" : \"adjective suffix\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"Ἀραβικός\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"Arabicus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Arabic\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Arabic\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Arabicus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Arabicus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Ἀραβικός"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek Ἀραβικός (Arabikós)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "عَرَب"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab)"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "",
        "3": "-ικός<pos:adjective suffix>",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "+ -ικός (-ikós, adjective suffix)"
    },
    {
      "name": "surf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Arab",
        "3": "-ic"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, Arab + -ic"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:Arabicus",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nArabic عَرَب (ʕarab)bor.\nAncient Greek Ἄραψ (Áraps)\nProto-Indo-European *-kos\nProto-Hellenic *-kos\nAncient Greek -κός (-kós)\nAncient Greek -ικός (-ikós)\nAncient Greek Ἀραβικός (Arabikós)bor.\nLatin Arabicusbor.\nEnglish Arabic"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "عَرَب",
      "عرب#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "Ἄραψ",
      "Ἄραψ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "*-kos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-kos#Proto-Indo-European:_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*-kos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/-kos"
    ],
    [
      "-κός",
      "-κός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "-ικός",
      "-ικός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Ἀραβικός",
      "Ἀραβικός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Arabicus",
      "Arabicus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Arabicus",
      "Arabicus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Ἀραβικός",
      "Ἀραβικός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Ἄραψ",
      "Ἄραψ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "عَرَب",
      "عرب#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "-ικός",
      "-ικός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "Arab",
      "Arab#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ic",
      "-ic#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Related to the Arabic language.",
        "Expressed in a script that was developed in Arab lands (but is not always used in the Arabic language): 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.",
        "Of, from, or pertaining to Arab countries or cultural behaviour (see also Arab as an adjective).",
        "Arab."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "proscribed"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A major Semitic language originating from the Arabian peninsula, and now spoken natively (in various spoken dialects, all sharing a single highly conservative standardized literary form) throughout large sections of the Middle East and North Africa.",
        "The Aramaic-derived script used to write the Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, and Uyghur languages, among others."
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    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A variety of the Arabic language.",
        "An Arab.",
        "Ellipsis of Arabic numeral."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "proscribed",
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "ellipsis"
      ],
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    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "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 Arabic →

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-QXJhYmlj