Marrakesh - Etymology

Etymology

The name is spelled Merrakec in the Berber Latin alphabet, Marrakech in French and Marraquech in Spanish. The common English spelling is "Marrakesh", although "Marrakech" is also widely used. The probable origin of the name is from the Berber (Amazigh) words mur (n) akush (ⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⴽⵓⵛ), which means "Land of God". The word mur is used now in Berber mostly in the feminine form tamurt. The same word "mur" appears in Mauretania, the North African kingdom from antiquity, although the link remains controversial as this name might also originate from μαύρος mavros, the ancient Greek word for black. In spoken Arabic the word is "Mer-reksh". The exact meaning of the name is unknown according to some, but according to Susan Searight, the town's name was first mentioned in an 11th century manuscript in the Qarawiyyin library in Fez and meant "country of the sons of Kush" in reference to the black people of the area.

Since medieval times and until around the beginning of the 20th century, the entire country of Morocco was known in English and other European literature as "Kingdom of Marrakesh" as the capital city back then was often Marrakech. The Persian and Urdu words for "Morocco" are still مراكش "Marrakech" to this day. European names of Morocco (Marruecos, Marrocos, Maroc, Marokko, etc.) are directly derived from the Berber word Murakush, and in many South Asian languages the country is in fact still known as Marrakech. Conversely, the city itself was in earlier times simply called Marocco (City) (or similar) by travelers from abroad. The name of the city and the country diverged after the Treaty of Fez placed Morocco under French influence, but the old interchangeable usage lasted widely until about the interregnum of Mohammed Ben Aarafa. The latter episode set in motion the country's return to independence, when Morocco officially became al-Mamlaka al-Maġribiyya (المملكة المغربية) ("The Maghreb Kingdom"), its name no longer referring to the city of Marrakesh. Marrakesh, also known as the "red city" and "the daughter of the desert", is the great citadel of the Islamic world which has been qualified as "a drum that beats an African identity into the complex soul of Morocco."