Portuguese Vocabulary - Arabic

Arabic

Projections indicate 1000 Arabic loan words. In old Portuguese this represented 25% of the literary lexicon, today its importance has decreased as the language became richer and reinfluenced by Greek, Latin and other languages.

• Alcova (alcove) from alkubba ( الكبة )
• Aldeia (village) from aldaya ( الدية )
• Alface (lettuce) from alkhass ( الخس )
• Algarismo (number, figure) from alkarizmi ( الكرزم )
• Algema (handcuff) from alzhaimar (bracelet) (سوار)
• Almirante (admiral) from amir + ar-rahl ( امير الرّال )
• Almofada (cushion) from almukhadda ( المخدّة )
• Âmbar (amber) from anbar ( انبر )
• Armazém (warehouse; a cognate of English "magazine") from almahazan ( المحزا )
• Arroz (rice) from arruz (loan from Greek óryza) ( الروز )
• Açúcar (sugar) from "as-sukkar" ( السكّر )
• Azeite (olive oil) from azzait ( الزّيت )
• Fátima (woman's name, and name of a town in Portugal) from Fāṭimah ( فاطيمى )
• Garrafa (bottle) from garrafā (cognate of English "caraffe") ( الغرّافة )
• Girafa (giraffe) from zurafa ( الزرفة )
• Jasmim (jasmine) from yasmin (loan from Persian jasamin) ( يسمن )
• Jarra (vase) from jarra ( الجارة )

The Mozambican currency Metical was derived from the word mitqāl ( مطقال ), an Arabic unit of weight. Mozambique's Portuguese name, Moçambique, itself was from Arabic name, Muça Alebique (Musa Alibiki), a sultan.