You Already Know a Little Arabic

As we said in the previous post, Arabic is the official language of over 20 countries and is spoken by more than 300 million people across the globe! It’s the language in which the Koran, the Holy Book in Islam, was revealed and written, and a large majority of the over 1.3 billion Muslims across the world study Arabic in order to read the Koran and to fulfill their religious duties. By speaking Arabic, you get access to people and places from Morocco to Indonesia.
Anyway, you may be surprised to hear that quite a few English words trace their origins to Arabic. For example, did you know that “magazine,” “candy,” and “coffee” are actually Arabic words?
The next table lists some familiar English words with Arabic origins...

English , Arabic Origin and Arabic Meaning..

admiral |amir al-baHr (Ruler of the Sea)
alcohol |al-kuHul (a mixture of powdered antimony)
alcove |al-qubba (a dome or arch)
algebra |al-jabr (to reduce or consolidate)
almanac |al-manakh (a calendar)
arsenal |daar As-SinaaH (house of manufacture)
azure |al-azward (lapis lazuli)
candy |qand cane (sugar)
coffee |qahwa (coffee)
cotton |quTun (cotton)
elixir |al-iksiir ( philosopher’s stone)
gazelle |ghazaal (gazelle)
hazard |az-zahr (dice)
magazine |al-makhzan (a storehouse; a place of storage)
mattress |matraH (a place where things are thrown)
ream |rizma (a bundle)
saffron |za’fran (saffron)
Sahara |SaHraa’ (desert)
satin |zaytuun (Arabic name for a Chinese city)
sherbet |sharaba (to drink)
sofa |Sofaa (a cushion)
sugar |sukkar (sugar)
zero |Sifr (zero)

As you see, Arabic has had a major influence on the English language. Some English words such as “admiral” and “arsenal” have an indirect Arabic origin, whereas others, such as “coffee” and “cotton,” are exact matches! The influence runs the other way, too, especially when it comes to
relatively contemporary terms. For example, the word tilifizyuun (tee-lee-feezee- yoon; television) comes straight from the word “television.” As is often the case with languages, Arabic and English tend to influence each other, and that’s what makes studying them so much fun!

The most interesting point that maybe not so common or known for many,..and to get more understand to the Arabic’s role in history, it's enough to say that during the Middle Ages, when Europe was plunged into the Dark Ages, Arab scholars and historians translated and preserved most of the works of the Greek scholars, thereby preserving some of the greatest intellectual achievements that are the cornerstone of Western civilization

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What Do You Know About Arabic Language ?....
You Already Know a Little Arabic