Surazeus

Surazeus
Location
Columbus, Georgia, Zarathi, Wohali, Anglonesia
Birthday
September 24
Title
Angelus of Anglonesia. Geospatial Analyst and Cartographer.
Bio
Cosmographer and Poet. BA in Liberal Arts - Literature and History at Washington State University 1988. MS in Geographic Information Science, Geospatial Analysis and Cartography at Michigan State University 2008. http://facebook.com/surazeus http://youtube.com/surazeus http://twitter.com/surazeus https://my.secondlife.com/surazeus.thor

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JANUARY 26, 2012 9:20PM

Arabic Words in English

Rate: 1 Flag

I saw a post where some Merkans were complaining about the Arabic word Haboob being used for a particular type of dust storm in Arizona.

So all those people whining about the Arabic word must also hate these words:

Algebra, Chemistry, Admiral, Adobe, Alfalfa, Apricot, Azure, Azimuth, Candy, Carob, Carrot, Coffee, Cotton, Guitar, Giraffe, Gauze, Lime, Lemon, Lute, Magazine, Macrame, Mummy, Mattress, Orange, Racquet, Safari, Sash, Scarlet, Sofa, Soda, Spinach, Syrup, Talisman, Tangerine, Tariff, Tuna, Zero.

Those are all contributions of the Arabic language to the richness of the English language.

Proper Merkan terms for these words:

Haboob: Scary Dust Storm
Algebra: Confusing Number Tricks
Chemistry: Sparkle Water Knowledge
Admiral: Big Ship King
Adobe: Baked Mud Brick
Alfalfa: Small Fluffy Wheat
Apricot: Small Thick Fruit
Azure: Light Dark Blue
Azimuth: Top Direction Point
Candy: Sticky Sweet Stuff
Carob: Evergreen Pea Tree
Carrot: Sun Eating Stick
Coffee: Boiled Beans Drink
Cotton: Fluffy Cloth Flower
Guitar: Round Stringed Box
Giraffe: Spotted Long-Neck Horse
Gauze: Soft See-Through Cloth
Lime: Green Sour Fruit
Lemon: Yellow Sour Fruit
Lute: Square Stringed Box
Magazine: Iron Bullets Box
Macrame: String Twisting Craft
Mummy: Dead Wrapped King
Mattress: Wired Feather Box
Orange: Sweet Sun Fruit
Racquet: Ball Hitting Circle
Safari: Jungle Hunting Trip
Sash: Waist Binding Cloth
Scarlet: Blood Princess Color
Sofa: Large Fluffy Chair
Soda: Fizzing Sparkle Water
Spinach: Yucky Grass Mush
Syrup: Sweet Sticky Sap
Talisman: Secret Welcome Bobble
Tangerine: Sweet Sour Fruit
Tariff: Stuff Selling Tax
Tuna: Large Gray Fish
Zero: Empty Nothing Number

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Comments

Type your comment below:
Pope Mobile? Odd omission, friend.
Yes, most people don't realize how critical early Arabs were to mathematics. But when you look at their artwork, and their architecture, you start to see the deep love of patterns. And even the letters themselves are works of art.

Okay, now do I get to say, "why can't we all just get along?"
The word pope is from Greek, Pappas for father. The word mobile is from Latin mobilis, movable, from movere, to move. No Arabic there.

Ancient scientific knowledge flowed from Egyptians to Sumerians to Greeks to Arabs and then to Europeans. The people of Europe had only half the dialog of Plato called Timaeus, and only learned about the rest of the dialogues because Arabs had preserved them for centuries.
I had never heard of the term "haboob" until I read this piece. Yes, it is silly to condemn the term because of its linguistic origin, but if no one knows what it means, then there is a failure to communicate. Unfortunately, most people are well acquainted with "algebra".