Glossary of Arabic toponyms

Short description: Glossary of Arabic terms found in Arabic toponyms

PEF Survey of Western Palestine Key Map

The glossary of Arabic toponyms gives translations of Arabic terms commonly found as components in Arabic toponyms. A significant number of them were put together during the PEF Survey of Palestine carried out in the second half of the 19th century.

Contents:

* Top
* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z
* See also
* References
* External links

## A

'Ain, pl.: `Ayūn, ʿUyūn
Spring, fountain, source.[1] Examples: El Aaiún

* All pages with titles containing Ain
* All pages with titles containing Aiun

Ab, Abu
Father; as a geographical term it signifies "producing", "containing", etc.;[1]

* All pages with titles containing Ab
* All pages with titles containing Abu

Arak, pl.: Arkan
Cavern or cliff (among various meanings);[1] see All pages with titles containing Arak

## B

Bab, pl.: Buwab
Gate.[1] Examples Bab el-Mandeb; see All pages with titles containing Bab
Baḥr
Arabic: بحر \- Sea, large river.[1] see All pages with titles containing Bahr
Beit
House.[1] see All pages with titles containing Beit
Balad
Arabic: بلد (sometimes transliterated as Beled or Belled) - Town;[1] see All pages with titles containing Balad
Bir
Arabic: بير, Well;[1] see All pages with titles containing Bir
Birkeh
Artificial pool, tank;[1] see All pages with titles containing Birkeh
Buḥayra, Baḥeirah
Arabic: بحيرة, Lake, lagoon;[1] Diminutive of بَحْر (baḥr, “sea”).
Burj
Arabic: برج, Tower, castle;[1] see All pages with titles containing Burj

## C

Casbah
a kind of medina (old city) or fortress; cf. "Qasba"; see All pages with titles containing Casbah

## D

Dar
wikt:دار house; see Template:Search link
Deir
wikt:دير monastery, convent, cloister (often ruins thereof);[1] see All pages with titles containing Deir
Derb
wikt:درب road, pass;[1]see All pages with titles containing Derb
Dhahr
wikt:ظهر ridge;[1] All pages with titles containing Dhahr

## H

Haram
Sacred place;[1] see All pages with titles containing Haram
Haud
Reservoir,[1] pond; see All pages with titles containing Haud

## I

Ibn
Son; as a geographical term it signifies "producing", "containing", etc.[1] see All pages with titles containing Ibn

## J

Jama'a, Djama'a, Jami'a
place of gathering, community, mosque;[1]

* All pages with titles containing Jama'a
* All pages with titles containing Jami'a

Jazira, Jezireh, Jeziret
Island;[1]

* All pages with titles containing Jazira
* All pages with titles containing Jezireh
* All pages with titles containing Jeziret

Jebel, Djebel, Jebal, Jabal
mountain;[1]

* All pages with titles containing Jabal
* All pages with titles containing Jebal
* All pages with titles containing Jebel
* All pages with titles containing Djebel

Jisr
bridge;[1] see All pages with titles containing Jisr
Jubb
(Arabic: جُبّ ): well, pit;[1] see All pages with titles containing Jubb

## K

Kafr, Kafar, Kafer, Kufur, Kfar
Ultimately from an unattested "Mari language" through Akkadian and Aramaic, meaning "unfortified town". See the Wiktionary entry at كفر. Equivalent to Modern Hebrew Kfar. Unrelated to kafir or kufr.

* All pages with titles containing Kafr
* All pages with titles containing Kafar
* All pages with titles containing Kafer
* All pages with titles containing Kufur
* All pages with titles containing Kfar

Kasbah, Kasba, Kasaba
See Qasba

* All pages with titles containing Kasba
* All pages with titles containing Kasbah

Khan
From Persian xân, meaning caravanserai. Unrelated to the "Khan" in "Genghis Khan".

* Template:Search link

Khirbet, Khurbet, Khirbat, etc.
is the conjunctive form "ruin of" (خربة) of the Arabic word for "ruin" (خرب, khirba, khirbeh, kharab ("ruined"))

* All pages with titles containing Khirbet
* All pages with titles containing Khirbat
* All pages with titles containing Khurbet
* All pages with titles containing Kharab

Ksar, qsar, plural: ksour, qsour
Maghrebi Arabic; See "Qasr"

* All pages with titles containing Ksar
* All pages with titles containing Ksour
* All pages with titles containing Qsar

Kul'ah,[1] Kal'at, Kalat, Kala, Kaleh
Arabic, Persian. See "Qalat"

* All pages with titles containing Kal'at
* All pages with titles containing Kalat
* All pages with titles containing Kaleh

## M

Mazar
مزار: shrine, grave, tomb, etc. cf. "Mazar (mausoleum)". The placename usually refers to a grave of a saint, ruler, etc.. Examples: Mazar-i-Sharif

* All pages with titles containing Mazar
* All pages with titles containing Al-Mazar
* All pages with titles containing Almazar

Mazra', Mazra'a, Al-Mazra'a, Mazraa
مزرعة, mazraʿa: farm, مزرع, mazraʿ: field, farmland, origin for majra, hamlet in Indian subcontinent[2]

## N

Nahr
wikt:نهر, river, with the particular meaning of perennial water course, as opposed to a seasonal one, which is called a wadi;[3] see All pages with titles containing Nahr-e

## O

Oued
In North African Arabic, same as Wadi; see All pages with titles containing Oued

## Q

Qabr, Kabr, pl.:Qubūr
Arabic: قَبْر, pl. Arabic: قُبُور \- tomb, grave[1]

* All pages with titles containing Qabr
* All pages with titles containing Qubur

Qal'at, Qalat, Qala, Qalaat, Qal'a
Arabic, Persian. Fortified place, fort, fortress, castle;[4] see All pages with titles containing Qalat
Casbah, Kasbah, Qaṣba, Qaṣbah, Qaṣaba
Arabic: القصبة, romanized: al-qaṣaba), a kind of medina (old city) or fortress

* All pages with titles containing Casbah
* All pages with titles containing Qasba
* All pages with titles containing Qasbah
* All pages with titles containing Qasaba
* All pages with titles containing Kasbah

Qaṣr, Kaṣr, al-Qaṣr, pl.:Quṣūr
Arabic: قصر, lit. 'palace/castle/fortress', from Latin castrum

* All pages with titles containing Qasr
* All pages with titles containing Kasr
* All pages with titles containing Qusur
* It entered into Spanish and Portuguese placenames in the forms Alcazar, Alcácer
* North African (Maghrebi Arabic) form: Ksar

The dictionary definition of qasr at Wiktionary

## R

Ras
wikt:رأس, head, cape, top, peak, etc.,[1] see All pages with titles containing Ras
Rujm, plural: rujum
wikt:رجم, mound, cairn, hill, spur, and also as "stone heap" or "tumulus".[5][6][1]

* All pages with titles containing Rujm
* All pages with titles containing Rujum

## S

souk, sūq, souq
wikt:سوق, "market"

* All pages with titles containing Souk
* All pages with titles containing Suk
* All pages with titles containing Souq

## U

Umm
Mother; as a geographical term it signifies "producing", "containing", etc.; cf. "Mother of all";[1] see All pages with titles containing Umm

## W

Wadi, Wad, North African Arabic: see Oued
Watercourse: stream (often intermittent stream), sometimes dry waterbed, valley [1]

* All pages with titles containing Wadi
* All pages with titles containing Wady
* All pages with titles containing Wad
* All pages with titles containing Oued

## See also

* Toponymy of Maghreb
* Oikonyms in Western and South Asia
* Place names of Palestine
* List of Arabic place names

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 C.R. Conder; H.H. Kitchener (1880). Map of western Palestine in 26 sheets / from surveys conducted for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund by C.R. Conder and H.H. Kitchener during the years 1872-1877. London: Ordnance Survey Office. Index sheet (27): Topographical and Geographical Terms in Arabic. OCLC 1166941168.
2. ↑ Siddiqi 1982, p. 335.
3. ↑ "Yarmuk", from Encyclopaedia Judaica 2008, via Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 15 Feb 2025.
4. ↑ Siddiqi & Bastian 1985, p. 74.
5. ↑ Mann 2005, p. 139
6. ↑ Negev & Gibson 2005, p. 518

## Sources

* Mann, Joel F. (2005). An international glossary of place name elements. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5040-8.
* Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon (2005). Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land (4th, revised, illustrated ed.). Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-8571-7.
* "Urban Place Names in Pakistan: A Reflection of Cultural Characteristics". Names 29 (1): 65-84. 1985. OCLC 500207327. https://ans-names.pitt.edu/ans/article/download/937/936.
* "Significance of technical terms in place names--a case-study of Aligarh District". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 43. 1982. pp. 332-341.

## External links

* The intro to a 1950s gazetteer for 35,000 placenames of Arabian Peninsula and surrounding waters and islands contains a glossary of generic toponymic features

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