Wikipedia has list of words of Arabic origin by language. But these lists are typically long and include plenty of rare and arcane words, or words that are specific to Arabic culture or to Islam. Other words came from Persian (e.g. assassin, aubergine, candy, caravan, cheque, chess, lemon, lime, orange, spinach), Sanskrit (lacquer, sugar) or even Greek (almond, apricot, alchemy, chemistry, cumin, elixir, guitar, massage, tarragon) via Arabic, but aren't Arabic in origin. There are also words that might be of Arabic origin, but are uncertain as they don't exist in Arabic with that meaning (e.g. amalgam, antimony). I intend here to list everyday words used in English and Romance languages that really come from Arabic itself.
Words in brackets do not carry the original meaning any more. A translation of the Arabic word is provided in brackets whenever the word acquired a different meaning in all European languages compared to the original Arabic.
Other words like moka and tangerine are not from Arabic language itself as much as from the name of cities in the Arabic world where the product originally came from.
Of all these words, jubba acquired the most different meanings in each language. Originally meaning a silk garment in Arabic, it came to mean a jacket in the Renaissance Europe, a meaning which survives in Spanish and Italian. In Italian it also means a tunic. In English it became a jumper (sweater). In French jupe and jupon came to mean skirt. Even better, the Japanese imported the French jupon and changed it into zubon and gave it the meaning of trousers/pants! How can a word turn into so many different types of clothing?
Makhāzin kept its original meaning of storehouse or depot in Italian, and for a while in French too, until the French broadened its meaning to 'shop'. The English transformed it into magazine, giving it the meaning of a publication. The word was re-exported into French and Spanish, but interestingly not into Italian or Portuguese.
Some Arabic words only made their way to some Romance languages. French got toubib (slang word for doctor, from ṭabīb), while Italian gained gazzarra (racket, uproar, from ghazāra). Here are other Arabic loan words in Romance languages that don't exist in English.
Words in brackets do not carry the original meaning any more. A translation of the Arabic word is provided in brackets whenever the word acquired a different meaning in all European languages compared to the original Arabic.
| English | French | Italian | Spanish | Portuguese | Arabic root |
| admiral | amiral | ammiraglio | almirante | almirante | amīr al-baḥr |
| alcohol | alcool | alcol | alcohol | álcool | al-kohl |
| alcove | alcove | alcova | alcoba | alcova | al-qubba |
| algebra | algèbre | algebra | álgebra | álgebra | al-jabr |
| algorithm | algorithme | algoritmo | algoritmo | algoritmo | al-khwārizmī |
| arsenal | arsenal | arsenale | arsenal | arsenal | dār sināʿa |
| artichoke | artichaut | carciofo | alcachofa | alcachofra | al-kharshuf |
| (average) | avarie | avaria | avería | avaria | awār |
| café, coffee | café | caffè | café | café | qahwa |
| carafe | carafe | caraffa | jarra | jarra | ḡarafa |
| (de)cipher | chiffre | cifra | cifra | cifra | ṣifr |
| cotton | coton | cotone | algodón | algodão | qutun |
| curcuma | curcuma | curcuma | cúrcuma | cúrcuma | kurkum |
| gazelle | gazelle | gazzella | gacela | gazela | ghazāl |
| gilet | gilet | gilè, gilet | chaleco | gilet | jalikah |
| giraffe | giraffe | giraffa | jirafa | girafa | zarāfa |
| hazard | hasard | azzardo | azar | - | az-zahr (dice game) |
| jar | jarre | giara | jarra | jarra, jarro | jarra |
| jasmine | jasmin | gelsomino | jazmín | jasmim | yās(a)mīn |
| (jumper) | (jupe) | (giubba) | (jupata) | - | jubba (silk garment) |
| macabre | macabre | macabro | macabro | macabro | maqābir (graves, cemetery) |
| (magazine) | (magasin) | magazzino | (magacín) | - | makhāzin (storehouses) |
| mattress | matelas | materasso | - | - | maṭraḥ (large cushion or rug) |
| monsoon | mousson | monsone | monzón | monção | mawsim (season) |
| saffron | safran | zafferano | azafrán | açafrão | zaʿfarān |
| sofa | sofa | sofà | sofá | sofá | soffa (dais) |
| sherbet, sorbet | sorbet | sorbetto | sorbete | sorvete | sharāb (sweet drink) |
| soda | soude | saldato | soda | soldado | suwwād (saltwort) |
| syrup | sirop | sciroppo | jarabe, sirope | xarope | sharāb (sweet drink) |
| tariff | tarif | tariffa | tarifa | tarifa | taʿrīfa (notification) |
| tazza | tasse | tazza | taza | - | tassa |
| tuna | thon | tonno | atún | atum | tunn |
Other words like moka and tangerine are not from Arabic language itself as much as from the name of cities in the Arabic world where the product originally came from.
Of all these words, jubba acquired the most different meanings in each language. Originally meaning a silk garment in Arabic, it came to mean a jacket in the Renaissance Europe, a meaning which survives in Spanish and Italian. In Italian it also means a tunic. In English it became a jumper (sweater). In French jupe and jupon came to mean skirt. Even better, the Japanese imported the French jupon and changed it into zubon and gave it the meaning of trousers/pants! How can a word turn into so many different types of clothing?
Makhāzin kept its original meaning of storehouse or depot in Italian, and for a while in French too, until the French broadened its meaning to 'shop'. The English transformed it into magazine, giving it the meaning of a publication. The word was re-exported into French and Spanish, but interestingly not into Italian or Portuguese.
Some Arabic words only made their way to some Romance languages. French got toubib (slang word for doctor, from ṭabīb), while Italian gained gazzarra (racket, uproar, from ghazāra). Here are other Arabic loan words in Romance languages that don't exist in English.
| Italian | French | Spanish | Portuguese | Arabic | English meaning |
| zecca | - | ceca | - | (dār as-)sikka | mint (for coins) |
| - | (matraque) | matraca | matraca | miṭraqa | rattle (or truncheon in French) |
| meschino | mesquin | mezquino | mesquinho | miskīn | mean, petty |
| pappagallo | papegai | papagayo | papagaio | babaḡā | parrot |
| razzia | razzia | razzia | - | ḡazwa | raid |
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