The Arabic Influence on the Spanish

Language
In 711 C.E., Arab armies began the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. With the conquest,
the hispanomusulmanes, as they're called in Spanish, brought the Arabic architecture, art, and
of course, the language. Over time, Arabic expressions mixed with old Spanish vocabulary to
become the Spanish dialect that most Spanish-speaking countries use
today: castellano (Castilian Spanish).

Even as the Spanish kingdom expelled the Arab empire from the region in 1492, Castilian
Spanish retains approximately 8,000 words with Arabic origin to this day. After Latin, Arabic
has made the greatest contribution to the Spanish language.

Traveling through Spain, it is almost impossible to avoid the name of a place or region that is
derived from Arabic. To name just a few:

Something interesting to note about this map is that the majority of the Spanish locations
derived from Arabic are limited to the central and southern regions of the country,
representative of how the empire was unsuccessful in conquering the entire peninsula.
However, the Arabic influence on the Spanish language extends past the names of modern
cities and regions. Perhaps the easiest way to see this influence in Spanish is in the simple
words spoken every day. Here are the top 10 Spanish words with Arabic origin:
1. Ojalá
One of the words well-known to come from Arabic, ojalá means "hopefully" in English and
comes from the Arabic expression: "ma sha allah" which means "should God will it."

2. Usted
This next word, usted is interesting because the word itself is derived from the Spanish
expression "vuestro merced", but in fact is phonetically similar to the Arabic word for
doctor/professor: ustadh.

3. Hasta
Meaning "until" in English, hasta comes from the Arabic word hata, which is a preposition
with essentially the same meaning as hasta.

4. Azúcar
Definitely the sweetest word on this list, azúcar, meaning "sugar" in English followed along
the silk road and originates directly from the Arabic word as-sukkar.

5. Aceite
From the Arabic word, zayt, aceite translates to "oil" in English–not the fossil fuel, but the
delicious liquid that comes from olives.

6. Almohada
Meaning "pillow" in English, almohada originates from the Arabic word al-mikaddawhich
became almuhadda in Andalusian Arabic (the Arabic of the Iberian Peninsula).

7. Barrio
Barrio, which translates to "neighborhood" in English, comes from the Arabic word for outer
limits (referring to a city): barri.

8. Alfil
Chess was a game loved by the Arabic empire, and it only makes sense that the Spanish word
for chess piece, alfil, is derived from the Arabic word al-fil.

9. Asesino
An interesting origin, with no direct correlation of meaning, asesino, meaning "assassin" in
English, comes from the Arabic word hashashin, meaning "hashish users".

10. Adobe
One of the most popular construction materials under the Arab reign of Spain, adobe, the
Spanish word for mud brick, originates from the Arabic word at-tub.