Glossary of Arabic toponyms

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.

PEF Survey of Western Palestine Key Map

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
Bahr
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
Buhayra, Baheirah
Arabic: بحيرة, Lake, lagoon;[1] Diminutive of بَحْر (baḥr, “sea”).
Burj
Arabic: برج, Tower, castle;[1] see All pages with titles containing Burj

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

K
Khirbet, Khurbet, Khirbat, etc.
is the conjunctive form "ruin of" (خربة) of the Arabic word for "ruin" (خرب, khirba, 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
Kul'ah,[1] Kal'at, Kalat, Kala, Kaleh
Arabic, Persian. See "Qalat"
  • All pages with titles containing Kalat

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, e.g., Nahr-e Mian; see All pages with titles containing Nahr-e

O
Oued
In North African Arabic, same as Wadi
  • 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;[3] see All pages with titles containing Qalat

R
Ras
wikt:رأس, head, cape, top, peak, etc.,[1]
  • All pages with titles containing Ras
Rujm, plural: rujum
wikt:رجم, mound, cairn, hill, spur, and also as "stone heap" or "tumulus".[4][5][1]
  • All pages with titles containing Rujm
  • All pages with titles containing Rujum

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

W
Wadi, Wad, North African Arabic: 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

References
  1. 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. Siddiqi & Bastian 1985, p. 74.
  4. Mann 2005, p. 139
  5. 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.
  • Siddiqi, Akhtar Husain; Bastian, Robert W. (1985). "Urban Place Names in Pakistan: A Reflection of Cultural Characteristics". Names. 29 (1): 65–84. OCLC 500207327.
  • Siddiqi, Jamal Mohd (1982). Significance of technical terms in place names—a case-study of Aligarh District. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol. 43. pp. 332–341. JSTOR 44141245.
  • The intro to a 1950s gazeteer for 35,000 placenames of Arabian Peninsula and surrounding waters and islands contains a glossary of generic toponymic features
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