The arabisms are Spanish words whose origin is the Arabic language. For example: basil, lemon, lute.
The identity with which Arabic endowed Spanish is especially noticeable in some nuances of the language, such as the usual prefix al-, the pronunciation of the H in the aspirated form, tending to resemble a J (unlike literal Spanish, which takes it as a letter without any sonority) and the suffix -í for the adjectives, is a denomination completely detached from the Arabic influence.
On the other hand, many words that have a large number of equal vowels (usually A) separated in some cases by H, are also detached from Arabic languages.
In the Middle Ages, the Muslim civilization had some advances in various disciplines with respect to the Christian one and this meant that some techniques, objects and situations that were not known to the Christians were directly assimilated, without the need to create a new word.
That is why most of the Arabisms are related to techniques or trades (cooking, agriculture, commerce and manufacturing, war), or to scientific disciplines (in mathematics, astronomy or medicine).
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Examples of Arabisms
Olive Acorn Lute Sugar Cotton Lemon Adalitd Drum Dungeon Arroba Hashish Yemeni Chess Feat Dagger Basil Arsenal Algorithm Mason Overcoat Carrot Albace Escabeche Souk Albur Gandul Islam Piggy Bank Tile Blonde Alcazar Skirt Ferris Wheel Guitar Cobblestone Nasrid Orange Hostage Kermes Hopefully Magnet Imela Task Dice Engage Pillow
History of Arabisms
During the Middle Ages (which includes the end of the first millennium and the first half of the second), the Arab presence in the territory that is now Spain and Portugal was almost total, and interactions between Muslims and Christians were permanent. There even came to be caliphates (like the one in the Córdoba region), emirates and kingdoms.
The enormous interaction between cultures also had an impact on a literary, architectural, and even artistic level, endowing the entire Middle Ages with some very typical characteristics.
Like the rest of the languages whose origin is the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish was linked to the Arabic language from its beginnings. The existence of bilingual people allowed the birth of a large number of commercial interactions and, according to the different kingdoms of the Iberian region, the acceptance of the Arabic language occurred to a greater or lesser degree.
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