Re: [tied] Arabic borrowing in Spanish and Portuguese

From: petegray
Message: 5095
Date: 2000-12-16

>why so many Arabic words, which were adopted by
> Spanish and Potuguese, ..retain
> the Arabic definite article 'al'.

This article also occurs in Arabic words in English (usually through Spanish
or whatever), for example, algebra, alcohol, apricot (Arabic al- on a Roman
calque of a Greek word!), artichoke, assegai, elixir, and even in lute.

Peter