Description

Arabic gave Europe cotton to wear, coffee to drink, chess to play, magazine to read, mattress to sleep on, and sugar to sweeten with. This book is a lucid exposition of these and a host of other Arabic words that have become part and parcel of English and other European languages. It is not a catalogue of words, but a lively discussion based on linguistic evidence, enriched with copious literary quotations and characterized by profound regard and respect for each other’s culture and views.

The book opens up new world of fascinating information in the domains of etymology, phonetic change and semantic development.

Dr. V. Abdur Rahim majored in English language and Literature at the University of Madras, India. He got his MPhil, and Ph.D. degrees in Arabic Philology from al-Azhar University, Cairo. His field of specialization was the study of loan words in Arabic. He has so far published five books on this subject.

He taught Arabic Philology at the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia for twenty-six years. During this period he was also associated with the Programme of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign language. The course he designed for this purpose titled Durus al-lughah al-Arabiyyah li-Ghayr al-Natiqin Biha (Arabic Course for non-Native Speakers) is now being used in many parts of the world.

Currently, he is Director, Translation Centre, King Fah(‘ Qur’an Printing Complt.s, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.