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Note: by "Moroccan", I mean either the Moroccan dialect of Arabic or Moroccan Berber, although many of these words are unique to Morocco. The same applies for "Tunisian"
Abid (sing. abd) (Arabic)
Slaves/servants (of); Negro slave caste in Moorish society
Aid el Kebir (Arabic)
Literally 'the great feast'. Islamic festival held 50 days after Ramadan in commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac for the love of God
Ait (Arabic)
Literally 'children of', hence tribe
Alhamdulillah/i (Arabic/Hassiniyah)
'Praise be to Allah', commonly spoken at the end of a meal
Ali
Cousin and son in law of Muhammad. 4th Caliph of Islam (656-61AD), but considered the first by the Shiites
'Ameria (Moroccan)
Covered carriage for the bride on her wedding day
Amzil (Arabic)
Blacksmith
Ash halak (Hassiniyah)
'How are you?'
Ashashin (Moroccan)
Opium poppy; juice thereof (often confused with hacheichi or hashish)
B'slama (Arabic)
Goodbye
B'stilla (Moroccan)
Millefeuille pigeon pie
Bab (Arabic)
A gate; door; entrance
Baboush (Arabic)
Pointed leather slipper
Baisa (Moroccan)
Soup made from fava beans (ful) in Chefchaouen and the Rif Mountains
Balise (French)
Desert road marker
Baraka (Arabic)
Divine or saintly blessing or aura
Barkhan (Saharan)
Fast moving crescentic sand dunes
Barrage (French)
Roadblock
Bayoud (Saharan)
Palm tree disease
Bazaar (Arabic)
Shop where a range of artisan goods is sold
Beni Hassan
One of several Yemeni tribes who emigrated to northwest Africa and the Western Sahara in the Middle Ages
Bidan (Hassiniyah)
Upper noble caste of Moors, comprising hassanes and marabouts
Bidonville (French)
Slum. Literally 'drum town', from the metal drums which when flattened provide material for roofs and walls
Bismillah (Arabic)
'In the Name of Allah' (spoken as grace before meals). Full version: Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim, 'In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful'
Bled el Bidan (Moroccan)
'Lands of the Bidan' (Mauritania)
Bled el Makhzen (Moroccan)
'Lands of the Treasury' (ie those governed by sultans)
Bled es Siba (Morocco)
'Lands of Dissidence' (until 1930s, Berber-dominated Rif, Atlas and Sahara)
Bled es Sudan (Moroccan)
'Lands of the Blacks' (the Sudan; Black Africa)
Bolong (West African)
Creek; waterway
Bonava (West African)
Meat and potato stew
Boné (Mandingo)
Bad luck
Bou (Moroccan)
Father of (=Arabic abou)
Boubou (Hassiniyah)
Light flowing Moorish robe
Brakna (Hassiniyah)
Moors of southern Mauritania
Brochette (French)
Meat roasted or grilled on a skewer (kebab)
Bukhakes (Moroccan)
Species of flying darkling beetle
Caliph (Arabic)
Title of the successors of Muhammad as rulers of the Islamic world
Cana (West Africa)
Distilled palm wine
Chagi (Saharan)
Desert wind
Cheche (Saharan)
Face muffler; turban
Couscous (Arabic)
Steamed semolina, often served with meat or fish, and vegetables. National dish of Morocco
Damel (Wolof)
King
Desert rose
Crystallised sandstone in the form of flowers
Dhab (Saharan)
Large lizard. Its name apparently means 'sound of running fast'
Djebel (Moroccan)
Mountain; mountain range (dialectal of Arabic jabal)
Djinn or Djnoun (sing. djinni) (Arabic)
Supernatural spirits
Doum (Arabic)
Species of palm tree, often with several trunks
Erg (Saharan)
Range of sand dunes
Evil Eye
Curse; hex; envy
Factoria (Portuguese)
Slaving entrepôt
Fana (Arabic, Moroccan)
Literally 'annihilation', often used to mean the Day of Judgement, when the universe will cease to exist. Used by Moroccan Sufis to describe ecstatic communion with Allah/Paradise
Faneau (West African)
Cotton fabric; body wrap
Fassi (Moroccan)
Pertaining to Fès; citizen of Fès
Fatima
Daughter of Muhammad and wife of Ali
Fondouq (Arabic)
Courtyard (usually with a purpose)
Foum (Moroccan)
Narrow river gorge
Fouta (Arabic)
Towel
Friq (Saharan)
Nomad encampment (up to about a dozen tents)
Ful (Arabic)
Fava or lima beans. National dish of Egypt
Ganga (Moroccan/West African)
Drums played by Negro griots
Garro (Moroccan)
Cigarette vendor (from Spanish cigarro)
Gnawa (sing. gnawi) (Moroccan)
Clan of Negro griots originally from Guinea
Griot (West African)
Itinerant musician, praise singer and genealogist
Guedra (Saharawi)
Saharawi fertility dance; name of drum to which it is performed
Guelta (Saharan)
Water pool, usually formed in rock
Guerba (Saharan)
Animal skin water bag
Guetna (Hassiniyah)
Date harvest; date picking festival
Hacheichi (Arabic)
Literally 'hashish eater'; dope fiend
Haejuj (Moroccan)
3-stringed bass lute
Haik (Arabic)
Arab woman's outer garment for the head and body
Hajj (Arabic)
The pilgrimage to Mecca (one of the five Pillars of Islam) that every Muslim is required to make at least once in his life
Hammada (Saharan)
Flat, stone strewn desert plain
Hammam (Arabic)
Moorish/Turkish bath
Hand of Fatima (in Arabic, khomsa)
Protective charm in form of hand and eye
Haratin (Hassiniyah)
Moorish caste of mulattos whose slave status was often unclear. Often used to mean slave or, nowadays, ex-slave
Harira (Moroccan)
Soup including chick peas, noodles, and tomato
Harissa (Moroccan)
Red chilli and garlic paste
Harmattan (Saharan)
Dry dusty wind from Sahara that blows towards the West African coast
Hashish (Arabic)
Cannabis resin, as opposed to leaves or flowers (kif)
Hassane (Hassiniyah)
Moorish caste of warriors. They claim direct descent from the Yemeni Beni Hassan tribe
Hassiniyah
Dialect of classical Arabic spoken in Mauritania. From Beni Hassan, a tribe of Yemeni nomads
Hejira (Arabic)
The flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622AD; beginning of the Muslim era
Hijab (Arabic)
Literally 'protection'. Woman's veil; magical charm (amulet)
Hivernage (French)
Rainy season
Iblis or ebliss (Arabic)
The Fallen Angel, seen by many as an aspect of Satan. Also means dust devil (a twisting spout of dust); the devil of carnal desires; the charms of a young woman
Imam (Arabic)
Leader of a Muslim community; leader in prayer
Imazighen (Moroccan/Saharan)
Literally 'Noble ones' (Berbers or Saharans free of the control of sultans, kings, etc)
Insha Allah (Arabic)
'If Allah is Willing' - a common exclamation
Jellaba (Moroccan)
Loose woollen cloak with hood, worn by men
Jizya (Arabic)
Poll tax paid by non-Muslim subjects, particularly Jews, as a form of protection
Jrad (Arabic)
Locust (cricket)
Juju (West African)
Talisman/charm
Ka'bah
Sacred pilgrim shrine of Islam, contains the Black Stone believed to have been given Abraham by the archangel Gabriel
Kaftan (Arabic)
Long coatlike garment; in Morocco, a looser woman's version with wide sleeves
Kasbah (Arabic)
Castle or citadel of north African cities
Kefta (Arabic)
Spicy mincemeat, meatballs, meatloaf.
Khram khram (Saharan)
Spiny prickly seed grass of Sahel which marks the southern limit of hyper-arid desert
Kif (Moroccan)
Marijuana mixed with black tobacco. From Arabic kaif, pleasure
Kif kif (Moroccan)
Literally 'pleasure-pleasure', meaning no preference; equal; quits; fifty-fifty
Koubba (Arabic)
Mausoleum of saint (marabout)
Ksar (pl. ksour) (Arabic)
Fortified desert village made of mud
Labass (Moroccan/Hassiniyah)
'No evil?', said as a greeting
Litham (Saharan)
Cotton face muffler
M'zaza (Moroccan)
Mad, insane
M'zien (Moroccan)
Good
Madrasa (Arabic)
Qur'anic school
Mafé (West Africa)
Meat stew, usually eaten with rice
Mansouria (Arabic)
Woman's gown, worn under the kaftan
Marabout (Marabout)
Saint; religious sage. The word also means stork, which have the habit of nesting on top of saintly mausolea
Marhaba w'sahala (Arabic)
'Be welcome and feel at ease'
Medina (Arabic/Moroccan)
Old quarter of city (from Medina in Saudi Arabia, the Prophet Muhammad's refuge in 622AD)
Méréyé (Saharan)
Low waves of dunes in parallel ridges set a few hundred yards apart
Merguez (Tunisian)
Tunisian style sausages
Moqqadam (Arabic)
Village headman; official
Moussem (Moroccan)
Commercial and religious gathering about the shrine of a marabout
Muezzin (Arabic)
The man who chants the call to prayer from a mosque minaret
Muhammad (c.570-632AD)
Prophet and founder of Islam, born in Mecca on the Arabian peninsula. The Qur'an was revealed to him by God. Fled from persecution to Medina in 622AD. Last in the line of prophets including Adam, Moses, Abraham and Jesus
N'srani (Arabic/Moroccan)
Nazarine, meaning Christian (used derogatively for Europeans and non-Muslims)
N'zala (Arabic)
'Setting down place', caravan encampment
Narghili (Arabic)
Water pipe (hookah)
Ornières (French)
Tyre ruts in sand
Oued (Arabic)
River
Oulad (sing. ould)
Sons (of)
Pillars of Islam
The five obligations of Muslims: recitation of the creed; worship five times daily facing the holy city of Mecca; almsgiving; fasting sunrise to sunset during Ramadan; pilgrimage to Mecca (= the Hajj)
Pirogue (French)
Double-prowed canoe, traditionally dug-out
Pisé (French)
Form of adobe: sun-dried mud packed with straw, palm fronds or spliced tree trunk, used for building
Piste (French)
Track, trail
Polisario Front
Saharawi guerilla organisation founded 1973. Acronym for: Frente Popular para la Liberacíon de Saguia el Hamra y Río de Oro
Qa'ida (Arabic)
Code of conduct/manners for gentlemen
Qur'an (Arabic)
Literally 'the recitation' or 'reading', the Word of God as conveyed via Muhammad in the year 610AD
Ramadan
One of the five Pillars of Islam: 30 days in 9th month of the Hejiran calendar, during which strict fasting is observed between sunrise and sunset
Razzia (Saharan)
Nomad attack/raid on village or caravan
Reguibat (Saharawi)
Powerful tribe of Western Sahara, to which Sidi Mohamed Ma el Aïnin belonged. Founded by Sidi Ahmad al Rgibi
Rhaïta (Moroccan)
Droning oboe/flute (also called nay or zukra in other Muslim lands); the fluted flowers of the datura tree which they resemble in shape
Saharawi
Collective name for Western Saharan nomads, including Reguibat, Oulad Delim, Tekna, and Chnagla
Salaam Alaikum (Arabic)
'Peace be on you'. Reply is Alaikum Salaam
Sebkha (Moroccan/Saharawi)
Salt lake/pan (dry)
Sebkhet (Hassiniyah/Saharawi)
Salt lake/pan (dry)
Shaitan (Arabic)
Satan
Sharif (Arabic)
Descendant of Muhammad through Fatima; honorific title accorded to any Muslim ruler
Sibsi (Moroccan)
Long pipe for smoking kif
Sidi (Moroccan/Saharawi)
Honorific title like 'Sir', always used to prefix saints' names
Signares (West African)
Half-caste élite of West African coastal cities
Souk (Arabic)
Marketplace (usually open-air)
Sura (Arabic)
One of 114 sections of the Qur'an
Tajakant (Hassiniyah)
Moors of northern Mauritania
Tajine (Moroccan)
Earthernware dish; stew cooked in it
Tarboush (Arabic)
Fez (felten cap)
Tawarik (sing. Targui) (Saharan)
Tuareg
Tayammum (Arabic)
Religious ablutions using sand when no water is available
Tié bou dienne (West African)
Literally 'rice with fish'
Toq toqa (Moroccan)
Disreputable Riffian dance for young boys
Toubab (Wolof)
Literally 'to convert'; used derogatively for white man / foreigner
Trarza (Hassiniyah)
Moors of southern Mauritania
'Ud (or oud) (Arabic)
11-stringed lute
Wadi (Saharan)
(dry) river bed
Yallah (Arabic)
Exclamation: 'come on!' 'hurry up!'
Yamba (West African)
Marijuana
Zaouia (Arabic)
Religious retreat
Zebu
Domesticated ox with humped back and long horns
Zenaga (Hassiniyah)
Middle caste of Moors including semi nomadic herdsmen, cultivators and artisans
Zrig (Hassiniyah)
Mixture of water, sugar, sour milk culture and milk |
