English Words from Arabic origins

1. The amount of ability, intelligence, or character of a person: "We rarely get such a high caliber teacher in our school."

"We need to improve the caliber of our schools."

2. The internal diameter of a pipe, cylinder, or the barrel of a firearm; such as, a rifle, shotgun, or pistol.
3. The external diameter of a projectile; such as, a bullet or a shell which is fired from a particular weapon.
4. Etymology: "degree of merit or importance", is from Middle French calibre in the late 15th century; apparently it ultimately came from Arabic qalib, "a mold for casting".

Arabic also used the word in the sense of "mold for casting bullets"; which is the original literal meaning in English.

Not from Arabic; however, it is of Semitic origin. It is thought to be more ancient than the Arabic language. It is common among languages such as Hebrew and Aramaic.

Derived from the Arab word qutun.

The Arabs played a very extensive role in the cotton trade and so the word for cotton came from the Arab traders into the European vocabulary.

1. A species of camel, also called the Arabian camel, with one hump or protuberance on the back, as distinguished from the Bactrian camel, which has two humps.

It is a common beast of burden in Egypt, Syria, and the neighboring countries.
2. A camel with one hump; working and racing; native to, North Africa, Southwest Asia.
3. Etymology: from Old French dromadaire, which came from Late Latin dromedarius, "kind of camel"; from Latin dromas, dromados, from Greek dromas kamelos, "running camel"; from dromos, "a race course".

1. The elixir of life (alchemy), a substance which when drunk was supposed to bring immortality or at least to prolong one's life.
2. A substance or medicine believed to have the power to cure all ailments.
3. In pharmacy, a sweetened, aromatic solution of alcohol and water containing, or used as a vehicle for, medicinal substances.
3. An alchemic preparation formerly believed to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold.
4. The quintessence or absolute embodiment of anything.
5. A panacea; cure-all; sovereign remedy.
6. From Arabic al-iksir, probably from late Greek xerion, "powder for drying wounds", from Greek xeros, "dry."