العراق
Arabic
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]In medieval Arabic geography, the toponym referred to the southern and central parts of present-day Iraq. The word was taken as the definite form of عِرَاق (ʕirāq, “shore, edge, any land next to water”), in contrast with الْجَزِيرَة (al-jazīra, “the Arabian Peninsula”), called ܓܙܺܝܪܬܴ݁ܐ (gəzīrtā, “Mesopotamia”) in Syriac.
Some sources suggest an origin in Middle Persian. Forms like [script needed] (ˀyrg /ērag/) or [script needed] (ˀl'k' /erāg/, “lowlands”)[1] are related to the same root as 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭 (ʾyrʾn /ērān/, “Iran”) and 𐭠𐭩𐭫 (ʾyl /ēr/, “Iranian”), reflecting the influence of Persia, Iraq’s plateau neighbor. The form [script needed] (ērag) is also found in a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowl, which preserves the oldest known written form of “Iraq” as אירג (ʔyrg /*ērag/, “Iraq”).
The Aramaic continuum may have preserved a pharyngealized variant, comparable to rare forms such as عِرْنَاس (ʕirnās, “distaff”) and عَمْرُوسَة (ʕamrūsa, “small lamb”).
A connection with Akkadian 𒌷𒀕 (/uruk/, “Uruk”) is unlikely on phonetic grounds.
Pronunciation
[edit]Proper noun
[edit]الْعِرَاق • (al-ʕirāq) m or f
Usage notes
[edit]- The definite article ال (al-) is indispensable.
- Unlike the majority of country names, الْعِرَاق (al-ʕirāq) is usually a masculine noun.
Declension
[edit]| singular | basic singular triptote | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | construct | |
| informal | — | الْعِرَاق al-ʕirāq |
— |
| nominative | — | الْعِرَاقُ al-ʕirāqu |
— |
| accusative | — | الْعِرَاقَ al-ʕirāqa |
— |
| genitive | — | الْعِرَاقِ al-ʕirāqi |
— |
Related terms
[edit]- عِرَاقِيّ (ʕirāqiyy)
- عِرَاقِيَّة (ʕirāqiyya)
References
[edit]- ^ Shapira, Dan D. Y. (2009), “Irano-Arabica: contamination and popular etymology. Notes on the Persian and Arabic lexicons (with references to Aramaic, Hebrew and Turkic)”, in Христианский Восток – Новая Серия, volume 5 (XI), Moscow: Издательство Российской Академии Наук и Государственного Эрмитажа, page 163
Gulf Arabic
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Arabic الْعِرَاق (al-ʕirāq).
Pronunciation
[edit]Proper noun
[edit]العراق • (li-ʕrāg) f
Related terms
[edit]- عراقي (ʕrāgi, “Iraqi”)
Hijazi Arabic
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From Arabic الْعِرَاق (al-ʕirāq).
Pronunciation
[edit]Proper noun
[edit]العِراق • (alʕirāg) f
Usage notes
[edit]- This is one of the country names which requires the definite article ال.
Related terms
[edit]South Levantine Arabic
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]Learned borrowing from Arabic الْعِرَاق (al-ʕirāq).
Pronunciation
[edit]Proper noun
[edit]العراق • (il-ʕirāq) m
Related terms
[edit]- عراقي (ʕirāqi, “Iraqi”)
- Arabic terms belonging to the root ع ر ق
- Arabic 3-syllable words
- Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Arabic/aːq
- Rhymes:Arabic/aːq/3 syllables
- Arabic lemmas
- Arabic proper nouns
- Arabic feminine terms lacking feminine ending
- Arabic masculine nouns
- Arabic feminine nouns
- Arabic nouns with multiple genders
- ar:Iraq
- ar:Countries in Asia
- Arabic nouns with basic triptote singular
- Arabic definite nouns
- Gulf Arabic terms belonging to the root ع ر ق
- Gulf Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- Gulf Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Gulf Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Gulf Arabic lemmas
- Gulf Arabic proper nouns
- Gulf Arabic feminine nouns
- afb:Iraq
- afb:Countries in Asia
- Hijazi Arabic terms borrowed from Arabic
- Hijazi Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Hijazi Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hijazi Arabic lemmas
- Hijazi Arabic proper nouns
- Hijazi Arabic feminine nouns
- acw:Iraq
- acw:Countries in Asia
- Visual dictionary
- South Levantine Arabic terms borrowed from Arabic
- South Levantine Arabic learned borrowings from Arabic
- South Levantine Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- South Levantine Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- South Levantine Arabic terms with audio pronunciation
- South Levantine Arabic lemmas
- South Levantine Arabic proper nouns
- South Levantine Arabic masculine nouns
- ajp:Iraq
- ajp:Countries in Asia