Talk:جمل

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"Jew camel"?[edit]

According to this article, a chameleon is "jamal al-yahuud", which, from what I know of Arabic, would mean "camel of Jews" or "Jew camel". This can't be right, can it? --62.16.175.101 14:06, 20 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it’s right...literally, camel of the Jews. —Stephen 16:37, 20 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It would be great to hunt down why it's called that. Or maybe it's as obscure as the derivation of Jew's harp, which isn't particularly associated with Jewish people. 24.29.228.33 17:19, 20 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]
They call it a camel because of the hump on its back. The Chamœleon vulgaris is quite common in Israel and parts of Egypt, which I suppose is why they call of the camel of the Jews. —Stephen 17:32, 20 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]
ar:WP gives a different name. 24.29.228.33 23:26, 20 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, just as in English, many Arabic words have synonyms. —Stephen 00:26, 21 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]