The English language includes several words deriving from Arabic, such as coffee, sugar, and giraffe. Another is ghoul, which comes from an Arabic term for a “shapeshifting demon.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Words from Arabic”
I was thinking the other day about some of my favorite words that come from Arabic into English, including coffee and sugar and giraffe.
But recently I came across another that I didn’t realize comes from Arabic, and that is the word ghoul.
Ghoul, G-H-O-U-L?
Yes. In ancient Arabian folklore, a ghoul is a kind of shape-shifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal.
And it comes from an Arabic word that means to seize.
Oh, interesting. It feels so much like a Celtic word to me, right?
Yeah.
I like that it would go way back into the millennia, into the roots of English.
I know, doesn’t it? Yeah, but it’s only been in English since the 18th century.
Ghoul.
Ghoul.
G-H-O-U-L.
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