The Fire of Desert Folk/Glossary
GLOSSARY
Note on Spelling—Owing to the marked divergence in the systems of transliterating Arab and African names in general and to the strong tendency of the more current French forms to insinuate themselves into English text, the necessity of adopting some uniform system has been so patent that the only question has been one of finding the standard which most nearly reproduces the native sounds and is authoritative enough to command general acceptance. As the unchallengeable answer has been the work of the Royal Geographical Society of London, its "First General List of African Names," published in December, 1921, by its Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use has been adopted for all names contained in their list and for guidance in the analogous spelling of others that have been included in the text.
For the convenience of the reader a list is here appended of some of the more frequently used Arab and other native words.Abaiyia—A sleeveless garment worn by nomad women
Abd—A slave
Aissa—Jesus Christ
Alem—A scholar; a sage
Al-lugha—The divine language of the Koran
Andaluza—The name of a song as well as of a dance in southern Spain
Arraf—A seer
Bairam—The great Moslem feast
Barakka—a sarcophagus; a blessing
Berrania—A foreigner
Bled—A village
Bournous—An ordinary cloak or mantle with sleeves and a cowl
Cadi—A magistrate or judge
Chouse—An interpreter, doorkeeper or attendant in a Morocco office
Dia—Compensation for murder; blood-money
Duar—An encampment
Fasi—Inhabitants of the town of Fez
Foggara—A subterranean channel for water
Fonduk—An inn; a store
Garnata—A Moorish song, so called from the early name of Granada
Gitun—A tent
Hafidh—A scholar, versed in, and able to quote fluently from, the Koran
Hadith—The body of Moslem tradition regarding Mahomet
Hadj—The pilgrimage to Mecca and a Mohammedan who has made it
Haik—A part of a woman's dress which covers the face; a part of a man's bournous
Hammam—A warm spring
Horm—Prohibition to enter
Insh Allah—If God wills
Isawa—The followers of the Prophet Jesus
Jellaba—A mantle with a cowl
Jmel—A camel
Kafla—A Caravan
Kahina—A prophetess
Kaldoun—An Arab dentist
Kasba—A fortress or fortified tribal enclosure
Kfen—A man's shirt
Kiblah—The direction toward Mecca
Kisaria—The market-place
Kumia—A poignard
Kouskous—A national dish of wheat gruel cooked with meat or fat
Ksur—A village
Kubba—A chapel with a tomb
Lalla—A lady; a saint
Madih—Religious poetry
Maghreb—West; a name for Morocco
Marabout—A sorcerer or prophet revered as a saint
Medersa—A higher theological school
Medina—The Arab quarter of the town
Mellah—The Jewish part of the town
Meskin—A beggar
Meshwi—A sheep roasted on a spit
Minbar—A Moslem curate
Mokkhadem—The chief of a religious fraternity
Muderres—A scholar; a professor
Muezzin—A priest of a lower grade
Mullah—A priest
Mumen—An orthodox Moslem
Nasrani—A Christian
Patio—A court
Reshid—A Moslem strict in his religious principles
Rumi—A European
Sahn—Interior court of a mosque
Sefta—Sweet kouskous
Sekkaia—A fountain
Sherif—A descendant of the Prophet
Sidi—Sir; master
Sof—Clan; caste
Suk—A street or market where only one kind of merchandise is made or sold
Surat—A verse from the Koran
Taam—Sweet kouskous
Tabout—A sarcophagus
Thaleb—A student; plural, tholba
Ulema—Plural for alem, scholar
Wad—A river
Wali—A saint
Zaouia—A chapel; a little mosque
Zitun—An olive-tree