Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Arabic ·1200s
Admiral
from amīr al-baḥr
- Meaning
- Commander of the sea.
- Source word
- amīr al-baḥr
- Route into English
- The Arabic title was truncated — "amīr al-" became "amiral" in French — so English inherited just the honorific and dropped the sea.
- Arrived
- 1200s
From Arabic
Science, trade, and the Mediterranean transit of Andalusian scholarship gave English its Arabic stratum — especially in maths, chemistry, and commerce. Many entered through Latin or Italian.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.