Which Arabic book title gave English the word algebra?

Al-jabr, from al-Khwarizmi's treatise

Where does the word algorithm come from?

The name of the mathematician al-Khwarizmi

Which substance did Arabic al-kuhl originally mean?

A fine powder used as eye makeup

Arabic Loanwords Quiz: Algebra, Coffee and Sugar

A ninth-century Baghdad mathematician gave English both algebra and algorithm, and this Arabic loanwords quiz traces more words that traveled west. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on al-Khwarizmi, kohl and alcohol, qahwa and coffee, sukkar and sugar, cotton, zero and cipher, admiral, magazine, giraffe and safari.

Start Arabic Loanwords Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Algebra
Which Arabic book title gave English the word algebra?
Algorithm
Where does the word algorithm come from?
Alcohol
Which substance did Arabic al-kuhl originally mean?
Coffee
Which Arabic word is the source of coffee?
Sugar
Which Arabic word gave English sugar?
Zero
Which Arabic word lies behind both zero and cipher?
Admiral
Admiral comes from an Arabic title beginning with which word?
Magazine
What did the Arabic source of magazine originally mean?
Giraffe
Which Arabic word gave us giraffe?
Safari
From which Arabic word does safari come, through Swahili?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which Arabic book title gave English the word algebra?
Answer: Al-jabr, from al-Khwarizmi's treatise
Al-jabr means restoring or completing.
Q2: Where does the word algorithm come from?
Answer: The name of the mathematician al-Khwarizmi
His name was Latinized as Algoritmi.
Q3: Which substance did Arabic al-kuhl originally mean?
Answer: A fine powder used as eye makeup
The meaning shifted to distilled spirits.
Q4: Which Arabic word is the source of coffee?
Answer: Qahwa
It passed through Turkish and Italian.
Q5: Which Arabic word gave English sugar?
Answer: Sukkar
Sugar traveled with Arab traders.
Q6: Which Arabic word lies behind both zero and cipher?
Answer: Sifr
It meant empty.
Q7: Admiral comes from an Arabic title beginning with which word?
Answer: Amir, meaning commander
Amir al- meant commander of.
Q8: What did the Arabic source of magazine originally mean?
Answer: Storehouses
Military magazines still store supplies.
Q9: Which Arabic word gave us giraffe?
Answer: Zarafa
Gazelle also comes from Arabic.
Q10: From which Arabic word does safari come, through Swahili?
Answer: Safar, meaning journey
It entered English in the 1800s.

Arabic Loanwords Quiz – Words English Borrowed From Arabic

English has borrowed hundreds of words from Arabic, often through Spanish, Italian, French or Turkish. Many arrived during the Middle Ages, when Arabic was a leading language of science and trade.

The ninth-century mathematician al-Khwarizmi gave us algebra, from his book al-jabr, and algorithm, from his name. Sifr, meaning empty, gave both zero and cipher. Al-kuhl, an eye powder, became alcohol.

Trade words include coffee from qahwa, sugar from sukkar and cotton from qutn. Admiral comes from amir, magazine from a word for storehouses, giraffe from zarafa and safari from safar, journey. Spotting these roots makes everyday English feel like a map of medieval trade routes linking Baghdad, Cordoba, Venice and beyond.

What This Quiz Teaches

Language lovers will enjoy these questions.

Which math words came from Arabic
How meanings changed
Which food words traveled
Which titles were borrowed
How words passed between languages

Did You Know?

Lemon comes from Arabic laymun.
Sofa comes from Arabic suffa.
Mattress comes from matrah, a place where something is thrown.
Tariff comes from Arabic tarif, notification.
Many star names, like Aldebaran, are Arabic.