Etymograph

English

alfaia

Alfaia comes from Portuguese alfaia ‘utensil’, and goes back to Arabic الحَاجَة ‘necessary thing’.

  1. Arabicc. 500–presentالحَاجَة‘necessary thing’
  2. Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500alfaia
  3. Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘utensil’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2015same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Arabicc. 500–presentالحَاجَة‘necessary thing’
  2. Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500alfaia
  3. Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘utensil’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2015same form

Earliest quotation: 2015, Ben Ratliff, Review: Nação Zumbi Returns to Central Park SummerStage: “And there was the band’s centerpiece and glory, the…”

Every English word from Arabic الحَاجَة

Today it means

noun A Brazilian drum with a membrane made of animal skin.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Arabic الحَاجَة / alfaia

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