English
rafidi
Rafidi comes from Arabic رَافِضِيّ ‘a person who rejects the legitimacy of the…’, and goes back to رَفَضَ ‘to refuse, deny’.
- Arabicc. 500–presentرَفَضَrafaḍa‘to refuse, deny’
- Arabic, derivedc. 500–presentرَافِضِيّ‘a person who rejects the legitimacy of the Sunni caliphs’literally ‘rejector’
- Englishtodayrafidi
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Arabicc. 500–presentرَفَضَrafaḍa‘to refuse, deny’
- Arabic, derivedc. 500–presentرَافِضِيّ‘a person who rejects the legitimacy of the Sunni caliphs’literally ‘rejector’
- Englishtodayrafidi
The story
From Arabic رَافِضِيّ (rāfiḍiyy, literally “rejector”), formed from the active participle of the verb رَفَضَ (rafaḍa, “to refuse, deny”).
Every English word from Arabic رَفَضَ
Today it means
noun A Shiite.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Arabic رَفَضَ / rafidi