Flow of Loanwords into Arabic from Source Languages
Data reveals that Turkish and Persian constitute the primary sources of loanwords in Arabic, resulting from six centuries of Ottoman rule and cultural interaction with Persians since the Islamic conquests. Turkish loanwords predominantly entered administrative, military, and daily life domains (e.g., tabur/queue, pasha, effendi), while Persian words concentrated in literature, commerce, and crafts (e.g., barnamaj/program, bazaar, chess). French and English words appear primarily in modern technical and scientific terminology, while ancient Greek words feature in philosophical and scientific terms transmitted through the Abbasid translation movement. Notably, many words entered Arabic through linguistic intermediaries; numerous Persian and Greek words came via Ottoman Turkish.