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I have a query about Zoraida. Is it a real Arabic name or was it just coined by Cervantes?
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Replies
Either might be true.
There is debate about it. If the former is true, then the spelling may have been altered from the original Arabic. It might even be Berber (those are the indigenous peoples of northwestern Africa - their languages are distantly related to Arabic).
There is debate about it. If the former is true, then the spelling may have been altered from the original Arabic. It might even be Berber (those are the indigenous peoples of northwestern Africa - their languages are distantly related to Arabic).
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Thank you for your reply.
The Berber theory seems interesting. I hadn't thought of that. The woman in Don Quixote is described as Moorish and I believe that Moorish was just a general term for a North African who lived in Spain, so that would include Berber/Amazigh people.
I tried googling some variant spellings, like Zuraida. Many of the women called Zuraida seem to be Malaysian. Of course, Malaysia is a majority Muslim country, so the name could come from Arabic. Or it could just be a Malay name.
There’s also that purported meaning - “enchanting woman”. If the name isn’t Arabic, then where does that meaning come from? Does anyone know what “enchanting woman” would be in Arabic? Of course, there could be dozens of ways of translating an expression like that, and Zoraida might come from a now archaic word.
The Berber theory seems interesting. I hadn't thought of that. The woman in Don Quixote is described as Moorish and I believe that Moorish was just a general term for a North African who lived in Spain, so that would include Berber/Amazigh people.
I tried googling some variant spellings, like Zuraida. Many of the women called Zuraida seem to be Malaysian. Of course, Malaysia is a majority Muslim country, so the name could come from Arabic. Or it could just be a Malay name.
There’s also that purported meaning - “enchanting woman”. If the name isn’t Arabic, then where does that meaning come from? Does anyone know what “enchanting woman” would be in Arabic? Of course, there could be dozens of ways of translating an expression like that, and Zoraida might come from a now archaic word.
This message was edited 7/3/2012, 11:27 AM
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I have only a small contribution: Zuraida is probably not Malay. It does not seem to correspond with the "usual syllables" that Malay uses.
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