Arabic Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Arabic language. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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takfiri n. The new terrorist is sometimes called “Takfiri”—al-Qaida-trained operatives who shave their beards, shun orthodox dress and only periodically attend mosques. [Arabic] [full cite] (Jul. 15, 2005)

ulug n. The ex Iraqi Minister of Information Muhammad Saeed Al Sahhaf’s unwittingly entertained the world with his outrageously contradictory statements as US troops rolled into Baghdad and he also popularised the Arabic word “Ulug” which sent people scurrying for their dictionaries (roughly translated as thug). It is not unreasonable to presume that the State Department does not realise just in what low esteem Americans are held in the Middle East. To many they are quite simply “ulugs” who bulldoze their way into situations with no finesse and no firm ethical standards. [Arabic Iraq] [full cite] (Jan. 14, 2005)

yalla n. “Yalla, yalla!” (-Term in arabic. Meaning: “Come on! Let’s go! Hurry!” -In local slang: “Yalla” = “bling,” “foreign-ness,” often assigned to an area with special “yalla"-characteristics, or used about those areas’ (the eastside’s) teenage gangs, like in: “…man, did you meet that fuckin yalla-gang over there? they stole my mobile,man!"-The word can also have positive connotations, as something with attitude, cool, quirky in a foreign way…I think this vignette has got “yalla”!:) [Arabic] [full cite] (Feb. 4, 2005)

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