English words from Arabic

1# Alcohol

Although this is quite unexpected, the Arabs were the first to make alcohol. But it wasn't used for weird drinks, it was used for an eye dye (or eyeliner) known as "Kuhl" [كحل] and was probably taken from the Arabic word "Kaheel" , another word for black or murky. It was first invented by the Egyptians and passed on through the middle east until it reached English in the 1500s and by the 1700s it took its new transformation as "Alcohol".

2# Coffee

Thanks to the Arabs this (disgusting ;p) drink favoured by (weird) grown-ups is here today. Coffee comes from the Arabic word for coffee "Qahwa" [قهوة ]. The coffee bean was first found by an Ethiopian guy but the drink originated from Yemen. The word first entered Europe through our friends in Turkey who made it "Kahve" and probably passed through Italian as "Caffè" or through Dutch as "Koffie". Either way, it reached us as we now know it today; COFFEE.

3# Lemon

This sour little citric fruit took its name from the French "Limon" which was inspired by the cute Arabic word "Leymoon" [ليمون] :3

4# Lime

Lemon's little brother, lime, took a slightly longer trip to English. Lime originated from the French word … well … "Lime"? Which took this from the Spanish "Lima" which was probably taken through Arabic rule of part of Spain, with "Leem" (a dialectical Arabic word for lime, I believe) being the origin.

5# Saffron

A costly bunch of purple flowers that are often used in dishes like paella. This word entered English before 1200 from old French "Safran" and the origin is Arabic taking the form "Za3faraan" [زعفران].

6# Syrup

The word entered English at the end of the 14th century from the old French "Sirop" or Medieval Latin "Siropus", ultimately from Arabic "Sharaab" [شراب ] meaning 'a drink' and "Shurb" [شرب] meaning 'to drink'.

7# Ghoul

The ghoul came into Western culture via the famous "One thousand and one Arabian Nights" the demon that haunts burial places and eats the dead. In Arabic it's pronounced "Ghool" [غول] - actually pronouncing the "gh" mind you! :p It's often used to scare little kids or in my case, used to describe me when I've just waken up in the morning :L

8# Genie

Thanks to Disney and others, today's genie is known to give three wishes. However, the genie already existed in English as to refer to a type of guardian angel which here links to the Arabic origin "Jinn" [جن] the Islamic Arabic word for the Devil or Demon.

9# Sultan

Coming from the root "Sulta" [سلط] meaning "having power" [over others]. The term really gained traction with the Turks, first the Seljuks and then, more famously, the Ottomans ["al3uthmaaniyoon"]. Today in English, it refers to a ruler.

10# Algebra

Scarier than ghouls, this word was derived from the Arabic word "Aljabr" [الجبر] which means "the reunion of broken parts" referring to completing the square and solving quadratic equations [ugh] . It was invented by the famous Persian Mathematician, Al Khwarizmi, who's name was Latinized to become the English 'Algorithm'. "Algabr" probably reached English via Spanish, Italian or Ancient Latin.

Safari comes from the Arabic word for journey, سفر , Safar.

 Arabic is the reason we use x and y in maths. The word for "thing" in Arabic is shay, and when the Spaniards came to learn about Algebra, they spelled it xay. It then became x and y! (I've also heard that it comes from shalan, also arabic for unknown thing.)

In the Spanish language  there are around 4000 Spanish words that are Arabic in origin.

The first person who invented the instrument for distilling methanol was Razi who was a Persian (Iranian) Scientist.

Genie also entered from Arabic to English via the French "génie".
There's only one word in French "génie", to say genie and genius.
So "genius" is also from "djinn", "génie" was the way the French heard the Arabic sound

And also Coffee, taken directly from French Café (gave both coffee and the untouched form café). This later borrowed from Italian Caffe, and this one taken from Arabic Qahwah.

Alcohol entered the English language from Old French (same word); Some authors say via Spanish. The word also exists in medieval Latin.