العراق
العربية
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العراق
- /al.ʕi.raːq/
Rhymes with -aːq
Where it comes from
In medieval Arabic geography, the toponym referred to the southern and central parts of present-day Iraq. The word was taken as the definite form of عِرَاق (ʕirāq, “shore, edge, any land next to water”), in contrast with الْجَزِيرَة (al-jazīra, “the Arabian Peninsula”), called ܓܙܺܝܪܬܴ݁ܐ (gəzīrtā, “Mesopotamia”) in Syriac.
Some sources suggest an origin in Middle Persian. Forms like [script needed] (ˀyrg /ērag/) or [script needed] (ˀl'k' /erāg/, “lowlands”) are related to the same root as 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭 (ʾyrʾn /ērān/, “Iran”) and 𐭠𐭩𐭫 (ʾyl /ēr/, “Iranian”), reflecting the influence of Persia, Iraq’s plateau neighbor. The form [script needed] (ērag) is also found in a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowl, which preserves the oldest known written form of “Iraq” as אירג (ʔyrg /*ērag/, “Iraq”).
The Aramaic continuum may have preserved a pharyngealized variant, comparable to rare forms such as عِرْنَاس (ʕirnās, “distaff”) and عَمْرُوسَة (ʕamrūsa, “small lamb”).
A connection with Akkadian 𒌷𒀕 (/uruk/, “Uruk”) is unlikely on phonetic grounds.
proper noun الْعِرَاق · al-ʕirāq · -
- Iraq (a country in Asia)
In English
- Iraq country
Talk about this word "العراق." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. العراق. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82 "العراق." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82.Cite this
@misc{micwyn_2026,
title = {العراق},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
