Gérard de Nerval
Travels in the Near East (Voyage en Orient, 1843)
Lexicon
Ruins of the Temple of Esna, 1830, Otto Baron Howen
Rijksmuseum
Translated by A. S. Kline © Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved
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Note: The lexicon contains Romanised words found in Gérard de Nerval’s French text, mostly of Arabic or Turkish usage, and with variant spellings. Those in bold are the spellings of words adopted in the translation, the variants chosen are wherever possible those widely-used elsewhere, and/or retrieved readily by search engines.
abbah, (abaya), a loose woollen coat, long or short, open at the front and sleeveless, worn by the Bedouins; in Turkish, fabric, jacket. A long-sleeved robe for women.
Abesch, habesch, habesha, Abyssinian.
afrite, (in Arabic, ifrit, ‘rebel’) a kind of Medusa or Lamia, a demonic spirit.
Aga, the title of an officer.
aioua, yes.
akbar, very great; an epithet of Allah.
akkal, akkalé, holy, wise, learned, ‘spiritual’ man (or woman), among the Druze.
aliledj, ahliledj, cuscuta epithymum, or dodder, a sacred plant among the Druze.
anteri, a long dress.
araba, a type of canopied carriage (often pulled by oxen).
ardeb, a measure of capacity, a Cairo ardeb being 184 litres.
arif, the one who knows the chants of worship.
arouss, arous, wife, bride.
as-salamu alaykum: ‘peace be with you’ the appropriate response to the greeting being wa ‘alaykumu s-salām ‘and peace be with you’.
bahlonan, a rope-dancer.
Baïram, Bayram, a festival following Ramadan. This is the name given to the two main Muslim religious festivals. The lesser Bayram (Eid al-Fitr), which ends Ramadan, lasts three days. Seventy days or so later, the greater Bayram (Eid al-Adha) is celebrated.
baksheesh, bakshish (many variants), a tip, alms.
bakkaloum, ‘What matter!’
baklava, a cake, a kind of diamond-shaped millefeuille. A pancake made with sugar, jam, and sweet almond paste.
bamie, bamieh, bamya, okra, ketmia, a small vegetable with rough skin and tender flesh.
bandouguillah, (the pronunciation of bunduqiyyal in Upper Egypt), a rifle.
banian, a wretch, a poor thing.
barbarin, barbarian, an ordinary servant, generally a black African.
battal, bad.
Bedouin, Bedaoui, Badawi, man of the desert.
Benich, benech, a long coat worn over other clothes.
bent, bint, girl, woman.
besestain, bedesten, a large vaulted building, in a bazaar, where goods are stored, covered halls, literally a cloth market.
bey, gentleman.
bimbachi, commander, colonel.
bismillah, ‘In the name of Allah’.
boğaz, gorge, defile, harbour bar.
Bohomet, Bahomet (perhaps from bahoumid, calf), an idol or talisman, used as identification, by the Druze.
Borgho, borqo, burqu, burka, an elongated mask worn by women, a face-veil. A loose elongated covering for women.
bostangis, bostanjis, gardeners belonging to the Sultan and forming a corps of guards.
bouza, a fermented drink made from millet boiled in water, similar to beer.
cachef, kachef, assistant to a bey in the Turkish and Egyptian armies.
cadi, qadi, judge.
cadine, qaden, a slave who has had a child by her master, a high-born woman, the Sultan’s favourite.
Cafa, kafas, a cage.
cafedji, kahwedji, kahwedji-bachi, gahwag-bachi, the person who prepares coffee.
caffieh, coufieh, couffieh, keffiyeh, keffié, kouffeya, a silk handkerchief embroidered with gold; a shawl used to cover the head; a traditional headdress of Arabs and Bedouins.
caftan, a type of dress or pelisse, lined with fur.
caïdji, boatman, rower of a caique.
caique, a narrow boat five to seven meters long, shaped like an ice-skate, designed to go in either direction.
calam, qalam, calamus.
calender, a mendicant Dervish.
caliph, a successor of the Prophet.
calish, canal
cange, Nile boat, equipped with sails.
cavas, cavasse, guard, policeman attached to personages; and usher attached to an institution. A doorman or embassy runner.
celebi, gentleman.
chebhazi, night-game or night-show.
cheytian, see shintyan.
chibouk, chibouck, an oriental pipe with a long wooden stem, and earthenware bowl.
cohel, kohl, black eye-shadow.
damascus, damascene, a type of sabre made in Damascus, consisting of an iron blade, with a steel cutting edge.
dabbe, a wooden lock.
day, dai, a Druze missionary.
dellaseh, a broker, middleman.
derwisch, dervish, perhaps from the Persian, meaning a beggar; more generally, a member of a brotherhood.
divan, a set of mattresses and cushions, generally raised by benches. The world may also mean a room, council chamber, or set of poems.
Dives, div, a species of Djinn who reigned over the world before the Peris. See djinn.
djahel, ignorant, uninitiated, profane, opposed to oqqâl (see akkal).
djerme, djerm, plural djermes, twin-sailed barque. Name of a small ship that sails along the coast of Alexandria and on the Nile.
djinn, Jinn, designates, in the Koran, those created by God before humankind, whose souls were born from fire.
dossah, a march, procession.
doum, a variety of palm-tree with branching trunks.
dourah, durra, sorghum, corn, great millet, Indian millet (the basis of the fellahin’s diet); cereal also called Guinea wheat.
dragoman, an interpreter, intermediary, and guide.
durkah, the lower part of a sloping floor.
durrah, second wife, co-wife.
effendi, a gentleman, a man of distinction; also, the title of civil and religious officials.
eheb-bazi, night-theatre
eschraki, a member of a religious sect, a Dervish, an enlightened person.
essaouad, eswed, black, black African.
faskeyhe, a courtyard fountain.
Faqi, faqhi, religious teacher, schoolmaster.
fellah, peasant-farmer of the Nile Valley. Labourer. Plural fellahin.
feredje, a large coat with a collar worn by women in Constantinople.
feseekh, fiseck, salted fish.
fezzi, fess or fez: a red cap with a large braid of silk or blue wool, first made in Fez.
fil, elephant.
fine-jane, fengan, a small cup.
firman, an edict or decree of the Muslim sovereign; a passport for Europeans, obtained through the consulate allowing unobstructed travel.
foulouz, money.
Frangui, Frengui, Frenguis, Frank, European. Franks was the generic name for Europeans of all nationalities who lived in the Orient.
furn, an Egyptian oven.
Gawazy, a tribal name, traditional dancers, see ghawazi.
gellab, see jellab.
gelley, caked fuel, made of cattle dung and chopped straw.
ghafar, guardian
ghavasie, ghawasie, ghawazy, ghawazi dancers (plural form of female gazyeh, male gazy).
ghazi, gold coins of variable value, five centimes to five francs. In Arabic, this word means the conqueror; in Turkish, those who fought for Islam.
ghung, an undulating movement of the body.
ghurfa, Arabic for a room.
giaour, yavour, gâvur in Turkish, non-Muslim, infidel.
guayari, fortune-tellers.
habirah: habbarah, habbara, probably confused with abaya, a veil with which women cover their heads; or a loose over-garment worn by men and women.
habesch, habesha, see abesch, Abyssinian, Ethiopian.
hadji, one who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca.
hakem, a doctor.
haïreti, a member of a Dervish sect.
hama, mother-in-law, guardian.
hamal, hammal, porter.
Hedjaz, western Saudi Arabia.
Hegira, Hijhra, the year when Muhammad transferred from Medina to Mecca.
hodja, used for khodja, the teacher subordinate to the imam who instructs children in schools attached to mosques.
hosch, an unpaved courtyard to a house.
Hospodar, title of the princes of Moldavia and Wallachia, vassals of the Sultan.
houva, a juggler.
hurriya, freedom
icoglan, a page in the seraglio.
iddah, period of waiting a woman undergoes after the death of her husband or divorce from him.
iman, imam: minister assigned to the functions of worship, including the five daily prayers.
iniglac, ‘to the right!’ (possibly for – reglac: ‘your foot! your leg!’), correctly yeminak.
irmelikalten, virmilik altin, a gold coin worth, at the time, one franc twenty-five centimes.
jellab, a slave trader.
juz, one of the thirty equal sections into which the Koran is divided, for reading or binding purposes.
kabibé, habib, habibi, darling, beloved.
kachef, an assistant to a bey in the Turkish and Egyptian armies.
kaddosch, sacred.
kaah, an elevated room in a harem.
Kadra Myriam, the Virgin Mary.
Kadri, kadiri, a Dervish of the Qadiriyya Sufi sect.
kafir, keafir, kâfir, an unbeliever, a heretic.
kahira, qahirah, victorious.
kahwedji, the servant who prepares coffee.
kaimakan, kaymakam, governor, sub-prefect in the Ottoman Empire.
kalpack, a large black sheepskin cap.
kamancheh, a stringed instrument.
kamasye, a coloured glass window, with designs.
Karagöz, an obscene Turkish puppet.
kasiaskier, kasiasker, kadiulasker, a religious leader exercising the functions of a judge, a high official (overseer of the military courts).
kavasse, guardian
kebab, mutton dish.
kekim doctor. See hakem.
kelb, dog.
kemal, kamal, perfection, maturity, fullness.
kemenieh or rebab, kind of viol.
kerd, qird, a monkey.
ketamis, barbarian troops.
khalouè, khalwat, a Druze temple, place of prayer.
khamiss, qamis, a woman’s tunic.
khamsin, a violent sandy wind, a hot dry southerly.
khan, inn, caravanserai, wikala.
Khan, a title of the Ottoman sultans.
khanoun, hanoun, khanoum, khanum, the main lady of the house.
khatbé, khatba, see wakil, matchmaker.
khatibessir, katem el serr, secretary, keeper of secrets, spokesperson.
kahwedji-bachi, the one who makes the coffee.
khazindar, khazendar, treasurer, storekeeper.
khowal, khawal, dancer dressed as a woman, effeminate dancer.
kief, siesta, from keyif, hashish, well-being (particularly linked to drugs), slumber, idleness, calm, bliss.
kifen, a grave-garment, in which the corpse is clad.
kislar-aga, kislar agha, the head of the black eunuchs of the seraglio.
kouchouk, (kutchuck), dog or a wolf pup; in Egypt, a family of Turkish origin.
koulka, koulkas, colocase (plant), an arum with edible tuber and leaves.
k’tab (kataba), to write.
kumkum, qumqum, a long-necked bottle of scented water.
kurs, a female ornament worn on the head.
kussah-ahwas, an ornament circling the forehead.
kyaya, steward, minister of a princely child.
lailet-ul-eid, the night of the feast.
latakia, tobacco from Latakia (Syria).
ledin, opium, laudanum.
life, laban, milk.
locanda, inn.
loti, chorus-leader.
machallah, mashalla, ‘As Allah willed!’
machlah, mishlah, bisht, aba, a long coat made of camel hair covering the entire body.
mafish! mafeesh, mafisch ‘There are none’, ‘no’, ‘not at all’.
Maghrebi, a western Muslim from the Maghreb.
mabahim, entrance room.
Mahdi, the messiah and imam awaited by certain Muslim sects.
mahmal, a ceremonial passenger-less litter carried on the Hadj, with a textile cover, the sitr.
majlis, a gathering of people for administrative or religious purposes.
makhba, a domestic treasury.
maksourah, the grating surrounding the tomb of a saint.
Mamluk, memlouk, originally meant ‘owned’; the Mamluks of the 13th century were recruited from among the white slaves to form the personal guard of the Sultan.
mandarah, a room where men are received. A makad is similar.
Maronite, a Christian sect, from ‘mar’, lord, in Aramaic.
mastabah, a stone bench built into the wall of a house.
mech-mechs, michmichs, meshmosh, small apricots, or dried apricots.
medeneh, a minaret of a mosque.
medjnoun, madman; the hero of a poem by Jami.
Mekkadam, the Grand Sheikh of the Druze.
melbous (confusion with meelous or majzub), inspired, fanatical; inhabited by djinns.
meloukia, mulukhiyah, molokheia, melochia, the jute-mallow; a dish made with this plant.
memrack, a decorative lantern.
menseg, embroidery work.
Mèwelevis, Mevlevis, Dervishes, named after their founder, Mevlana, (from the Arabic mawlana, ‘the Master’, the poet Rumi).
mibkarah, a portable stove.
milayeh, mélaya, a large sheet, in which women wrap themselves.
miri, miry, a land tax collected for the benefit of the Ottoman Porte.
mirliva, myrliva, amir léwa, an officer, regimental leader, brigadier-general.
mirza, myrza, a title of a prince of royal blood, a learned man.
mishal, meshal, a light, torch, lantern.
mishlah, bisht, aba, cloak
moal, mowwal, strophic poem, nostalgic song close to elegy and romance.
moucharabi, moucharaby, moucharabieh, moucharabia, wooden grille, often artistically carved, placed in front of a window, and which allows one to see without being seen.
mouabazin, a theatrical farce.
moudhir, mudir, Turkish officer, commander, governor, administrator.
moukre, moucre, an adaptation of the Arabic mokari, a renter of horses, mules or transporter of goods, a driver of pack animals, a muleteer.
mouchir, marshal, high-ranking officer, informant.
moultezim, tax collector.
muballigh, a preacher, a subordinate iman.
muezzins, singers appointed to announce (Ezzan), from the top of minarets, the prayer of the five canonical hours of the day. They turn alternately to the four cardinal points to utter the sacramental phrase: Alla ilaha illa-llah! Muhammad ressul Allah (There is no God but God! Muhammad is his Prophet). This call is followed by the prayer (Namaz).
muggassil, a washer of the dead.
Muhammad, the Prophet.
mullakin, an ‘instructor’ of the dead.
mullah, doctor of Islamic theology, master, magistrate.
munasihi, one who gives advice, a Dervish who believes in the transmigration of souls.
mushaf, a copy of the Koran.
Muslim, literally: one who has surrendered to Allah.
musthilla, hulla, mustahall, mustahull, mouhallil, intermediary husband.
muta-darassim (moutadarresin), student.
mutahir, mutaher, purified, circumcised.
namaz, prayer (performed five times a day).
nashizah, rebellious.
naquib, an honorary official, one presiding at a wedding.
naz, ney, a single-pipe reed flute.
nazir, a Turkish senior official, minister, or director of an important service.
neddabih, a professional mourner.
nedji, breed of horses, from the Nedj region, in central Arabia.
nichan, nishan, Turkish decoration, instituted by Mahmoud II.
nopal, scientific name for the prickly pear cactus.
nukout, a gift of money made to newlyweds.
ocque, oque, a unit of weight; about 1.25 kg. in Egypt.
odaleuk, odalisque, concubine, servant.
okel, okkel, okhel, shopping district; a type of khan or caravanserai: a rectangular courtyard with one side opening onto the street, with rooms, passageways, shops, workshops, and storage areas on the ground floor.
oualems, awalim, singers and dancers (the plural of almée or almah).
ouled, little boy.
para, fortieth of a piastre.
pasha, Ottoman military rank equivalent to major general.
padisha, padischa, title of the Sultan; corresponding to that of emperor.
peri (Persian), a supernatural being descended from the fallen angels, see djinn.
piastre, worth twenty-five centimes.
Porte. The ‘Sublime Porte’, an epithet for the Ottoman Empire; the monumental gate of honour of the Grand Vizierate.
rahat-loukoum, a very sweet oriental confectionery.
Ramazan, Turkish form of the Arabic word Ramadan.
raba, a low-cost lodging house.
raya, non-Muslim Ottoman subjects.
raz, cap.
Rebab, rabab, viol, with one to three strings.
refik, companion in Druze Freemasonry.
reis, chief, officer; captain of a boat.
rikat, rakat, rakaat, a unit of prayer; a religious practice forming part of Namaz (the recitation of verses from the Koran, and bowing the body for prayer).
Roumi, European woman.
saba el-kher, sal-kher, saba al-khair, sabah, ‘good morning’, or ‘good evening’, ‘hello’.
saba’a, seventh.
safa, a braided hair ornament worn by women.
saic, caique, a Greek trading ketch employed in the Black Sea and Mediterranean.
sais, groom, escort, scout, messenger, responsible for opening the road, and protecting his master.
salem, peasant (among the Druze).
santon, holy-person, venerated because marked by the Divinity.
Saquié, saqquieh, saqiya water-wheel.
sâry, saariya, pole, mast.
schaër, sha’ir, sehaya, cha’i, rhapsodist, poet. Plural shuaara.
sebbah, an Islamic rosary.
selikdar, salahdar, the one who carries the arms of a high personage, an attendant.
Sennar, place in the Sudan.
seradjbachi, seragbachi, a chief of the saddlers, higher ranked than the sais.
seraf, a banker
serdar, serdap, a commander in chief.
serdarbachi, a commander of border guards.
seriasker, serasker, a military commander.
shaheed, one who has died a Muslim. Literally, a witness to the faith.
sheik, literally an old man. By extension, the word designates a wise man, or a religious or civil authority.
shintyan, cheytian, cheytan, shintyian; loose trousers.
sirafeh, an offering of coins, a circumcised male.
sidi, master.
Siti, sitti, lady.
siwan, a tent.
skouradati, a trainer of performing animals, monkeys, dogs etc.
skyem, an entertainer.
Smalac, chemalak, the left-hand side.
sopha, soffa, sofa, a raised platform about twelve inches tall, covered with carpeting, and placed towards the rear of a room.
suffeh, a stone table on which vessels used for daily ablutions are placed.
sukkah, a food dressing.
spahi, a member of a Turkish cavalry-corps.
Surmeh, surmeth, surmé, sürme, eyeshadow also known as surma, kajal, k’hol or kohl, a preparation of antimony and gall-nuts, with which women blacken their eyelids and eyebrows.
takiè, takieh, ta’eia, bonnet, skullcap.
tahtabosch, a reception room.
taklid, a comedy, a farce.
taktikos, Greek skullcap embroidered with gold or silver, women’s headdress from Smyrna; straw hat.
talari, twenty silver piastres.
taleb, a scholar.
talay bouckra, taala bouckra, ‘Visit tomorrow’.
tandour, a table covered with a piece of carpet to the ground, beneath which is a stove filled with embers.
tantour, cone-shaped woman’s hairstyle come headdress.
tarhah, tarha, a headdress, covering, an embroidered scarf.
tarabouk, tar, darabokka, darbouka, darbouka, darbukalar, a type of drum, made of a jug whose bottom is replaced by a stretched skin.
tarabouki, tarabouki, darabouky, player of the tarabouk drum.
tarbouch, a rimless hat
tarkiba, an oblong funeral monument.
tayeb, ‘good’, ‘fine’.
tchéléby, celebi, a gentleman, an elegant person.
tchiboukji, tchiboutji, chiboukchi, the one who carries and maintains the tchibouk, chibouk, a long-stemmed pipe.
tekeh, téké, a Dervish monastery.
tob, a loose semi-transparent open dress.
ulama, a doctor of the law, a Muslim theologian. The Ulama, the Islamic religious authorities.
vizier, a generic term; a title of the ministers and principal officers of a Sultan.
Wékil, wakil, an envoy, ambassador; any person responsible for the interests of some person or company, a go-between, an intermediary.
wikala, a khan, or caravanserai.
wili, a devout person, saint.
wilwal, a cry of lamentation.
yafour, a dagger.
yalek, yel’ek, a dress with long, wide sleeves.
yamack, (yachmack, yach-mack, yachmak, yasma), yashmak, a muslin veil covering women’s faces.
yamak, an apprentice, assistant, under-servant.
yaoudi, Jewish.
ya makbouba, mahbouba, ‘O, dear friend’, ‘O beloved.’
ya ouled, walad, ‘O, little boy.’
ya teyli, ya leili, ya leyla, ‘O, night!’
yimeniyeh, a poor man, selected to attend a funeral.
yom, day, day of the week.
zaghareet, a trilling, or shrill ululation.
zalaar, a species of wild marjoram.
zebeck, zeybeck, irregular soldiers of Asia Minor.
zeman, the century, the age, time, destiny.
zikker, zakkar, a singer.
zikr, ceremony with religious songs where one remembers God (zekra: ‘memory’).
zukrah, a form of bagpipes.
zummarah, zemr, zorah, a wind instrument, fife, flute, conch-shell.