some English words derived from Arabic
admiral - ami:r-al-bahr 'ruler of the seas' (and other similar expressions) - amara command
adobe - al-toba 'the brick'
alchemy - al-ki:mi:a: - from Greek
alcohol - al-koh''l 'the kohl'
alcove - al-qobbah 'vault' - qubba vault
alfalfa - alfas,fas,ah 'fodder'
algebra - al-jebr 'reintegration' - jabara reunite
algorithm - al-Khowarazmi 'the (man) of Khiva'
Allah - `allah, from contraction of al-ilah 'the god'
almanac - (Andalucian Arabic) al-mana:kh, of uncertain origin
amber - `anbar 'ambergris'
antimony - al-íthmid 'antimony trisulphide' - perhaps from Greek
apricot - al-burquq - from Greek
arsenal - dar as,s,ina`ah 'house of making', i.e. 'factory' - s,ana`a make
artichoke - al-kharshu:f
assassin - h'ashsha:shi:n 'hashish eaters', from the Isma`ili sectarians
barbican - (possibly) bâb-al-baqara 'gate with holes'
bled - balad 'vast open country'
borax - bu:raq - from Persian
burka - burqa`
caliber - qali:b 'mold, last' -
caliph - khali:fah 'successor' - khalafa 'succeed'
camise - qami:s 'shirt' - from Latin
candy - short for 'sugar candy', from sugar + qandi 'candied', from qand 'cane sugar' - from a Dravidian language
carat - qi:ra:t 'small weight' - from Greek
caraway - alkarawya: - probably from Greek
carmine - qirmazi: 'crimson'
carob - kharrubah
cassock - kaza:ghand 'padded jacket' - from Persian
check - sha:h 'king' - from Persian
chemistry - see alchemy
chess - from Old French eschecs, plural of check
coffee - qahwah
cork - qu:rq
cotton - qutn
couscous - kuskus - kaskasa pound, bruise
crimson - qirmazi:, related to the qirmiz, the insect that provided the dye