Usted ustath?

Another lightbulb moment: in Arabic, ustath means teacher or instructor and is used an a generic honorific. In Spanish, Usted is the formal address for you, as opposed to the familiar tu. Ustath --> Usted? Seems possible. Especially when you consider that in some regional pronunciations of Castilian, the "d" sounds like a "th."

I need to find a good source or text for the etymology of Spanish words. Is there a Castilian equivalent of the OED? There must be, I'm sure, maybe published by the Real Academia Espanola. *off to check*

ETA: according to everything I find online, usted is a contraction of the phrase "vuestra merced"...so I'm thinking the sound similarity and usage are coincidental.

And the etymological dictionaries of Spanish that I can find online? Range from $51 used to $1,895. The one that I would love to have is $375. Not in my budget right now.

Never mind.

Roots of words

Taliban and mujahedeen. I knew what they meant, of course, in the modern western usage. Mujahideen -- guerrilla fighters of Afghanistan against the Soviets, armed by America; used for other fighters, but they are less well known in the west. Literally translated, though, it is the genitive indefinite of "fighters" only. All of the other freight came later. Taliban -- strict Sunni movement that ruled Afghanistan and is struggling to regain it. Literally, it is the Pashto variation on the Arabic toolab, plural for students. So now I know the roots of each word, and the etymology and grammar of them. It's fascinating to read how history and politics influence language.

Midterms back, did very well. Of course, even the instructor admits it was an easy exam. I feel a little guilty, because I procrastinated and did it the morning before class and spent very little time on it, while I know other students spent a huge amount of time laboring over it.

Olives, olives everywhere

I read somewhere that as many as 4,000 words in the Spanish vocabulary are of Arabic origin. All the words starting "al-" are, I believe, like alcazar (castle) and algodón (cotton), and some others, like azúcar. And today in my Arabic class, I learned another: olive. In Spanish, aceituna; in Arabic, zaituna.

Radio silence

Busy two weeks. Back to the irregularly scheduled blogging.

First, my copy of Hans Wehr arrived. Not as impressed with it as I am with the Al-Mawrid. The print is tiny, go blind tiny. I need to invest in a reader's magnifying glass to use the dictionary.

Second -- the mid-term is a take home. ::sigh:: Take home mid-terms are about as much fun as open book tests are. Don't like them. Would rather have a set period of time to get the work done, without the possibility of agonizing or going back over it until I'm senseless.

Watched Babel last night. I could pick out a few words of the Moroccan Arabic every now and again...which was cool, since I'm learning MSA, not a colloquial version. Followed the Spanish without a problem. If only I spoke Japanese. Not. I can't handle anything more.