ARABIC-L: LING: Origin of "Kuwait" responses

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 03 Feb 1999
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Diminuitive of /Kuut/
2) Subject: Sanskrit "kot"

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1)
Date: 03 Feb 1999
From: MOHAMMED M JIYAD <mmjiyad at unix.amherst.edu>
Subject: Diminuitive of /Kuut/

MarHaban,

I checked Al-Raazy's Mukhtaar AS-SaHHaaH and could not find the
root/Kaaf-Waaw-Taa'/. In Lisaan Al-Carab, however,  I found the root and
the adjective that is derived from it /Kuuty/ which means "short."
My guess is that "Kuwait," (and I hope this should not be taken as a
political statement!) is a diminutive form of the word /Kuut/, which is
the name of the center town of the province /WaasiT/ between Basrah and
Baghdad in Iraq. The word /Kuut/ itself originally came from /Kuuthaa/,
the ancient city of the Nabateans in Iraq, where Prophet Abraham was born.
It is also the name of a neighborhood in Mekka, the neighborhood of Bani
Cabd Addaar.
Best.
Mohammed Jiyad

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2)
Date: 03 Feb 1999
From: "N. Heer" <heer at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Sanskrit "kot"

	Kuwait seems to be the diminutive of kUt, but kUt is apparently
Persian.  I found it listed in Steingass's Persian dictionary as well as
Redhouse's Turkish dictionary.  Redhouse says the origin may be the
Sanskrit "kot".  The meaning in any case is "fort".  Do we have any
Sanskritists on the list?

					Nicholas

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End of Arabic-L: 03 Feb 1999