Arabic-L:LING:Cognate query on archeology website

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Mon 08 Oct 2007
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1) Subject:Cognate query on archeology website

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1)
Date: 08 Oct 2007
From:richardhasan at gmail.com
Subject:Cognate query on archeology website

Hello everybody!

I am sure there will be many on this list who would be able to answer  
this one.  I am pasting the text, but here is the link also to the  
blog for those who want details of the asker:

http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2007/10/the_star_of_alqaeda.php


"Here's something I've been wondering about. Anybody know Arabic  
historical linguistics?
Al-qaeda is Arabic for "the base, basis, foundation, military base".  
Alkaid is the Arabic name for Eta Ursae Majoris, a star in the Big  
Dipper. It's short for al-qaid al-banat an-nac, meaning "the leader  
of the daughters of the bier", because the three stars of the  
Dipper's handle were seen as mourning maidens, wailing at the bier of  
their father who had been murdered by Polaris.

So qaida is foundation and qaid is leader. Are these words true  
cognates? Does Al-Qaeda have its own star in the sky? The terrorist  
organisation has sure set a fair number of maidens a-mourning through  
its murders."

-- 
Syed Rashid Hasan, Ph.D.
Linguist & Translator (Arabic<>English, Urdu<>English)

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