How to say "silk" in Arabic

New word

Meaningsilk

Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic

حَرِير

ḥarīrחריר

حرير

Hebrew · Modern Hebrew

משי

meshiمِشِي

How the two words are related

New word

No Hebrew relative — learn it fresh.

Arabic root

ح-ر-ر

From ح-ر-ر 'free, hot' — the same root behind حُرِّيَّة 'freedom' — though why silk got that name is debated, possibly 'the fabric of the free/noble' as opposed to coarser cloth. Hebrew משי is its own old word, likely itself an ancient loan from the silk trade; no link between the two.

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In a phrase

طَرِيق الْحَرِير
ṭarīq al-ḥarīrטריק אל-חריר

the Silk Road

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