How to say "customs (duty)" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningcustoms (duty)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مَكْس
maksמכס
مكس
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מכס
mekhesمِخِس
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
م-ك-سHebrew root
מ-כ-סHebrew מכס and Arabic مكس are the very same word, both inherited — most likely via Aramaic — from Akkadian miksu, 'tax, toll': a loanword that has been collecting duties since Mesopotamia.
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
جُمْرُك
gumrukגמרךThe customs office in Cairo is ig-gumruk.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
دِيوَانَة
dīwānaדיואנהFrom French douane: d-dīwāna.
In a phrase
مَكْتَب الْمَكْس
maktab al-maksמכתב אל-מכסthe customs office
Plural
مُكُوس
mukūsמכוסbroken plural CuCūC — like بَيْت→بُيُوت