# Etymology

By [lucky_1618](https://paragraph.com/@lucky-1618) · 2021-10-28

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Morocco's full [Arabic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language) name _al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah_ (المملكة المغربية) may best be translated as 'Kingdom of the West', although 'the West' in Arabic is الغرب _al-Gharb_. The name can also be translated as 'kingdom of the evening;. Medieval Arab historians and geographers sometimes referred to Morocco as _al-Maghrib al-Aqṣá_ (المغرب الأقصى (meaning 'the Farthest West') to distinguish it from neighbouring regions then called _al-Maghrib al-Awsaṭ_ (المغرب الأوسط, meaning '[the Middle West](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algeria)') and _al-Maghrib al-Adná_ (المغرب الأدنى, meaning '[the Nearest West](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia)').[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco#cite_note-22)

The word _Morocco_ is derived from the name of the city of [Marrakesh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrakesh), which was its capital under the [Almoravid dynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almoravid_dynasty) and the [Almohad Caliphate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almohad_Caliphate).[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco#cite_note-23) The origin of the name Marrakesh is disputed,[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco#cite_note-24) but it most likely comes from the [Berber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_languages) words _amur (n) akush_ (ⴰⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⴽⵓⵛ), meaning 'Land of God'.[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco#cite_note-25) The modern Berber name for Marrakesh is _Mṛṛakc_ (in the [Berber Latin script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_Latin_alphabet)). In [Turkish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_language), Morocco is known as _Fas_, a name derived from its ancient capital of [Fes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fes). However, in other parts of the Islamic world, for example in Egyptian and Middle Eastern Arabic literature before the mid-20th century, the name commonly used to refer to Morocco was _Marrakesh_ (مراكش).[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco#cite_note-26)

That name is still used for the nation today in some languages, including [Persian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language), [Urdu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdu), and [Punjabi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_language). The English name _Morocco_ is an [anglicisation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglicisation) of the [Spanish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language) name for the country, _Marruecos_. That Spanish name was also the basis for the old [Tuscan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscan_dialect) word for the country, _Morrocco_, from which the modern [Italian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language) word for the country, _Marocco_, is derived.

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*Originally published on [lucky_1618](https://paragraph.com/@lucky-1618/etymology)*