It depends on which language it's been used in. In Arabic (and possibly some languages that have borrowed from it, like Swahili or Persian), it has a range of meanings, one of which is "tale". In English, it only appears as a technical term in Islamic studies, wherein it has the specialised sense that I've given.
Another example of this phenomenon of specialisation is ţari:qa. In Arabic, it has a whole range of meanings, including "manner" and "way". However, in English tariq(a) has the specialised sense of "a Sufi brotherhood". Or Turkish dönme, which means "convert" (literally, "turning, one who has turned") but in English refers specifically to a particular sect of followers of the 17th-century Jewish mystic Shabbatai Zevi who converted to Islam rather than face execution or go into hiding. Actually, I could multiply examples almost at will.
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momijizukamori
Re: I thought it meat tale
Date: 2004-02-18 10:51 am (UTC)Another example of this phenomenon of specialisation is ţari:qa. In Arabic, it has a whole range of meanings, including "manner" and "way". However, in English tariq(a) has the specialised sense of "a Sufi brotherhood". Or Turkish dönme, which means "convert" (literally, "turning, one who has turned") but in English refers specifically to a particular sect of followers of the 17th-century Jewish mystic Shabbatai Zevi who converted to Islam rather than face execution or go into hiding. Actually, I could multiply examples almost at will.