Mozarab

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /məʊˈzærÉ™b/
• US IPA: /moʊˈzærÉ™b/

Origin

From Spanish mozárabe, from Arabic مستعرب (mustaʿrab, "Arabized").

Full definition of Mozarab

Noun

1. An Iberian Christian living under Arab domination.
• 2011, Yasmine Beale-Rivaya, American Speech, vol. 86, no. 4, "Maintaining a Language of Culture: Outcomes of Medieval Iberian Shift as a Predictor for Spanish in the American Southwest'', p. 417The Mozarabs were bilingual in Romance and Arabic and lived along th border area (north of the border to be precise) between Christian Iberia and Al-Andalus. This particular community sought to remain bilingual because it derived its identity from being both Arab-like and Christian.

Related terms

• Mozarabic
• Arab