Morocco
mo·rocco
noun
a kingdom (constitutional monarchy) in northwestern Africa with a largely Muslim population; achieved independence from France in 1956
Origin
Earlier spelling Marocco, from Portuguese Marrocos and/or Spanish Marruecos, from Arabic مُرَّاكُش (murrākuš), further etymology uncertain. The word originally referred to the capital city of Marrakech (founded late 11th c.), but came to be used as a pars pro toto for the westernmost region of the Islamic world. Compare older Arabic مُرَّاكُش (murrākuš) (now اَلْمَغْرِب (al-maḡrib)), Persian مراکش (marâkeš), Medieval Latin Marrochium. Turkish refers to the country as Fas from Fez, another former capital. Doublet of Marrakech.
Phrases
- French morocco
- Levant morocco
- Persian morocco
Related words
Broader terms
Narrower terms
Parts
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.