العراق

Meaning

Iraq (a country in Asia)

Concepts

Iraq

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Republic of Iraq

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iraq

the Republic of Iraq

Shia crescent

axis of evil

𐐆𐑉𐐰𐐿

Irak

Synonyms

جمهورية العراق

al-ʿIrāq

Translations

Iraq

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Irak

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Ιράκ

Iraque

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Irak

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Iraq

Irak

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Iraq

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Iraq

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Irak

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Irak

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Iraq

Iraquia

Iraq

Pronounced as (IPA)

/al.ʕi.raːq/

Etymology

In medieval Arabic geography, the toponym referred to the southern and central parts of present-day Iraq. The word was taken as the definite form of عِرَاق (ʕirāq, “shore, edge, any land next to water”), in contrast with الْجَزِيرَة (al-jazīra, “the Arabian Peninsula”), called ܓܙܺܝܪܬܴ݁ܐ (gəzīrtā, “Mesopotamia”) in Syriac.
Some sources suggest an origin in Middle Persian. Forms like [script needed] (ˀyrg /⁠ērag⁠/) or [script needed] (ˀl'k' /⁠erāg⁠/, “lowlands”) are related to the same root as 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭 (ʾyrʾn /⁠ērān⁠/, “Iran”) and 𐭠𐭩𐭫 (ʾyl /⁠ēr⁠/, “Iranian”), reflecting the influence of Persia, Iraq’s plateau neighbor. The form [script needed] (ērag) is also found in a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowl, which preserves the oldest known written form of “Iraq” as אירג (ʔyrg /⁠*ērag⁠/, “Iraq”).
The Aramaic continuum may have preserved a pharyngealized variant, comparable to rare forms such as عِرْنَاس (ʕirnās, “distaff”) and عَمْرُوسَة (ʕamrūsa, “small lamb”).
A connection with Akkadian 𒌷𒀕 (/⁠uruk⁠/, “Uruk”) is unlikely on phonetic grounds.