Ghurba
/ˈɣur.ba/noun
A state of exile, estrangement, or living away from one’s homeland.
Did you know?Ghurba belongs to the Arabic root غ-ر-ب, which also relates to sunset, the west, strangers, and the Maghreb—the place where the sun disappears.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ġ-r-b
“A root associated with going away, setting, foreignness, and the west”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
غَرَبَ (gharaba)
“To go away, become distant, or set, as the sun”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
غَرِيب (gharīb)
“A stranger, outsider, or foreign person”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
غُرْبَة (ghurba)
“Exile, estrangement, or life away from one’s homeland”
20th Century
English
ghurba
“A borrowed term for exile, displacement, or the emotional condition of living away from home”
Modern English
English
ghurba
“A state of alienation or homesickness associated with separation from one’s homeland or community”