Halal
/həˈlɑːl/noun
Permitted or lawful under Islamic law, especially regarding food.
Did you know?Halal comes from the Arabic root ḥ-l-l, which also gives words connected to loosening, untying, and making something permissible—so the opposite of forbidden is literally “unbound.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
PSem
*ḥll
“root meaning to be loose, untie, or permit”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ḥalāl
“lawful, permitted, licit”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ḥalla
“to untie, solve, or become allowable”
Middle English
English
halal
“borrowed term referring to what is permitted in Islamic dietary law”
Modern English
English
halal
“permitted according to Islamic law, especially food and slaughter”