Hijab
/hɪˈdʒɑːb/noun
A head covering worn by some Muslim women, or more broadly a veil, screen, or barrier.
Did you know?In the Qur’an, hijab is used for a physical or figurative partition, while its specific association with women’s head covering developed through later religious and cultural interpretation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
ḥ-j-b
“To conceal, cover, or separate; reconstructed Semitic root”
Pre-Islamic Arabic
Arabic
ḥajaba
“He concealed, screened, or kept something out of sight”
7th Century
Qur’anic Arabic
ḥijāb
“A barrier, screen, partition, or veil”
8th–10th Centuries
Classical Arabic
ḥijāb
“A curtain, covering, protective screen, or separation”
19th Century
English
hijab
“A transliterated Arabic term for a veil or Muslim women’s covering”
Modern English
English
hijab
“A headscarf worn by some Muslim women; also a veil or figurative barrier”