Ka'bah
/ˈkɑː.bə/noun
The sacred cubical building at the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca and the focal point of Muslim prayer and pilgrimage.
Did you know?The Arabic name comes from the root kaʿb, associated with a cube or a projecting, rounded elevation, and the Ka'bah is draped in a black cloth called the kiswah each year.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic era
Proto-Semitic
*kaʿb-
“A reconstructed Semitic root associated with a projection, swelling, or elevated part; the exact prehistoric form is uncertain.”
Pre-Islamic Arabic
Arabic
kaʿb
“A projecting or elevated part; also a knuckle, ankle, or cube-like form.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
kaʿbah
“A cube or cubical structure; the name applied to the sanctuary at Mecca.”
7th Century
Early Islamic Arabic
al-Kaʿbah
“The Ka'bah, the central sanctuary in Mecca and the focal point of pilgrimage and prayer.”
17th Century onward
English
Caaba / Kaaba
“English renderings of the Arabic name for the sacred sanctuary in Mecca.”
Modern English
English
Ka'bah
“A common scholarly or transliterated English spelling of the Arabic name.”