Khayma
/ˈkaɪ.mə/noun
A traditional tent, especially one used by Bedouin peoples of Arabia and North Africa.
Did you know?The word comes from Arabic خَيْمَة (khayma), a term deeply associated with Bedouin hospitality, where offering shelter and food to a stranger was a powerful social obligation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ḫaym-
“Tent or dwelling; reconstructed ancestor of the Arabic term”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
خَيْمَة (khayma)
“Tent, especially a nomadic or desert dwelling”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
خَيْمَة (khayma)
“A tent or temporary shelter used by pastoral and nomadic communities”
19th Century
European transliteration
khaima / kheima
“A Bedouin tent, recorded in travel writing and ethnographic descriptions”
Modern English
English
khayma
“A traditional Bedouin-style tent”