Madrasa
/məˈdræsə/noun
An educational institution, especially one teaching Islamic religious subjects.
Did you know?Madrasa shares its Semitic root with Hebrew “midrash,” a tradition of interpreting sacred texts through close inquiry and commentary.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*darash
“To seek, inquire, investigate, or examine closely”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
דרש (drash)
“To seek or inquire; later, to interpret or expound a sacred text”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
دَرَسَ (darasa)
“To study, learn, or carefully examine”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
مَدْرَسَة (madrasa)
“A place of study, formed from the Arabic pattern for a place associated with an action”
Medieval Persian and Urdu
Persian/Urdu
مدرسه (madrasa)
“A school or institution of learning, especially an Islamic one”
18th Century
English
madrasa
“An Islamic school or college, borrowed into English from South Asian and Islamic usage”