Maghrib
/ˈmæɡ.rɪb/noun
The sunset prayer in Islam, or the western region of the Muslim world, especially Morocco and the neighboring countries.
Did you know?In Arabic cosmology, the same root connects sunset, the West, absence, and estrangement—ideas linked by something or someone moving away from sight.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ġ-r-b
“To set, go away, or become absent; the reconstructed root behind later Arabic forms.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ġaraba
“He went away, disappeared, or set—especially of the sun.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
maġrib
“The place or time of sunset; the western direction.”
7th Century
Arabic
al-Maġrib
““The West,” a name for the western lands of the Islamic world.”
Medieval Islamic usage
Arabic
ṣalāt al-maġrib
“The sunset prayer, one of the five daily Islamic prayers.”
Modern English
English
Maghrib
“The sunset prayer, or the Maghreb region in northwestern Africa.”