Meknes
/ˈmɛknɛs/noun
A historic city in northern Morocco and one of the country’s four imperial cities.
Did you know?The city’s name comes from the Miknasa, a powerful Amazigh tribal confederation whose name was carried into Arabic as Miknās.
Etymological Timeline
Late Antiquity
Berber
Miknasa
“Name of an Amazigh tribal confederation associated with the region”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
Miknās
“Arabic form of the tribal name”
11th Century
Arabic
Miknās
“Name applied to the settlement that developed under Almoravid rule”
14th Century
Maghrebi Arabic
Miknās
“Established urban place-name in Morocco”
17th Century
Arabic
Miknās
“Imperial city expanded dramatically under Sultan Moulay Ismail”
Modern English
English
Meknes
“The conventional English spelling of the Moroccan city-name”