Miknās
/mɪkˈnɑːs/noun
A scholarly transliteration of the Arabic name for Meknes, a city in north-central Morocco.
Did you know?Miknās ultimately preserves the name of the Miknasa, a powerful Amazigh (Berber) tribal confederation active across the Maghreb during the early Islamic period.
Etymological Timeline
Late Antiquity–Early Middle Ages
Amazigh
Miknassa
“Name of an Amazigh (Berber) tribal confederation; the deeper internal meaning is uncertain.”
Early Islamic period
Arabic
Miknās
“Arabic rendering of the tribal name, later associated with the settlement and region.”
11th–12th Century
Arabic
Miknās
“Name used for the Moroccan settlement that developed into the city of Meknes.”
16th–17th Century
European usage
Mequinez
“Historical Spanish and Portuguese forms of the city’s name.”
Modern English
English
Meknes
“The standard English spelling of the Moroccan city; Miknās remains a scholarly transliteration of its Arabic name.”