Miknasa
/mɪkˈnɑːsə/noun
Miknasa was the name of a North African Berber (Amazigh) tribal confederation associated with the city now called Meknes in Morocco.
Did you know?The Miknasa name survives geographically in Meknes, whose older Arabic forms included Miknasa al-Zaytun, meaning “Miknasa of the olives.”
Etymological Timeline
Late Antiquity
Berber
Miknasa
“Name of an Amazigh tribal confederation; the precise original meaning is uncertain.”
8th–10th Century
Arabic sources
Miknāsa
“Arabic rendering of the Berber tribal name in historical and geographical accounts.”
10th–11th Century
Arabic
Miknāsa al-Zaytūn
““Miknasa of the olives,” an early name associated with the settlement.”
Medieval period
Maghrebi Arabic
Miknās
“A shortened place-name referring to the settlement and surrounding territory.”
Modern English
English
Miknasa
“A historical name for the Amazigh confederation, also appearing in historical descriptions of the Meknes region.”