Quds
/qʊds/noun
An Arabic name for Jerusalem, commonly appearing in the phrase al-Quds, meaning “the Holy.”
Did you know?Quds comes from the Semitic root Q-D-Sh, the same sacred root behind Hebrew qadosh (“holy”) and the Jewish prayer name Kaddish.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*qadash
“To be holy, sacred, or set apart”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
qōdeš / qādōš
“Holiness; holy or sacred”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
qudus / quddūs
“Holiness; holy, sanctified”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
al-Quds
“The Holy [Place], a name for Jerusalem”
19th–20th Century
English
Quds
“An English transliteration of the Arabic name for Jerusalem”
Modern English
English
Quds
“Jerusalem, especially in Arabic and geopolitical contexts”