Sahara
/səˈhɑːrə/noun
The vast desert region of North Africa, the largest hot desert in the world.
Did you know?The name comes through Arabic usage for a desert or wasteland, not from a hidden occult title, but it became one of the most powerful geographic words on Earth.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
Sahara
“The great desert region of North Africa”
19th Century
French
Sahara
“The Sahara Desert”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
ṣaḥrāʾ
“Desert, wasteland”
Proto-Semitic
PSem
*ṣ-ḥ-r
“Dry, barren, desert-like”