# Albuquerque



## إسكندراني

The word albuquerque is of spanish origin, and is said to ultimately derive from the latin for white oak, but there is repeated allusion to the arabic language as an intermediate. Yet i can find no arabic word sounding like 'querq' meaning oak..قرق
قرك
كرك
All have nothing to do with oak


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## entangledbank

The Latin for "white oak" is _alba quercus_ (or in reverse order: _Quercus alba_ is a species name). No Arabic involved at all. I suppose some people would say to themselves, 'If it's Spanish and it begins with _al-_ there must be Arabic in it.' But then you'd be looking for an Arabic word like *_bukerk_ (which doesn't look very Arabic to me), and it could mean anything at all - nothing to do with oaks. I don't know which is the true origin of the name, but "white oak" fits nicely.


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## fdb

Alburquerque (sic recte) is place name in Spain and, without the first r, also in New Mexico. The usual derivation from _alba quercus_ is perhaps just a bit too neat. Besides, in a Latin derivative one does not really expect the intrusive –r- in the second syllable. Another possibility would be to connect it with Spanish _albaricoque_, from Arabic _al-barq__ū__q_ “apricot” (in Egypt: “plum”), from Latin _praecocia_, the source of the word for “apricot” in most European languages. In this case there would be an intrusive r in the third syllable. A third possibility is that it is from _alba quercus_, but contaminated with _albaricoque._


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## Hulalessar

Are there any white oaks in Spain?


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## fdb

Quercus alba is the (modern) scientific name for the White Oak, which, I believe, is native to North America. The Spanish village of Alburquerque is noted for its production of cork, which comes from the quercus suber, or Cork Oak. If its name really derives from Latin _alba quercus_, then obviously not with reference to the tree now known by this scientific name, but to the Cork Oak, which, I believe, does have white or greyish bark.


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## Forero

The _bur_ of _Alburquerque_ reminds me of _robur_ (as in "roble"). The word really looks like a portmanteau or the result of competing folk etymologies.


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## Hulalessar

Whilst it is true that the Latin for "white oak" is_ alba quercus_ would not _quercus alba_ be more likely? Since neither _quercus _nor _alba _have survived into modern Spanish (so far as I know) for the name to derive from those two words the place will have to have been established before the words dropped out of use, whenever that was.

Wikipedia notes a possible alternative etymology from Arabic _abu al-qurq_ meaning "father of the cork [oak]".

Alburquerque is in an area where the cork oak is native and for the place (as opposed to anywhere else) to have been named after the tree or cork one would expect it either to have been either surrounded by an unusual number of the trees or a centre of cork production. Do we know if either is the case?


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## fdb

Hulalessar said:


> Wikipedia notes a possible alternative etymology from Arabic _abu al-qurq_ meaning "father of the cork [oak]".



As far as I can see, there is no such word as "qurq" in Arabic.


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## CapnPrep

Forero said:


> The _bur_ of _Alburquerque_ reminds me of _robur_ (as in "roble"). The word really looks like a portmanteau or the result of competing folk etymologies.


Possibly. There is also _alburnum_. But we wouldn't expect the Latin _ŭ _to be preserved in these words, except through learned influence (which would be kind of inconsistent with blending or folk etymology). But I guess just about anything is possible in placenames.


fdb said:


> As far as I can see, there is no such word as "qurq" in Arabic.


The DRAE (s.v. _alcorque_ "cork-soled shoe") mentions such a form in Spanish Arabic, from Aramaic _qarqā_ or _qurqā_. The OED says the origin of the Spanish Arabic word is uncertain, possibly < Latin _quercus_.


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## Cenzontle

> The OED says the origin of the Spanish Arabic word is uncertain, possibly < Latin _quercus._


Meanwhile Merriam-Webster's _Third International_ (etymology of Eng. _​cork_) says


> prob[ably] fr[om] Ar[abic] qurq, fr[om] L[atin] cortic-, cortex


Be grateful for the candor of "uncertain", "possibly", and "probably".

P.S.:  The _American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language_ indicates a long vowel in "al-qūrq"—does that help?


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## Ben Jamin

Hulalessar said:


> Since neither _quercus _nor _alba _have survived into modern Spanish (


What about Spanish "alba" (dawn), and "alba" (white in poetic language)?


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## fdb

I have looked into this some more. It is true that _qurq _does not exist in this meaning in classical Arabic. It is however used in Hispano-Arabic, North African dialects, and Maltese. Dozy, _Suppl. aux dict. arabes _II 334, glosses Hispano-Arabic قرق as “sandale avec la semelle de liége" [sic, modern spelling: liège] "(comme _alcorque _en esp.)”, and proceeds to derive it from Latin _cortex_ (bark, cork) “qui est devenu en esp. _corcho_ (…), proprement _liége_, et de là _sandale avec la semelle de liége_". Meyer-Lübke, _Rom. etym. Wb. _(at the moment I have only the 1st edition at hand) no. 6951, rejects the derivation of _alcorque_ and _corcho_ from _cortex_ and derives them instead from _quercus_ (oak). The fact that قرق is found only in Western, and not in Eastern Arabic suggests (I think) that it is derived directly from Latin (or some other Romance source), and not via Aramaic.


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## Cenzontle

Good work, fdb!  Thanks!  Corominas (_Breve_) attributes Sp. _corcho_ to Mozarabic [Romance] _corch_ or _corcho_, and this from Latin _cŏrtex_, _cŏrtĭcis_.
If I remember correctly about Mozarabic, its role here may help to explain the _ch_ affricate of _corcho_, as well as the failure to diphthongize (if _cortex_​ etc. is the source).


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## HUMBERT0

¿Que relación hay con Albunquerque?, yo siempre había creído que llevaba una ene, me es más fácil pronunciarlo así.


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## إسكندراني

fdb said:


> I have looked into this some more. It is true that _qurq _does not exist in this meaning in classical Arabic. It is however used in Hispano-Arabic, North African dialects, and Maltese. Dozy, _Suppl. aux dict. arabes _II 334, glosses Hispano-Arabic قرق as “sandale avec la semelle de liége" [sic, modern spelling: liège] "(comme _alcorque _en esp.)”, and proceeds to derive it from Latin _cortex_ (bark, cork) “qui est devenu en esp. _corcho_ (…), proprement _liége_, et de là _sandale avec la semelle de liége_". Meyer-Lübke, _Rom. etym. Wb. _(at the moment I have only the 1st edition at hand) no. 6951, rejects the derivation of _alcorque_ and _corcho_ from _cortex_ and derives them instead from _quercus_ (oak). The fact that قرق is found only in Western, and not in Eastern Arabic suggests (I think) that it is derived directly from Latin (or some other Romance source), and not via Aramaic.


براڤو
This is what I was looking for!
we can't be exactly sure how Albuquerque evolved, but the mentions of قرق in other etymologies and your find are of interest. Thank you.


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