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Ojalá
Words
Certain: The standard etymology in the RAE dictionary and in Corriente; no serious doubt.Plants & animals · Everyday

alacrán

scorpionescorpión

Comes from Arabic

العَقْرَب

al-ʿaqrab

“the scorpion”«el escorpión»

Arabic today says

عَقْرَب

ʿaqrab

And it still does

Root

ع ق ر ب

ʿ-q-r-b

The article

Spanish kept the Arabic article al- glued to the word.

The story

The ʿayn disappeared and the article stuck: al-ʿaqrab > alacrán. The final -n is a Romance addition whose origin is debated.La ʿayn desapareció y se pegó el artículo: al-ʿaqrab > alacrán. La -n final es un añadido romance cuyo origen se discute.

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