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

alfombra

rug, carpettejido grueso con que se cubre el suelo

Comes from Arabic

الحَنْبَل

al-ḥanbal

“the woolen rug, the coarse blanket”«el tapete de lana, la manta basta»

Arabic today says

سَجَّادَة

sajjāda

Root

ح ن ب ل

ḥ-n-b-l

The article

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

The story

In Old Spanish alhombra and alfombra existed side by side: Arabic ḥ was heard as an aspiration, written either h or f.En castellano antiguo convivieron alhombra y alfombra: la ḥ árabe se oía como una aspiración que se escribió h o f.

In a sentence

Pusimos una alfombra nueva en el salón.

We put a new rug in the living room.

فَرَشْنَا سَجَّادَةً جَدِيدَةً فِي الصَّالَة.

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