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Ojalá
Words
Certain: The standard etymology in the RAE dictionary and in Corriente; no serious doubt.Science & games · Common

laúd

lute — a stringed instrument with a rounded bodyinstrumento de cuerda de caja abombada

Comes from Arabic

العُود

al-ʿūd

“wood; the lute”«la madera; el laúd»

Arabic today says

عُود

ʿūd

And it still does

Root

ع و د

ʿ-w-d

The article

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

The story

The initial l is what remains of the article: al-ʿūd > laúd. The Arab oud and the European lute are the same instrument, separated by centuries.La l inicial es lo que queda del artículo: al-ʿūd > laúd. El oud árabe y el laúd europeo son el mismo instrumento separado por los siglos.

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