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

nadir

nadir — the point in the sky opposite the zenith, beneath the observer's feetpunto del cielo opuesto al cénit, bajo los pies del observador

Comes from Arabic

نَظِيرُ السَّمْت

naẓīr as-samt

“the opposite of the zenith”«el opuesto del cénit»

Arabic today says

نَظِيرُ السَّمْت

naẓīr as-samt

And it still does

Root

ن ظ ر

n-ẓ-r

The article

It came in without the article.

The story

Naẓīr means "counterpart, opposite"; Latin kept only the first word. The emphatic ẓ was heard as d.Naẓīr significa «correspondiente, opuesto»; el latín se quedó solo con la primera palabra. La ẓ enfática se oyó como d.

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