Rioja
AlmeríaAndalucía
Arabism from Andalusian ar-Riyāḍa ('the garden, the orchard'), from classical rawḍa. Distinct from the homonymous Rioja of the Ebro (of Basque origin).
Evolution of the name
- ar-Riyāḍa Andalusi Arabic 9th–11th centuries
- Rioja medieval Castilian from 1489
Reflections, to the letter
The name keeps ar-Riyāḍa, «the orchard». Down on the floor of the Andarax it survives as landscape: orange groves and vine trellises watered between the river and the flank of Alhamilla. In the village, the Orange Interpretation Centre tells how that garden, first of vines and later of citrus, sustained Rioja for centuries. The orchard behind the name is no metaphor; it is still harvested.
Glossary
- Andalusian rammed earth
- Traditional construction technique of al-Andalus consisting of walls of compacted earth (mixture of clay, sand, gravel and lime) formed in wooden moulds. It was applied in successive strata of 60-80 cm until forming the complete wall. The technique, developed in the Islamic Maghreb, was introduced into the Peninsula by the Almoravids in the 11th century and left dozens of Andalusian rural walls and farmhouses.
- Arabism
- A word or place name in Castilian, Portuguese or Catalan borrowed from Andalusian Arabic. The Peninsula preserves thousands: aceite, azúcar, almohada, alcázar, azulejo, Guadalquivir, Atalaia, Azofra, Azambuja.
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Camino Mozárabe