fatwa

Where does the word "fatwa" come from? It comes from Arabic fata, passing through Arabic before entering English (1620s).

Fatwa’s story begins in Arabic: fata meant “to give a legal ruling.” Meant "to instruct by a legal decision". Within Arabic, it grew into fetwa by medieval. Named a formal ruling given by a mufti. It reached English by 1620s as fatwa. First recorded in 1625 in Robert Withers's account of the Ottoman sultan's palace, printed in Purchas's travel collection; gained wide notoriety after the 1989 Rushdie affair. Today, fatwa means a formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized religious authority.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval fata "to give a legal ruling", meant "to instruct by a legal decision".
2. Stage 2 · Arabic · medieval fetwa "legal ruling", named a formal ruling given by a mufti.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1620s fatwa "formal Islamic legal ruling", first recorded in 1625 in Robert Withers's account of the Ottoman sultan's palace, printed in Purchas's travel collection; gained wide notoriety after the 1989 Rushdie affair.