Etymology Map
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Rubaiyat

3 stages from Arabic to English.

Today it means a quatrain, or a collection of quatrains, in Persian poetry, especially those attributed to Omar Khayyam

Where does the word "rubaiyat" come from? It comes from Arabic rubaiy, passing through Persian before entering English (1859).

1
Stage 1 of 3
rubaiy
Arabic · medieval
"four-line verse form"
meant "composed of four," describing a four-line poetic verse
2
Stage 2 of 3
rubaiyat
Persian · medieval
"quatrains"
the plural form became famous through the quatrains of poet Omar Khayyam
3
Stage 3 of 3
rubaiyat
English · 1859
"Persian quatrains"
entered English through Edward FitzGerald's translation "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam"
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