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Wadi

2 stages from Arabic to English.

Today it means a dry riverbed or valley in North Africa or the Middle East that fills with water only after heavy rain

Where does the word "wadi" come from? It comes from Arabic wadi, adopted directly into English (1839).

1
Stage 1 of 2
wadi
Arabic · medieval
"a watercourse or valley, dry except in rainy season"
participle of wada, "it flowed"
2
Stage 2 of 2
wadi
English · 1839
"seasonal desert watercourse"
borrowed directly to describe North African and Middle Eastern desert valleys
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