THE COPTIC SYNDROME OF TRYING TO FIND COPTIC ORIGIN TO ARAB WORDS: OUṬA
I have previously spoken about a syndrome which I called a syndrome of trying to find a Coptic origin for words in Egyptian Arabic (for previous articles, see, e.g., the ones related to nayrouz, al-Qahira (Cairo), and hantur; and also read “Our Present Day Lingual Follies” and “The Delirious Copt: A Short Story” that try to explain the motive behind this syndrome and folly).
Today I use the example of ‘ouṭa أوطة’. Ouṭa is the name given in Egypt, beside ‘ṭamaṭim طماطم’, to tomato. Now, the reader must not think that the Arabic name for tomato in Egypt is ouṭa, for ouṭa is how the Egyptians pronounce the word ‘al-gouṭa القُوطَةُ’, which one finds in modern Arabic dictionaries such as معجم اللغة العربية المعاصرة (2006) but not in old ones like لسان العرب (1311/12).
The Copts who are eager to see Coptic origin of any Egyptian Arabic word were quick to see a Coptic etymology, not in the correct word ‘قُوطَةُ’ but on the Egyptian pronunciation version of it ‘ouṭa’. Now, there is a Coptic word that sounds a bit similar ‘outah’, which means ‘fruit’. So, some Copts took it that the Arabic Egyptian word for tomato is actually Coptic.
It sounds convincing, except that the Copts until they became Arabised and stopped talking their beautiful Coptic language sometime in the 17th century, and even until the nineteenth century, never knew or tasted tomato to give it a name. This is because the tomato plant was not known in the old world until the Spanish went to Central America and conquered the Aztec Empire in the 16th century in 1519-1521. Tomato was known only in Central and South America: the Aztec people called it ‘tomati’ and ate it, and the Spanish took that name with a little change, and called it ‘tomate’.
The Spanish brought the tomato plant (called scientifically in 1753, lycopersicum) back with them to Spain, and from them it was distributed to Europe and Asia. But it was mainly used for decorative and ornamental purposes in Europe, as table top decoration or in the garden. It was used in the cuisine in Spain in the early 17th century, but the fact that some of its varieties were poisonous prevented it from being used in other European country cuisines: in Italy it started to be eaten in the late 17th or early 18th centuries; in Britain, in the 18th century.
Not until the 19th century did any of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa get to know the tomato plant: it was introduced to these areas by an English diplomat and horticulturist called John Barker (1771 – 1849) during the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805 – 1848). Barker was Consul of the Levant Company in Aleppo (1799 – 1825) and then moved to Egypt in 1926, first as British Consul in Alexandria, and then as Consul-General in Egypt (1827 – 1833). It is during his work in Egypt that he introduced the tomato plant into Egypt as he had done that in Syria before. So, as you can see, the tomato plant is a very recent introduction in Egypt.
There is no connection whatsoever between the ṭamaṭim or ouṭa and the Coptic word ‘outah’.
Let’s then try to see where did the word ouṭa then come from. This is not my business: my business is to crush the idea that there is connection between the Egyptian Arabic ouṭa and the Coptic outah, which I believe I have done. However, I will try to give it a shot. As I said, the word outa is actually the peculiar way Egyptians pronounce gouṭa, where letter ‘ق’ is changed into letter ‘أ’. Gouṭa is the word for tomato as written in modern Egyptian Arabic dictionaries. So, what could be the origin of the word ‘gouṭa قُوطَةُ’? I suggest it is Persian (Parsi) corrupted in the Arabic tongue: the Iranians call it گوجه. The reader can check its pronunciation here. The Persians have special tomato cuisine, such as kateh gojeh farangi کته گوجه فرنگی which is tomato rice and om’let-e gojeh farangi املت گوجه فرنگی which is tomato omelette. It’s probably from there the word travelled to Egypt after the tomato plant had been introduced by the British into the Middle East.
To conclude: Egyptian Arabic has no connection with the Coptic language – Egyptian Arabic is a dialect of Arabic. As I have said before, only a few words, may be 118 in total, which Egyptians now use in their Arabic have Coptic origin. While some Copts may feel bad about that (they sort of find some pride if Coptic survived in the Arabic Egyptian), I use it to stop the useless efforts of trying to find Coptic origin in Arabic words, and ask Copts to have pride in Coptic alone and not Egyptian Arabic – and focus on reviving it.
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References:
Wikipedia: Tomato
Wikipedia: John Barker (diplomat)