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| WORD OF THE MONTH |
« Al-bunduqiyya » البندقية is
the Arabic word for a rifle. It is derived from « al-bunduqa » البندقة the
hazelnut, as the first bullets shot by the crossbows, before the
invention of the firearms, were similar to the fruit of the hazel
tree : « al-bunduq » البندق .
In
the Middle East, the first firearms were introduced by Venetians
merchants, this is why nowadays Venice is called in Arabic « madînat
al-bunduqiyya » مدينة البندقية ,
the city of the rifle. As it is frequent for quadriliteral words,
its plural is internal : « banâdiq » بنادق .
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