origins.arabic.al-words
The Arabic layer: about 4,000 words
Eight centuries of al-Andalus made Arabic the second source of Spanish vocabulary after Latin. Its fingerprint is the swallowed article al-: almohada, alcalde, algodón — plus aceite, azúcar, ojalá and hasta.
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Explanation
From 711 to 1492, Arabic was a language of government, science and daily life across much of the peninsula, and Romance and Arabic speakers lived side by side for centuries. Estimates vary with what you count, but something like 4,000 items — words, derivatives and place names — is the figure usually given, which makes Arabic the largest contributor to Spanish after Latin itself. The semantic fields are exactly the ones al-Andalus excelled in: irrigation and farming (acequia, noria, aljibe, alberca, algodón, arroz, azúcar, naranja, limón, berenjena, zanahoria, alcachofa, aceite, aceituna, azafrán), building (albañil, alcoba, azotea, zaguán, alcantarilla, azulejo), trade and administration (aduana, almacén, tarifa, arancel, alcalde, alguacil, barrio, aldea), and science (álgebra, algoritmo, cifra, cenit, alquimia, alcohol, alambique, jarabe).
The giveaway is the definite article. Arabic al- was borrowed together with the noun instead of being stripped off, which is why so many Arabisms open with al-: almohada, alfombra, almacén, alcázar, alfil, alcalde, algodón. Before s, z, r, d, t and n the article assimilates, giving az-, ar-, ad- and friends: azúcar (as-sukkar), aceite (az-zayt), arroz (ar-ruzz), aduana (ad-dīwān). Two cautions: not every al- word is Arabic (alba, álamo and alambre are Latin), and plenty of Arabisms have no article at all — taza, jarra, rincón, barrio, tarea, fulano, mezquino, ajedrez.
What Arabic did not do is just as telling: it supplied nouns in bulk, very few verbs, and almost no grammar. The structure of Spanish stayed thoroughly Romance. The handful of structural exceptions are worth knowing: the preposition hasta (< ḥattā), the adjective suffix -í (marroquí, iraquí, ceutí), and the interjection ojalá (< Arabic 'if God wills'), which still takes the subjunctive after it. The map kept even more: Guadalquivir (wādi al-kabīr, 'the great river'), Guadalajara, Guadiana, Alcalá ('the citadel'), Almería, Albacete, Medina, and Gibraltar (Ŷabal Ṭāriq, 'Tariq's mountain').
Examples
I hope it rains tomorrow.
Put the pillow and the rug in the bedroom.
The oil and the sugar are in the storeroom.