Mashrabiya Etymology
The word Mashrabiya came from an Arab root meaning that is a place where the jars of drinking water were being put to cool, Mashraba is the noun form of a verb in Arabic “yashrab “ meaning “drink” (Fathy, 1986). It has also been said that Mashrabiya is a distortion of the word “ Mashrafiya”, taken from the verb in Arabic yoshrif meaning to overlook or observe, because the Mashrafiya is the prominent part of a window where the ladies of the house could observe the road outside in complete privacy (Figure 2.5).
Figure 2.5: The ladies behind the Mashrabiya (Ficarelli, 2008)
There is a third view that says that the element was named by the Macherbah; it is an attribution to the kind of wood, called Macherb that was used in the manufacture of the screen. It is a good quality wood which is characterized by strength and the ability to withstand the heat of the sun and a harsh climate (Ben-Hamouche, 2013).
The Mashrabiya was widespread in Islam, but not only in Arab countries; consequently it has been given many names, like Roshan or Roche in the Arabization of the Persian word (Rosen), which means a window or a balcony (Almurahhem, 2009). It also was known such as Cumba in Turkey; Cumba describes the prominent window that is enclosed by wooden lattice openings (Göçek, 2011). Jali in India, Shanshol in Iraq, Mushabak or Roshan in Iran, Roshan in Saudi Arabia also, Aggasi in Bahrain, Takhrima in Yemen, Barmaqli in Tunis.
But the most commonly found name is Mashrabiya (Ashi, 2010) (Table 2.1). It is worth mentioning that Mashrabiya is written in some studies as Mashrabiyya both expressions are correct, due to the grammar of the Arabic language which gives prominence to the Y letter in speaking or writing, as in the word Mashrabiyya.
Table2.1: The Various Names of Mashrabiya Around the World (Alothman,2016)
