NAMES IN THE NEWS
Two words much in the news at present during the offensive in the Western Desert are sidi and bir as prefixes to place names. Sidi is an Arabic word for lord and is applied to descendants of Mohammed. Thus where a place is named after its patron saint the latter s title is prefixed. Bir is an Arabic word for well and, consequently, indicates the presence of an oasis or water supplies.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24134, 28 November 1941, Page 6
Word Count
76NAMES IN THE NEWS New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24134, 28 November 1941, Page 6
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