كربلاء

كَرْبَلَاء (name)

Etymology: Etymology uncertain. Many theories exist, some of which are:
* Blend of كَرْب (karb, “distress”) + بَلَاء (balāʔ, “calamity”)
* كَرْبَلَة (karbala, “flaccid, loose, soft”), in reference to its soil.
* كَرْبَل (karbal, “Rumex plant”), due to its existence there
* Akkadian 𒆪𒉡𒀭 (“Near God, close to God”) (𒆪𒉡 (qarābu) + 𒀭 (ilu))
* Persian کار بالا (kār bālā /kâr bâlâ, “Deed up risen”)
* كُوَر (kuwar, “Villages”) + بابِلِ (bābili, “of Babylon”), due to its proximity to them.
* كَرْبَلَ (karbala, “to purify, to clean”)

Meaning: Karbala (a city in Iraq, holy to Shia Muslims as the site of the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali); Karbala (a governorate of Iraq)

From Wiktionary: كربلاء, by Wiktionary contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.