Kitab

Kitab, written in Arabic as كتاب, is the common term for “book” in the Arabic-speaking world and in many languages that have borrowed from Arabic. It denotes a physical or printed volume and is used for everyday books as well as for religious or scholarly works, where it can carry a sense of a sacred or authoritative text.

Etymology and cognates: The word comes from the Semitic root K-T-B, meaning to write. From this root, related forms spread widely: Persian ketab, Turkish kitap, Urdu kitaab, Hindi kitab, Indonesian kitab. In Latin-script transliteration you may see kitaab, kitāb, or kitab, with regional spellings and diacritics indicating long vowels.

Usage and significance: In general use, kitab simply means any book. In Islamic discourse, it also refers to scripture in a broader sense; the Qur’an is often described as a kitab, and many classical and modern works are titled or cataloged as kitab to indicate their literary or scholarly nature. The term appears in various compound phrases and place names that signal libraries, bookshops, or literary culture across Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, and related languages.

Modern usage: The word remains productive in numerous languages that adopted the Arabic lexicon, appearing in editorial titles, bookstore names, and educational contexts. It reflects a historical emphasis on books, writing, and learning in the literate traditions of the region.

Variants and spelling: Common forms include kitaab, kitāb, kitab, ketab, depending on language and orthography. All derive from the same root and retain the core meaning of “book.”