hegirae

Hegirae is the plural form of hegira, a noun used to describe a journey or migration, especially one undertaken to escape danger or persecution. In Latin and in older English scholarly writing, hegira serves as a general designation for emigration, with the plural hegirae used when referring to multiple migrations or to migration as a concept. The term originates from Late Latin hegira, borrowed from Arabic hijra, meaning emigration or departure. English usage historically adopted hegira and occasionally hégire (from French) as spellings.

In historical contexts, hegirae often appear in discussions of migration as a broad theme rather than as a single event. The most famous association of the concept is with the Hijra—the 7th-century migration connected to the Prophet Muhammad—though in Latin and medieval sources hegira could denote other significant migrations as well. Today, hegirae is mainly encountered in academic writing or in translations of classical texts; in contemporary English, the more common terms are migration, emigration, or the proper noun Hijra/Hijrah when referring to the Islamic event.

See also: Hijra, Hijrah, Hijrat, Migration, Emigration.