Clothing, Accessories, Names of Objects, and Stitches.

Note: Names for items of clothing, tribes and geographical locations do not directly translate from Arabic to English. Therefore, the editors have used translations from official sources where available for spelling.

‘aba or ‘abayah عباءة

Woollen outer cloak for men and women.

‘abayah bidi عباءة†بيدي

Woollen outer cloak for men and outer jacket for women, worn in the cold mountainous regions

abu usba‘ أبو†اصبع

Men’s sandals with an upright stem rising between the big toe and the second toe

badan بدن

Plain red shirt worn underneath a badanah by women of the Jahdaly tribe

badanah بدنة

Bodice

baftah بفته

Cotton fabric

baladi بلدي

Type of stitch used on Hijazi women’s head-covers

baniqah بنيقة

Side panels of a thobe

bayram بيرم

Tribal women’s square headdress from the Hijaz

bukhnuq بخنق

Women’s bead-embroidered headdress which has an opening for the head, and the length of the fabric trails down the back to the knees

buqshah بقشة

Square of fabric used to store items

burqu‘ برقع

Face mask

daqlah دقلة

From the Hijaz, it is a tailored, straight-cut overcoat with a Chinese collar that fastens with buttons. It is worn for formal occasions, beneath the jubbah and, depending on the fashion of the day, it is either three quarter length or long to the ankles.

darabzan دربزان

Stitched border which appears on head-covers worn in the Hijaz cities

darfat al bab درفة†الباب

Outfit worn by brides, with intricate embroidery that resembles the ornate motifs on doors in the Hijaz cities

dawk دوق

Type of thobe worn by women of the Harb tribe

dira‘ah دراعة†or qad‘ah قدعة

Blouse worn by women of the Jahdaly tribe

doot دوت

Calico (unbleached raw cotton fabric)

doublin دوبلين

Cotton fabric

dubarah دبارة

Twine

foutah فوطة

Sarong

furush فروش

Silver hemispherical pieces with dome-like heads used as decoration on the Jadeel belt by the Bani Sa‘ad tribe

ghabbanah غبانة

Men’s headdress worn in the Hijaz cities

ghutrah غترة†or sumadah صماضة

Men’s square headdress which is folded in half to form a triangle. The folded edge is worn across the forehead.

In the northern regions of the Arabian Peninsula it is also called a kuffiyeh.

hamah هامة

Type of women’s headdress

hamidi حميدي

Men’s headdress worn in the Hijaz cities

hattah حطة

For the Rashaidah tribe it is a rectangular women’s headdress. In Jazan and Jabal Fayfa it is a hat worn by both men and women.

hinak or hanak حنق

Part of a women’s headdress worn below the jaw

hokah حوكة

Skirt

ihram احرام

Men’s shawl

ihram ‘azizi احرام†عزيزي

Men’s headdress worn in the Hijaz cities

ihram ghutrah احرام†غترة

Men’s headdress

‘iqal عقال

Oval band of rope or cord which is twisted to make a double circle and is worn by men and women to securely fasten a headdress

izar ازار†(see wizrah)

jubbah جبة

In Hail it is an overcoat that criss-crosses to close and is fastened with a cummerbund. In the Hijaz it is an open overcoat without buttons and can be any colour (beige, grey, brown). For the evening black or dark colours are preferable. In Najd it is a straight-cut open men’s overcoat without buttons and embroidered with gold thread. It comes in different colours: beige, grey and brown, or darker colours for the evening.

kanadir كنادر

Shoes

kanteel كنتيل

Embroidery with gold or silver thread

kashmiri كشميري

Men’s shawl made from a square piece of Kashmiri wool imported from India with a paisley design

kassa‘ (see qina‘)

khait خيط

A type of headdress worn by women of the Yam tribe

kham خام

Calico, muslin

khashtaq خشتق

Part of a women’s thobe

khuff خف

Boots made from yellow leather worn by women in the Hijaz cities

khurayan خريان

Small coloured glass beads used by tribal women of the Hijaz

kufiyah or kuffiyeh كوفية

Cap for men to wear either alone or under a headdress (see also ghutrah, sumadah)

kurtah كرتة

Dress

lubbah لبة

Strings of pearls used to embellish a bridal headdress in the Hijaz cities

madas مداس

Footwear

mals ملس

Name given to a sheer fabric

manthur منثور

Gown with scattered motifs, worn on special occasions by women in the Hijaz cities

marbatah مربطة

Rashaidah tribe women’s headdress which is used to tie the hair

marrash مرش

Bottle for sprinkling rose water or other perfumes

masoon مصون

Women’s headdress

massar مصر

Women’s headdress

matawih مطاويح

Women’s headdress which may be woven or made of silver and is worn by the women of the Bani Sa‘ad tribe in Taif

meyl ميل

Chiffon fabric from Jazan, with gold-embroidered bird/peacock motif. This fabric used to be imported from Aden but now comes from India and Pakistan.

midak مدك

Silver-plated round tubular part of the Hijazi bridal headdress

mihramah محرمة

Rectangular Hijazi women’s headdress

mijjal مجل

Bani Sa‘ad women’s headdress

milayah ملاية

Women’s outdoor clothing. It is made of two fabric widths sewn together to form a large square. It was worn over the head and hand-held to envelope the body. The fabric (silk or cotton) was imported from India or Indonesia. It was worn by women in the Hijaz and disappeared from use circa 1950s.

miqta‘ مقطع

Style of Najdi outfit

misfa‘ مسفع

Rectangular headdress for women

mishlah (plural: mashalih) مشلح

Outer cloak for men

misnaf مصنف

Striped fabric worn by men, on their shoulders, wrapped around the waist or folded as a head turban.

mubaddah مبدة

Style of women’s thobe

mubaqar مبقر

Women’s thobe from the Thaqeef tribe (Al Shafa, Taif)

mudawarah مدورة

Women’s square fine-fabric headdress from the Hijaz

mujarrah مجرح

Style of women’s thobe

murowdin thobe ثوب†مرودن

Men’s thobe from Najd, with long triangular sleeves

musaddah مسدح

Women’s thobe from the Hudheyl tribe in Taif. It is made of cotton fabric which is decorated with tie-dye in an overall pattern.

mutaffat متفت

Style of women’s thobe

muzannad مزند

Style of women’s thobe

oyah اوة

Crochet trim

qad‘ah قدعة†(see dira‘ah)

Blouse

qamis قميص

Tulle tunic worn over a dress by elderly women in Jazan

qamis iraqiyya قميص†معرق

Men’s undershirt from the Hijaz

qarmasud قرمسوت

Type of fabric

qarqoosh قرقوش

Women’s headdress, which sits like a hat but has a train at the back that reaches the shoulders. It is worn by tribal women in the Hijaz.

qasab قصب

Metalic thread

qaz قز

Fine, transparent fabric used for women’s thobes in the

Hijaz

qina‘ (plural: aqni‘ah or qina‘a) قناع

Headdress worn by tribal women in the Hijaz

qitabah قتابة

Type of headdress worn by women from the Yam tribe

qub‘a (plural: quba‘at) قبع

Hat

ququ قوقو

Component of a bridal headdress in the Hijaz cities

rashwan رشوان

Type of plain fabric

ridayah رداية

Rectangular headdress worn by tribal women in the Hijaz

salimi سليمي

Shawl worn by grooms on their wedding night in the Hijaz cities

shalki شالكي

Floral-patterned fabric

shambar شمبر

Triangular piece of fabric or crochet which is part of the Hijaz city women’s headdress. It sits on the top of the head, is secured with two ties and serves as an anchor to keep the mihramah from slipping.

sharqiyyah شرقية

Type of kufiyah (men’s headdress)

shawl شال

Type of men’s headdress worn in Al Madinah

shayah شايه

Men’s coat from the Hijaz with a crisscross tie worn over the thobe and under the jubbah. The shayah is white, striped or printed, and worn optionally with or without a cummerbund.

shaylah شيلة

Women’s headdress

shumakh شماغ

Men’s square headdress

shumara شمارة

Type of appliqué used on women’s thobes

sidriyah سدرية

Mens’ vest to wear over the thobe. Women’s underwear from the Hijaz.

silk سلك

Term sometimes used for a synthetic fabric

sirwaal سروال

Underpants

sumadah صماضة†(see ghutrah)

tahlithah تهليثة

Train on a women’s thobe, from the Jahdaly tribe

takhshishah تخشيشة

Part of a bridal outfit in the Hijaz cities

tallik تليك

Slippers

tarhah طرحة

Women’s headdress

tali تلي

Embroidery with flattened gold or silver thread

taqri‘ تقريع

Style of wearing the mudawarah women’s headdress in the Hijaz cities

tasrir تصرير

Tie-dye

tikhrasah تخراصة

Underarm gusset

thobe ثوب

Long-sleeved ankle-length garment for men, women and children

tuft تفت

Geometric patterns made with kinawi natural Chinese silk and applied to the mutaffat and miqta‘ thobes in Najd

tulle تل

Soft, fine net fabric

‘umamah عمامة

Turban

‘usabah عصابة

Women’s triangular gold-embroidered headdress from Jazan. A long, narrow (5 cm) embroidered head band worn by the tribal women in Taif. It ties around the head and extends down the back.

wizrah وزرة†or izar ازار

Sarong worn by men and women in the southern region of Saudi Arabia

yashmak يشمك

Fine cotton fabric

zaboon زبون

Women’s fitted dress worn under a transparent wide thobe in Hijaz. Women’s embroidered woollen outer garment, worn in Northern Arabia (Hail and Najd).

zari زري

Metallic threads used for embroidery