شيطان (Arabic)

Where does "شيطان" come from?

The Arabic 'shaytān' is often explained as coming from a root meaning 'to burn, scorch' plus the suffix '-ān'[1], but it is more likely a reinterpretation of Hebrew 'śāṭān', a word from a root relating to opposition or accusation[1][2]. The same word appears in Classical Syriac 'sāṭānā' and Ge'ez 'śäyṭan', showing it shared across Semitic languages. In Arabic it covers Satan, the devil, and demons or fiends.

Open questions

• The Arabic link to a root meaning 'to burn, scorch' is an interpretation that is often offered, and the borrowing from Hebrew 'śāṭān' is only a likely reinterpretation rather than a documented transfer. [1]
• The Hebrew root is described only briefly as relating to opposition or accusation, and the sources give no detailed reconstruction of its earliest form. [2]

Full etymology tree

• شيطان (šayṭān) (Arabic), 'Satan, shaitan, the Devil'
  • borrowed שטן (śāṭān) (Hebrew), 'Satan, adversary, opponent'

Cognates and doublets

• ܣܛܢܐ (Classical Syriac)

Descendants and derived words

• şeytan (Azerbaijani)
• shatan (Bura)
• shaitan (English)
• shaiɗan (Hausa)
• шайтан (Karaim)
• Şəytân (Khalaj)
• xitan (Maltese)
• xitan (Maltese)
• شیطان (Ottoman Turkish)
• شیطان (Ottoman Turkish)
• shaitan (Portuguese)
• shetani (Swahili)

Sources

1. شيطان (šayṭān) (Arabic) - Wiktionary
2. שטן (śāṭān) (Hebrew) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris