Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Cairo” come from?

Cairo comes from Italian Il Cairo, from Arabic al-Qāhirah, literally meaning "the Vanquisher" or "the Mighty," a name given to the city founded in the tenth century.

Ancestry of “Cairo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1ItalianIl Cairo—
2Arabicاَلْقَاهِرَة—

Words derived from “Cairo”

  • Cairene
  • Cai-rô
  • Kairo
Every word from Arabic اَلْقَاهِرَة →