The meaning of names among Mediterranean Jews
Marc Eliany
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ARROUAS
BENARROCH
BenAroch BenArosh BenHaroch BenArus
AROUSI (A'rousi)
Harosh means the head or the leader in the Hebrew language. The name is common in North Africa and went through typical transformation due to linguistic influences throughout the region. Haroush is an Arabic transformation, Harrus is a French transformation and Harris is an English transformation (mostly in Egypt).
Arrouas
is the plural of head in North African Arabic. It may also refer to the occupation
of roaster in the Arabic language. Some suggest that the name Arrouas is related
to the name Arroyo. Arroyo is a province/county of Madrid, Spain.
A'rousi, may have a completely different meaning and is in all likelihood based on a different root. The name A'rousi is found in Tunisia and Yemen and means 'my groom.'
Prefixes
attached to the root name such as (aben, iben, abi, avi, am, ben, bin,
abou, a, aj, al, bel, ha, i, la, lel, me, m, o, wi, vi, ) denotes usually a
relation to a person, i.e., the father of or the son of X, a place, i.e.,
a person from X, an occupation, i.e., a person who practices a specific occupation,
a characteristic of a person, i.e., beautiful... The prefixes al, el are equivalent
to 'the' in English or the article 'le' in French. In the Moroccan Berbers tradition,
prefixes such as 'wi' 'vi' 'i' means usually a family relationship to X, the
equivalent of Abu in Arabic, i.e., 'the father of', 'son of' a man, a tribal
affiliation and so forth.In
the Hebrew tradition, the prefix ‘M ‘ is an abbreviation of
the word 'from.'
Suffixes such as 'illo' 'ano' 'ino'
ARROUAS
Albert (XXes.). Alg�ria (B�ne). Lived in Tunis. Journalist. Author of Le
Livre d�or (The Golden Book).
ARROUAS
Yossef (1847-1925). Morroco (Rabat). Leader of the Sepharadi community in Palestine.
Author of Hod Yossef (Joseph splendour).
HARROUCH
Michel (1948-). Morocco (Casablanca). Th��tre professor. Radio animator. Painter.
HARRUS
Elias (1919-). Morocco (Beni Mellal). Educator. Director of Alliance schools
in Marrakech and the Atlas region. et de l�extr�me sud du Maroc. Exhibited rare
photographs of Jews in remote Atlas communities at the Diaspora Museum in Israel.
BENARROCH
Isaac (XIXes.) V�n�zu�la. Intellectual. Author of El Indiano, el cadi y la
luna (The Indian, the Cadi and the Moon).
BENAROCH Rapha�l
(1921-1994). Morocco (Rabat). Lawyer. Author of Succession Law in Morocco. Chair
of O.S.E. (Oeuvre de Secours pour l�Enfance). Led the establishment of the Union
of North African World Jewry in Nice, France.
BENAROCH Roger
(1934-). Morocco (Mekn�s). Professor of mangement at l��cole sup�rieure de commerce
de Paris. Community leader. Founder and leader of the Movement of Liberal Jews
in France.
BENARROCH Ch�lomo
(?-1880). Morocco (Mekn�s). King Merchant. Owner of the Bahtit synagogue in
Meknes.
BENARROCH Joseph
(1942-). Morocco (Mekn�s). Counsellor in finance in Qu�bec (Montr�al). Chair
of the S�pharade francophone
association and the Canadian s�pharade federation.
BENARROCH Lucien
(1941-). Morocco (Mekn�s). Textile engineer in Quebec. Chair of the Communaut�
S�pharade du Qu�bec (1985-1987).
BENARROCH Yamin
A. (1882-1949). Morocco (T�touan). Philanthropist. Chair of the Jewish community
of M�lilla. Founder of a synagogue in J�rusalem and a y�chivah in Tib�rias.
BENHARROSH Gilbert
(1938-1998). Morocco (Rabat). Agronomist in Quebec. Led projects in Canada
au Burkina Fasso.
BENARROCH PARIENT�
�lias (XIXe-XXes.). V�n�zu�la. Doctor. Specialist in tropical diseases.
BENARUS Adolpho
(1863-1958). Portugal. Painter. Author. Taught english at Lisbon university.
Community leader.
AROUSI Abraham (1878-1934).
Y�men (Kaubakan).
Folklorist. Poet. Author of an anthology of Yemenite folktales and poems.
References:
Azoulay, Hayim Yossef Shem Hagdolim (the names of the great)
AZOULAY Ha�m Yossef David (Hida) (1724-1807) Ch�m hagu�dolim va�ad lahakhamim (The names of the Great Council of Sages).
Levi, J et. al. 2000 Dictionnaire biographique du monde Juif Sepharade et Mediteranean, Editions Elysee, Montreal.
Toledano, J. 1983 La saga des familles, Les juifs du Maroc et leurs noms, Editions Stavit, Tel Aviv
Laredo A. 1978 Les noms des juifs au Maroc (Madrid, 1978)