# current word meanings

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-word-meanings/137693>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 20, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-word-meanings/137693 "2002-11-20T04:10:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tcdaniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@tcdaniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcdaniel)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-word-meanings/137693/1 "2002-11-20T04:10:03Z")

</div>

Ok Jihad means holy war  
what does Al Queda mean?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-word-meanings/137693/2 "2002-11-20T04:17:23Z")

</div>

“The Base,” if I recall. Then again, I don’t speak Arabic. And _jihad_ has some other translations too, I’m told.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-word-meanings/137693/3 "2002-11-20T04:56:44Z")

</div>

[al Qaida means “base” or “foundation”](http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,779530,00.html) while _jihad_ means, not “holy war,” but “struggle.” (_Jihad_ can mean a lot of different things depending on context, but when it is used to mean warfare, it has been used to mean a _defensive_ struggle against either aggression or incorrect beliefs since, at least, the eighth century.)

(We had a bit of a go-round on the subject of whether [Does “Jihad” mean war?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=142731) just last week.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tcdaniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@tcdaniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcdaniel)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-word-meanings/137693/4 "2002-11-20T14:30:33Z")

</div>

Did Bin Laden name this group Al Queda or is this some government coinage?

Jihad & Al Queda:  
Is this meant to say: The Base of Struggle?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-word-meanings/137693/5 "2002-11-20T16:35:00Z")

</div>

_al Qaida_ was named internally (whether by in Laden or someone else, we don’t know). If you look at the first link in my earlier post, you’ll see several theories put forth as to its origin.