Talk:Rabat (disambiguation)

A few suggestions....
My personal perspective here is that I know nothing about this topic, and American English is my first language.

I think that Rabat being the political capital of Morocco is important enough that this fact needs its own short sentence without diluting clauses and other facts in the opening. (I missed that fact in my first read.)

Improper, unclear English: section: Neighborhoods of Rabat -- "First, around the ramparts, the old quarters of the ocean and orange (popular and middle class)."  Incomplete sentence. also: orange and popular ??? The color, or the fruit? Huh? Popular means many people like it, such as ice cream in summer is popular. "popular neighborhoods?" Perhaps "not upper class" is the concept you are seeking?

"(middle class to very easy)?" Easy? The opposite of difficult? Does "middle class" imply that most/many of them own their own homes and can take a yearly holiday and can afford to educate their children?

section: The « old families » of Rabat ...seems to have interesting info, but needs to be re-written by a fluent English speaker. It really can't be understood, other than there might be interesting stuff there. For example, first paragraph:
 * "Called Rbatis, these families have lived [in Rabat?] for more than four hundred years [and have?] many events[much history[or culture]?] in common. From the expulsion of the Moriscos[who are they?] to arrive at the foundation of a culture that combines the Arabic and Andalusian cultures,[needs expanding] through the Republic of Bouregreg[what's that?] events than other families coming to live in Rabat recently, have not known." [events, such as?]

Besides also the undefined terms, the last sentence is gibberish, however a wild guess is that "newcomers" don't understand the culture nor perspective of the "old families?" (If so, why not? And is it partially a social-status or class thing?)

Most Americans will not comprehend this sentence: "Other families in the city, are considered residents of Rabat because they came at the time when Rabat became the capital of the country, either through rural exodus or to work in public administration based in the city since the establishment of the protectorate."  Americans and others won't understand it because in much (most?) of the world, one is considered to be a resident of a city on the same day that they move there, (their residence is defined by their mailing address). I'm guessing "the old families" there don't feel this way, and the reason is cultural and status, or a specific local cultural-class related thing that needs to be explained. For example, I'm guessing those who come from the families of that "public administration" have evolved into a certain social status, educational system and so forth, as have the "old families," as have the various working classes, and so forth? How many distinct (unofficial?) classes are there?

The photo gallery seems to show a sterile, uninviting city only of stones with little soul, civic pride, identity, or human appeal or culture. It seems to need some additions (of average people being people).

--71.137.156.225 (talk) 16:37, 22 March 2011 (UTC)Doug Bashford

Third largest city?
How is it the third largest city in Morocco? Casablanca has 2m people, Marrakech 1m and Tangiers 700k, so surely Rabat with 650k is fourth? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.238.100.56 (talk) 13:11, 30 May 2011 (UTC)

Connection rabat-ribat-robat needs to be studied, links created
See discussion here. Arminden (talk) 17:30, 2 May 2021 (UTC)

Rabat: Semitic incl. Arabic for suburb
Rabat is a Semitic word which can mean "fortified town" or "suburb".

The source (a Britannica Guide) probably copied and pasted the info word by word from the Encyclopædia Britannica (or viceversa): Rabat, Malta island, Malta: "Rabat is a Semitic word meaning either “fortified town” or “suburb.”" To be used in not-yet written "rabat" article (placing it on the disamb. page has proven impossible). Arminden (talk) 13:58, 5 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Arabat Fortress explains the name as derived from Arabic ribat, "military post", or Turkish arabat, "suburb". Not based on a great source, but maybe useful as starting point (Turkish meaning, in fact also derived from Arabic, see Ajloun Castle). Arminden (talk) 16:28, 6 May 2021 (UTC)


 * See also incipient discussion here: Talk:Qalat_(fortress). Arminden (talk) 06:56, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

rbt: Old Semitic for "great lady"
Wiggins (A reassessment of Asherah : with further considerations of the goddess, 2007) translates Ugaritic rbt aṯrt ym throughout as "Lady Athirat of the Sea", so rbt = "Lady". He bases much of his interpretation of rbt on:
 * C. Gordon, "Ugaritic Rbt/Rabitu" in Ascribe to the Lord, Biblical and other Studies in Memory of Peter C. Craigie (JSOTS 67), L. Eslinger and G. Taylor, eds., Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1988: 127-132.


 * p. 42: "Gordon has suggested that Ugaritic rbt should be understood as the "queen mother"...."
 * p. 77: "Rbt (vocalised by Gordon as rabitu) seems to indicate an office of considerable standing."
 * p. 78: "... I am inclined to see the rbt of Athirat's title as indicating her role as the "queen mother" of Ugaritic mythology in the Baal Cycle."

Apart from Ugaritic, Wiggins also quotes Phoenician rbt in the bilingual Phoenician-Etruscan Pyrgi inscription, also translated as "Lady" (p. 213: "lrbt l ʿstrt ʾsr qds, To Lady Ashtart this holy place").

Semitic rabba/rabbah
Check out Semitic words probably related etymologically.

For the Semitic word usually transliterated as rabba and its derivates, meaning "great", "Lord", or something division- or multiplication-related. See

Biblical Hebrew and/or Aramaic rabbah (rabba, raba, etc.): See Bible Gateway, Rabbah: RABBAH răb’ ə (רַבָּֽה, great or populous). Rabbah is, literally, the great city, i.e. the capital.

See Bible Hub citing Hitchcock's  Bible Names Dictionary, part of his Complete Analysis of the Holy Bible (1869): rabbah: great; powerful; contentious (p. 1111 in Hitchcock's book).

As the Biblical Aramaic R-B-B for "great" in many senses, including "revered" and primarily used as a prefix: see good source quoted at Rabbi. It also covers the use of rab as a title in Phoenician and in all Aramaic dialects. Abarim publications has a comprehensive entry on r-b-b. Arminden (talk) 10:48, 3 September 2022 (UTC)