bilingual pride facts

@mohini @Moss
jin جن is the root for magical beings and madness
jins جنس is the root for sex and sexuality

arabic etymology is tricky because the language is so dense there are a lot of false positives. things that seem related but have no real historical connection. in this case though... idk! sex, gender, madness, magic... related ideas...

Like 9 Jun 2021 at 14:29 | Open on friend.camp

3 comments

cairn

bilingual pride facts

@nasser @mohini this is fucking cool.
if i may ask a very ignorant question:
you said -jin is magical, is it like the english fae where anything kinda magical falls into the category? i have heard Jin (Jinn?) used to refer specifically to what we call genies. wondering if that’s a western misunderstanding?

9 Jun 2021 at 14:32 | Open on friend.camp

Darius Kazemi

bilingual pride facts

@Moss @nasser @mohini djinn are sort of all-purpose spirits including aladdin's wish-giving genie. not a bad analogy with "fae" imo. they are not innately good or evil, it just sort of depends.

9 Jun 2021 at 14:39 | Open on friend.camp

nasser

bilingual pride facts

@darius @Moss @mohini importantly, they have free will, so I've always interpreted stories where they are bound to an object, like a lamp, and forced to do magic to "grant their masters wishes" as kind of allegories for the arab slave trade, but maybe that's just me overthinking things

9 Jun 2021 at 14:46 | Open on friend.camp

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