Aouad

/ˈaʊ.ɑd/ noun

Definition

A member of a Moroccan Berber people or their language, related to the Aoudad mountain region in North Africa.

Etymology

From Berber/Arabic languages of the Maghreb, possibly related to the word for mountain or rocky terrain. The term entered English through colonial-era ethnographic records of North African peoples.

Kelly Says

The Aouad are part of the larger Amazigh (Berber) cultural group that predates Arabic in North Africa by thousands of years, yet their languages were suppressed in schools for much of the 20th century. Only recently have Berber languages gained official recognition in Morocco and Algeria.

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