aljama means A self-governing community of Jews and Moors living under Christian rule in the Iberian Peninsula. It carries an Arena rating of 1435, earned across 15 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, aljama ranks #378 of 13,223 for Most Exacting Words, #622 of 13,223 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,118 of 13,223 for Most Elegant Words, #2,145 of 13,223 for Most Storied Words.
Why “aljama” is a great word
A self-governing community of Jews or Muslims living under Christian rule in medieval Spain, from Spanish aljama, from Andalusian Arabic, from Arabic al-jamāʿa ('the community, the gathering'), from jamʕ ('to gather'). Unlike a morería, which simply denotes a Moorish quarter, or a judería, a Jewish district, an aljama was the recognized corporate body—a state within a state, operating under its own laws and leaders by royal charter. It was the dim, parchment-lit room where elders adjudicate by Mosaic law; the secluded courtyard where the call to prayer is muffled by church bells; the heavy iron key to the quarter's gate, held by an appointed official—a fragile autonomy negotiated in the shadow of the crown.
Etymology
From Andalusian Arabic, from Arabic جَمْع (jamʕ, “to gather”).
noun
- A self-governing community of Jews and Moors living under Christian rule in the Iberian Peninsula.“[T]he Church received from them the customary tithes, oblations, and first-fruits. The revenues from the Jewish aljamas, or communities, were always regarded as among the surest resources of the crown.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- muwallad 82% match — A Muslim of non-Arab descent in medieval Islamic Spain (al-Andalus), being a local convert or a descendant of one. vs aljama →
- marrano 81% match — Any of the Sephardi Jews who stayed in Iberia during the Spanish Inquisition, and continued to practice Judaism in secret. vs aljama →
- kahal 81% match — The local governing body of a former European Jewish community, administering religious, legal and communal affairs. vs aljama →
- jizya 80% match — A per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria. vs aljama →
- anusim 80% match — A Jew who violates Jewish law or is an apostate due to coercion, such as state persecution, often living as crypto-Jews. vs aljama →
- fuero 79% match — A code; a charter; a grant of privileges. vs aljama →
- dhimma 79% match — A form of social contract in a state under sharia law granting special status to all or certain non-Muslim subjects, providing rights of residence in return for taxes. vs aljama →
- ummah 79% match — The worldwide Muslim community. vs aljama →