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Thank you for your reply.

The Berber theory seems interesting. I hadn't thought of that. The woman in Don Quixote is described as Moorish and I believe that Moorish was just a general term for a North African who lived in Spain, so that would include Berber/Amazigh people.

I tried googling some variant spellings, like Zuraida. Many of the women called Zuraida seem to be Malaysian. Of course, Malaysia is a majority Muslim country, so the name could come from Arabic. Or it could just be a Malay name.

There’s also that purported meaning - “enchanting woman”. If the name isn’t Arabic, then where does that meaning come from? Does anyone know what “enchanting woman” would be in Arabic? Of course, there could be dozens of ways of translating an expression like that, and Zoraida might come from a now archaic word.

This message was edited by the author on July 3, 2012 at 11:27:27 AM

• Zoraida - overtheclouds  Jul 2 2012, 12:31:07 PM
  • Either might be true. - turquoise  Jul 2 2012, 12:51:38 PM
    • Re: Either might be true. - overtheclouds  Jul 3 2012, 11:23:54 AM
      • Re: Either might be true. - Rene  Jul 3 2012, 11:50:56 AM