medina

¹ American  

[muh-dee-nuh] / məˈdi nə /

noun

1. the old Arab quarter of a North African city.

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Medina ² American  

[muh-dee-nuh, muh-dahy-nuh] / məˈdi nə, məˈdaɪ nə /

noun

1. a city in W Saudi Arabia, where Muhammad was first accepted as the supreme Prophet from Allah and where his tomb is located.

2. a town in N Ohio.

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Medina ¹ British  

/ mɛˈdiːnə /

noun

1. Arabic name: Al Madinah.  Ancient Arabic name: Yathrib.  a city in W Saudi Arabia: the second most holy city of Islam (after Mecca), with the tomb of Mohammed; university (1960). Pop: 1 044 000 (2005 est)

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medina ² British  

/ mɛˈdiːnə /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) the ancient quarter of any of various North African cities Compare kasbah

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Etymology

Origin of medina

First recorded in 1905–10, medina is from the Arabic word madīna city

Example Sentences

Mohamed Aithadi, a Moroccan-American, was surveying the damage to a mosque in the medina on Saturday near where his mother is living.

From Reuters • Sep. 10, 2023

Young boys can be seen playing the game on the streets or on dusty fields, from the snowy foothills of the Atlas Mountains to the medina of Marrakech.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2022

Between my shifts, I wandered around the medina, forcing myself to navigate the maze of shops without the aid of GPS and testing my resolve not to buy any pottery, carpets, baskets or spices.

From Washington Post • Sep. 23, 2022

In “Where Donkeys Deliver,” she marvels over the beasts that ferry all manner of supplies in the medina, the walled city within Fez, Morocco, whose narrow alleys cannot accommodate cars or motor bikes.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 12, 2021

My father called America a goldene medina where even poor Jews could make a name for themselves, where anything was possible.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros