Title: Art. IX.—<i>On the Proper Names of the Mohammedans</i>
Abstract: I concluded a former essay on Mohammedan proper names with a promise of renewing the subject in another paper, which should deal with the names of women, and some other points not included in my first sketch. The system, as it is xepresented to us by Arab authors, though somewhat complicated, admits of a distinct arrangement; and each class of proper names throws light on national character and manners, -as they were developed during the first centuries of the Hejra, and have left their traces in countries over which the Arab dominion extended. My former notice touched very slightly on the meaning and etymology of old names, to which my attention was first directed. I was very soon brought to a stand by difficulties inherent in the attempt to trace the origin of ancient names, and which are enhanced in the case of those of the Arabs by the peculiarities in the structure of the language, where the meaning of words varies so much with the strength and position of the vowel-points, of all sounds the most liable to phonetic decay. The language itself has undergone a great change since the time of Mahomet, and many old words and expressions are interpreted on traditional authority.