Name

Etymology
Further information: Mauri people and Mauretania
During the classical period, the Romans interacted with, and later conquered, parts of Mauretania, a
state that covered modern northern Morocco, western Algeria, and the Spanish
cities Ceuta and Melilla.[12] The Berber tribes of the region were noted in Classical literature as Mauri,
which was subsequently rendered as "Moors" in English and in related variations in other European
languages.[13] Mauri () is recorded as the native name by Strabo in the early 1st century. This
appellation was also adopted into Latin, whereas the Greek name for the tribe
was Maurusii ().[14] The Moors were also mentioned by Tacitus as having revolted against
the Roman Empire in 24 AD.[15]
The 16th century scholar Leo Africanus (c. 14941554) of Al-Andalus identified the Moors as the
native Berber inhabitants of the former Roman Africa Province (Africans). He described Moors as
one of five main population groups on the continent
alongside Egyptians, Abyssinians (Abassins), Arabians and Cafri (Cafates).[1]

Modern meanings
In medieval Romance languages, variations of the Latin word for the Moors (for
instance, Italian and Spanish: moro, French: maure, Portuguese: mouro, Romanian: maur)
developed different applications and connotations. The term initially denoted a specific Berber
people in western Libya, but the name acquired more general meaning during the medieval period,
associated with "Muslim", similar to associations with "Saracens". During the context of
the Crusades and the Reconquista, the term Moors included the derogatory suggestion of "infidels".
Apart from these historic associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic
group speaking Hassaniya Arabic. They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria, Western
Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, and Mali. In Niger and Mali, these peoples are also known as
the Azawagh Arabs, after the Azawagh region of the Sahara.[16]
The authoritative dictionary of the Spanish language does not list any derogatory meaning for the
word moro, a term generally referring to people of Maghrebian origin in particular or Muslims in
general.[17] Some authors have pointed out that in modern colloquial Spanish use of the term moro is
derogatory for Moroccans in particular[18][19][20][21][22] and Muslims in general.
In modern, colloquial Portuguese, the term Mouro was primarily used as a designation for North
Africans and secondarily as a derogatory and ironic term by northern Portuguese to refer to the
inhabitants of the southern parts of the country (Lisbon, Alentejo, and Algarve). However, this
designation has gained more acceptance in the south.
In the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, many modern Filipinos call the large, local Muslim
minority concentrated in Mindanao and other southern islands Moros. The word is a catch-all term,
as Moro may come from several distinct ethno-linguistic groups such as the Maranao people. The
term was introduced by Spanish colonisers, and has since been appropriated by Filipino Muslims as
an endonym, with many self-identifying as members of the Bangsamoro "Moro Nation".
Moreno can mean dark-skinned in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and the Philippines. Also in
Spanish, morapio is a humorous name for "wine", especially that which has not been "baptized" or
mixed with water, i.e., pure unadulterated wine. Among Spanish speakers, moro came to have a
broader meaning, applied to both Filipino Moros from Mindanao, and
the moriscos of Granada. Moro refers to all things dark, as in "Moor", moreno, etc. It was also used
as a nickname; for instance, the Milanese Duke Ludovico Sforza was called Il Moro because of his
dark complexion.[23]
In Portugal, mouro (feminine, moura) may refer to supernatural beings known as enchanted moura,
where "moor" implies 'alien' and 'non-Christian'. These beings were siren-like fairies with golden or
reddish hair and a fair face. They were believed to have magical properties.[24] From this root, the
name moor is applied to unbaptized children, meaning not Christian.[25][26] In Basque, mairu means
moor and also refers to a mythical people.[27]
Within the context of Portuguese colonization, in Sri Lanka (Portuguese Ceylon), Muslims of Arab
origin are called Ceylon Moors, not to be confused with "Indian Moors" of Sri Lanka (see Sri Lankan
Moors). Sri Lankan Moors (a combination of "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors") make up 12% of
the population. The Ceylon Moors (unlike the Indian Moors) are descendants of Arab traders who
settled there in the mid-6th century. When the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, they
labelled all the Muslims in the island as Moors as they saw some of them resembling the Moors in
North Africa. The Sri Lankan government continues to identify the Muslims in Sri Lanka as "Sri
Lankan Moors", sub-categorised into "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors".[28]
The Goan Muslims a minority community who follow Islam in the western Indian coastal state
of Goa are commonly referred as Moir (Konkani: ) by Goan Catholics and Hindus.[a] Moir is
derived from the Portuguese word mouro (Moor).