EN
The aim of the article is to present the linguistic system encompassing all available maritime names (thalassonyms) of the Arab World, derived from Arabic historical and contemporary sources. Non-Arabic names, pertaining in history to the same described water expanses, are only mentioned for comparative purposes. First, certain particular characteristics of a language system are presented, with special reference to Arabic. This is followed by a review and an enumeration of 161 maritime names, with their etymology, in geographical order, with discussion of variant forms: synonyms, near-synonyms, homonyms, and names defined in opposition to each other. The last part is a formal linguistic analysis of all the Arab names as regards their structure and word conjunction patterns, including the question of generic terms, followed by remarks on their lexicographic system and their use, including societal functions.