al-Qaeda

UK: æl ˈkaɪdə | US: æl ˈkaɪdə

Definition

  1. n. A militant Islamist extremist group founded by Osama bin Laden, responsible for numerous terrorist attacks globally.

Structure
al <the (Arabic definite article)>qaeda <base/foundation (from Arabic qāʿidah)>
Etymology

The term "al-Qaeda" (القاعدة) literally means "the base" or "the foundation" in Arabic. It originally referred to a database of mujahideen fighters during the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989). Osama bin Laden later repurposed the name for his terrorist network, symbolizing its role as a foundational structure for global jihad. The word reflects Arabic morphology, where "al-" is a definite article and "qaeda" derives from the root q-ʿ-d, connoting stability or organizational structure.

Examples

  1. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

  2. The government intensified efforts to dismantle al-Qaeda’s financial networks.

  3. Many al-Qaeda operatives were trained in remote camps in Afghanistan.

  4. Counterterrorism units tracked al-Qaeda’s communications to prevent future attacks.

  5. Scholars analyze al-Qaeda’s ideology to understand its appeal to extremists.