Wikipedia's first sentence called it “arabic word meaning one who is totally subordinated”. Today it says “arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in October 6, 2023
Arabic word for slave or servant For places in Iran, see Ab Bid . ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) ʿAbd ( ) is an Arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant, and it means also to worship. The word can also be transliterated into English as 'Abd, where the apostrophe indicates the ayin , denoting a voiced pharyngeal fricative consonant or some reflex of it. In Western ears, it may be perceived as a guttural 'a' sound. It appears in many common Arab names followed by Al (the) in form of "Abd ul", "Abd ul-", etc.; this is also commonly transliterated as "el-," in the form "Abd el-", meaning "servant of the-". This is always followed by one of the names for God. These names are given in List of Arabic theophoric names and 99 Names of God . A widespread name Abdullah (name) (or ʿAbd Allah) means " servant of God " or "worshipper of God". Abd Rabbuh ("slave of his Lord" or "servant of his Lord") Abduh ("His slave" or "His servant") Though this is regarded as shirk by Sunnis, it is also used with humans, in the names: Abdul Nabi ("slave of the Prophet" or "servant of the Prophet") Abdul Zahra (slave of Fatimah—daughter of Muhammad) Abdul Hussein (slave of Hussein—grandson of Muhammad) It can also be used by Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians , just as long as it is associated to their religion: Abdul Masih ("slave of the Messiah" or "servant of the Messiah") Abdul Salib ("slave of the Cross" or "servant of the Cross") Abdul Shahid ("slave of the Martyr [i.e. Jesus Christ]" or "servant of the Martyr") Abd Yasu ("slave of Jesus" or "servant of Jesus") Abida Abidi Abdullah can be also used by Arab Christians, as they refer to God as Allah. A Dictionary of Muslim Names . A Dictionary of Muslim Names .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1154380886.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Abd ( ) is an Arabic word meaning one who is totally subordinated; a slave or a servant. Abid ( ) is a given name meaning "worshipper". It is based on the Arabic word "Ibadah", i.e. worship. The female version of the name is Abida . It appears in many common Arab names in the liaison with Al (the) form of "Abd ul", "Abd ul-", etc. The names are given in List of Arabic theophoric names and 99 Names of God . A widespread name ‘Abdullah means "servant of God " or "worshipper of God". It can only be used as a Prefix to one of the names of Allah and no one else, not even Mohammed. Abdul lah (“slave of divinity” or “servant of divinity”) (This is synonym to Abdullah, because Allah is a contraction of al-Ilah from al , “the”, and Ilah is also the Arabic for “God”.) Abd Rabbi-hi (“slave of your Lord” or “servant of your Lord”) Abduh (“His slave” or “His servant”) Abdul Nabi (“slave of the Prophet” or “servant of the Prophet”) It can also be used by Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians , just as long as it is associated to their religion: Abdul Masih (“slave of Messiah” or “servant of Messiah”) Abdul Salib (“slave of the Cross” or “servant of the Cross”) Abdul Shahid (“slave of the Martyr [i.e. Jesus Christ]” or “servant of the Martyr”) Abdul Yasu ("slave of Jesus" o "servant of Jesus") Abida Abidi William Gervase Clarence-Smith (1989).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 367427227.
The opening as it stood in 2015 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
( Learn how and when to remove this message ) ʿAbd ( ) is an Arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant.The word can also be transliterated into English as 'Abd, where the apostrophe indicates the ayin , denoting a voiced pharyngeal fricative consonant or some reflex of it.In Western ears, it may be perceived as a guttural 'a' sound.It appears in many common Arab names followed by Al (the) in form of "Abd ul", "Abd ul-", etc.; this is also commonly translitated as "el-," in the form "Abd el-", meaning "servant of the-".This is always followed by one of the names for God. These names are given in List of Arabic theophoric names and 99 Names of God . A widespread name Abdullah (name) (or ʿAbd Allah) means "servant of God " or "worshipper of God".Abd Rabbuh (“slave of his Lord” or “servant of his Lord”) Abduh (“His slave” or “His servant”) It can also refer to humans, such as: Abdul Nabi (“slave of the Prophet” or “servant of the Prophet”) Abdul Zahra (slave of Fatimah Zahra - daughter of Muhammad) Abdul Hussein (slave of Hussein - grandson of Muhammad) It can also be used by Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians , just as long as it is associated to their religion: Abdul Masih (“slave of the Messiah” or “servant of the Messiah”) Abdul Salib (“slave of the Cross” or “servant of the Cross”) Abdul Shahid (“slave of the Martyr [i.e.Jesus Christ]” or “servant of the Martyr”) Abd Yasu ("slave of Jesus" or "servant of Jesus") Abida Abidi Abdullah can be also used by Arab Christians, as they refer to God as Allah.The Hans Wehr Dictionary of modern Written Arabic . : |author= has generic name ( help ) Salahuddin Ahmed (1999).A Dictionary of Muslim Names .A Dictionary of Muslim Names .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 624341672.
The opening as it stood in 2020
( Learn how and when to remove this message ) ʿAbd ( ) is an Arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant, and it means also to worship. The word can also be transliterated into English as 'Abd, where the apostrophe indicates the ayin , denoting a voiced pharyngeal fricative consonant or some reflex of it. In Western ears, it may be perceived as a guttural 'a' sound. It appears in many common Arab names followed by Al (the) in form of "Abd ul", "Abd ul-", etc.; this is also commonly translitated as "el-," in the form "Abd el-", meaning "servant of the-". This is always followed by one of the names for God. These names are given in List of Arabic theophoric names and 99 Names of God . A widespread name Abdullah (name) (or ʿAbd Allah) means " servant of God " or "worshipper of God". Abd Rabbuh (“slave of his Lord” or “servant of his Lord”) Abduh (“His slave” or “His servant”) It can also refer to humans, such as: Abdul Nabi (“slave of the Prophet” or “servant of the Prophet”) Abdul Zahra (slave of Fatimah Zahra - daughter of Muhammad) Abdul Hussein (slave of Hussein - grandson of Muhammad) It can also be used by Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians , just as long as it is associated to their religion: Abdul Masih (“slave of the Messiah” or “servant of the Messiah”) Abdul Salib (“slave of the Cross” or “servant of the Cross”) Abdul Shahid (“slave of the Martyr [i.e. Jesus Christ]” or “servant of the Martyr”) Abd Yasu ("slave of Jesus" or "servant of Jesus") Abida Abidi Abdullah can be also used by Arab Christians, as they refer to God as Allah. The Hans Wehr Dictionary of modern Written Arabic . A Dictionary of Muslim Names . A Dictionary of Muslim Names .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959963409.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Arabic word for slave or servant For places in Iran, see Ab Bid . ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) ʿAbd ( Arabic : عبد ) is an Arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant, and it means also to worship. The word can also be transliterated into English as 'Abd, where the apostrophe indicates the ayin , denoting a voiced pharyngeal fricative consonant or some reflex of it. In Western ears, it may be perceived as a guttural 'a' sound. It appears in many common Arab names followed by Al (the) in form of "Abd ul", "Abd ul-", etc.; this is also commonly transliterated as "el-," in the form "Abd el-", meaning "servant of the-". This is always followed by one of the names for God. These names are given in List of Arabic theophoric names and 99 Names of God . A widespread name Abdullah (name) (or ʿAbd Allah) means " servant of God " or "worshipper of God". Abd Rabbuh ("slave of his Lord" or "servant of his Lord") Abduh ("His slave" or "His servant") Though this is regarded as shirk by Sunnis, it is also used with humans, in the names: Abdul Nabi ("slave of the Prophet" or "servant of the Prophet") Abdul Zahra (slave of Fatimah—daughter of Muhammad) Abdul Hussein (slave of Hussein—grandson of Muhammad) It can also be used by Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians , just as long as it is associated to their religion: Abdul Masih ("slave of the Messiah" or "servant of the Messiah") Abdul Salib ("slave of the Cross" or "servant of the Cross") Abdul Shahid ("slave of the Martyr [i.e. Jesus Christ]" or "servant of the Martyr") Abd Yasu ("slave of Jesus" or "servant of Jesus") Abida Abidi Abdullah can be also used by Arab Christians, as they refer to God as Allah. A Dictionary of Muslim Names . A Dictionary of Muslim Names .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1253905550. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “arabic word meaning one who is totally subordinated”. Today it says “arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant”. Read the current article and compare.
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2025
martyr
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
arabic word meaning one who is totally subordinated
Now
arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.