Editing Alhambra (section)

== Etymology ==
''Alhambra'' derives from the [[Arabic]] {{lang|ar|الْحَمْرَاء}} (''{{transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|al-Ḥamrāʼ&nbsp;}}'', {{IPA|ar|alħamˈraːʔ|pron}}), meaning {{lit.|the red one}} (f.), the complete form of which was {{lang|ar|الْقَلْعَةُ ٱلْحَمْرَاءُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|al-Qalʻat al-Ḥamrāʼ&nbsp;}}'' "the red fortress ([[Qalat (fortress)|qalat]])".{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=234}}<ref name=":24"/> The "Al-" in "Alhambra" means "the" in Arabic, but this is ignored in general usage in both English and Spanish, where the name is normally given the definite article. The reference to the colour "red" in the name is due to the reddish colour of its walls, which were constructed of [[rammed earth]].{{Sfn|Arnold|2017|p=234}} The reddish colour comes from the [[iron oxide]] in the local [[clay]] used for this type of construction.{{Sfn|López|2011|p=41}}

Most of the names used today for specific structures and locations within the Alhambra are imaginative names coined after the [[mediaeval period]], often in the 19th century.{{Sfn|Irwin|2004|pp=6–7 (see also other pages about specific locations)}}{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=152}} The original Arabic names of the Nasrid-era buildings are not known, although some scholars have proposed connections between certain buildings and some of the names mentioned in historical sources.{{Sfn|Bloom|2020|p=152}}