Editing Adobe (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:San Pedro de Atacama church.jpg|thumb|left|Church at [[San Pedro de Atacama]], Chile]]
The word ''adobe'' {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|d|oʊ|b|iː}} has existed for around 4,000 years with relatively little change in either pronunciation or meaning. The word can be traced from the [[Middle Egyptian language|Middle Egyptian]] ({{Circa|2000&nbsp;BC}}) word ''[[wikt:ḏbt#Egyptian|ḏbt]]'' "mud brick" (with vowels unwritten). Middle Egyptian evolved into [[Late Egyptian language|Late Egyptian]] and finally to Coptic ({{Circa|600&nbsp;BC}}), where it appeared as [[wikt:ⲧⲱⲃⲉ|ⲧⲱⲃⲉ]] ''tōbə''. This was adopted into Arabic as {{lang|ar|الطوب}} ''aṭ-ṭawbu'' or ''aṭ-ṭūbu'', with the [[Article (grammar)#Definite article|definite article]] ''al-'' attached<ref>"adobe", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', Second Edition, on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press, 2009</ref> to the root ''tuba''.<ref>''Spanish Word Histories and Mysteries: English Words that Come from Spanish'', Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007, p.5</ref><ref>[http://www.earth-auroville.com/adobe_moulding_en.php "Adobe Moulding" Auroville Earth Institute]</ref> This was assimilated into the [[Old Spanish language]] as ''adobe'' {{IPA|osp|aˈdobe|}}, probably via [[Mozarabic language|Mozarabic]]. English borrowed the word from Spanish in the early 18th century, still referring to [[mudbrick]] construction.

In more modern English usage, the term ''adobe'' has come to include a style of architecture popular in the desert climates of North America, especially in [[New Mexico]], regardless of the construction method.