The Arabic word for history derives from moon-based dating

Evidence

Now historia, as I mentioned earlier, means to learn by inquiry; ta’rı¯kh comes from an old Semitic word meaning the moon. It means, in other words, dating: a system of dating by natural phenomena, and it reflects the concern to establish a precise and accurate chronology. Ta’rı¯kh means, in the modern American idiom, to tell it like it was, or, in the more elegant phrase of von Ranke, “wie es eigentlich gewesen ist.” — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1923

Categorization

• DEFINE: Etymology of ta’rı¯kh as moon/calendar-based dating, contrasted with Greek inquiry-based historia.
• XREF: connects to: Ignorance of the lunar calendar caused persistent confusion about Muslim feasts