(a.), European form Sahel, a geographical term meaning “edge, border zone”. It is, grammatically, an active participle with a passive meaning ( fāʿil bi-maʿnā mafʿūl , see e.g. LʿA , ed. Beirut ¶ 1375/1956, xi, 328a, “eaten away by the sea” whence “shore”.
The term has various regional applications, in accordance with the meaning “fringe area, zone”.
1. In the Mag̲h̲rib .
The Sāḥil of Tunisia (Sāḥil of Sousse, Sāḥil of Sfax). This is the coastal region of the low steppes of the north, around the towns of Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia, having a maritime clima…