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(a.), pl. aswāḳ , market. 1. In the traditional Arab world. Sūḳ , market, is a loanword from Aramaic s̲h̲ūḳā with the same meaning. Like the French term marché and the English market , the Arabic word sūḳ has acquired a double meaning: it denotes both the commercial exchange of goods or services and the place in which this exchange is normally conducted. Analysis of the sūḳ is thus of interest to the economic and social historian as well as to the archaeologist and the urban topographer. The substantial textual documentation which is available has as yet been …