"mangled transliteration" is the unquoted expression used by etymonline [1]. I suppose it's mangled since Khwa becomes go without too much thinking on the Latin

"mangled transliteration" is the unquoted expression used by etymonline [1]. I suppose it's mangled since Khwa becomes go without too much thinking on the Latin side. In the case of of alkali, from the Arabic al-qaliy "burnt ashes" [2], there is a bit more care. Perhaps a better transliteration would have been alquarismus, 800+ years too late [3]. [1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/algorithm#etymonline_v_8145 https://www.etymonline.com/word/algorithm#etymonline_v_8145 [2] https://www.etymonline.com/word/alkali#etymonline_v_8163 https://www.etymonline.com/word/alkali#etymonline_v_8163 [3] Alexander of Villedieu published Carmen de Algorismo, Poem about Arithmetic, around 1200 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Villedieu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Villedieu