Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is the plural version of the Arabic word Bahr (meaning “sea”), hence al-Bahrayn originally meant “the two seas“. The name has been lexicalized as a feminine proper noun and does not follow the grammatical rules for duals, hence its form is always Bahrayn rather than the expected nominative form, Bahrān.
The medieval grammarian al-Jawahari observed that the more formally correct name Bahrī (lit. “belonging to the sea”) would have been misunderstood and so unused.
Bahrain is a is an island country in the eastern part of Arabian Peninsula in West Asia consisting of a number of islands in the Persian Gulf. Capital, Bahrain; area about 660 sq km (255 sq miles). The islands are low-lying and the climate very hot in summer.
Bahrain was a British protectorate until it declared its independence in 1971. The most important economic factor by far is the existence of rich oil fields, first discovered in 1932, which made tiny Bahrain one of the world’s chief oil suppliers. Most of the people are Muslim Arabs.
Content for this question contributed by Hoze Sanchez, resident of Adams Township, Ripley County, Indiana, USA
