Slate; “Abu, Ibn, and Bin, Oh My!” ; July 3, 2006 :
The term can also be used in a more colloquial sense. A guy with a moustache might be called “Abu Shanab,” or “father of moustache.” You could even refer to a place or object as “the father of” a certain quality. “Shibshib abu khamsa gnieh” literally means “flip-flops, father of $5,” but it would be taken to mean “a $5 pair of flip-flips.” Similarly, the place name Abu Dhabi means “father of gazelles,” which can be taken to mean “place with lots of gazelles.” (The word ibn can be used in similar phrases. An “ibn halal” is a good guy, while an “ibn haram” is a son of a bitch.)
