The Egyptian Gazette

It is a famous Egyptian newspaper and is considered the oldest English-language newspaper in the Middle East, as its first issue was published on January 26, 1880, and it continues to this day. Its name is clear and needs little explanation: "Egyptian" means "Egyptian," and "Gazette" usually means "newspaper" or "official periodical." However, the origin of the word may not be known to many, even among the journalists who work for this venerable newspaper.

Few people today know that the word “gazzetta” is originally the name of a seventeenth-century coin minted in Venice. The copper coin was of the 2 “soldi” denomination and was called “gazzetta”, which in turn is derived from the Latin word “gaza”, meaning “treasure”.

The coin is approximately 2.5 cm in diameter. One side features the Venetian lion emblem surrounded by the letters San Marco Ven II, while the reverse bears the words "O Armata et Morea – Dalma et Alban." The Venetian government began issuing the new currency as part of its efforts to improve services for the people. Shortly thereafter, it launched a new official gazette containing all important decrees, which was sold (no doubt, dear reader, you anticipated this!) for the price of one "gazetta." From that day forward, the name of the gazette became synonymous with the currency, to the point that today "gazetta" or "gazette" is often used interchangeably with "newspaper" in many parts of the Western world!

Moheb Rizkalla