Greek  probably borrowed from a Northwest Semitic language like Phoenician, evidenced by a cognate with the Hebrew word ʾābāq (), or "dust" (in the post-Biblical sense "sand used as a writing surface").
ɡɹˈiːk pɹˈɑːbəbli bˈɑːɹoʊd fɹʌm ɐ nɔːɹθwˈɛst sɛmˈɪɾɪk lˈæŋɡwɪdʒ lˈaɪk foʊnˈɪʃən, ˈɛvɪdənst baɪ ɐ kˈɑːɡneɪt wɪððə hˈiːbɹuː wˈɜːd lˌɛɾɚtˈuːbˈiːˈiː ˌeɪmˈækɹˌɑːn bˈiː ˌeɪmˈækɹˌɑːn kjˈuː, ɔːɹ "dˈʌst" ɪnðə pˈoʊstbˈɪblɪkəl sˈɛns "sˈænd jˈuːzd æz ɐ ɹˈaɪɾɪŋ sˈɜːfɪs".