Nahar is a word of Arabic origin that means river or stream. It is predominantly used in the Middle Eastern region to refer to a flowing body of water. However, there are several synonyms for the word nahar that can be used interchangeably to denote the same meaning. Some of these are: wadi - a dry river bed in a desert; nadi - another Arabic word for river; oued - commonly used in North Africa to describe a river or a stream; chott - a salt lake that is formed during wet seasons; khor - a tidal creek found in the Arabian Gulf; barranca - used in Mexico and Central America to describe a narrow gorge or canyon.