What is the meaning of the name “Arafat”?

Arafat (transliteration: ʿArafāt) is the name of a mountain 12 miles from Mecca where the pilgrims stand in supplication during the pilgrimage. ʿArafāt is the plural of ʿarafa which means “well-known”, “recognized” according to Ibn Sīda al-Mursī’s dictionary Al-Muḥkam wa-l-Muḥīṭ al-Aʿẓam (d. 1066 CE).

According to Habib Anthony Salmone’s An Advanced Learner’s Arabic-English Dictionary (1889) ʿarafa also means “patient”.