Meaning of 'Gharib,

Due to an acquaintance with different cultures and languages some of us conjecture that the word 'gharib' means 'poor'. In the Urdu language, however, this word when used in the absolute sense denotes the poverty of a person. But when it is particularized like, 'gharibu'l watan' the meaning changes.
In the Arabic, which appears also to be the source language of the word, 'gharib'l means 'a remote entity'. Its origin is the word 'ghurba' which means 'remoteness'. Any thing therefore which is gharib is far.

In his Commentary of Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya64, Sayyid ' Ali Khan al- Husayni, says:

Ghurba (with the vowel dhamma over ghayn) stands for remoteness and distance

Hence gharib is anything that is far [in relation to something else].

In the Arabic language, unknown words are also known as gharib.

The pain of being a stranger can be well appreciated by only those who have experienced, or are experiencing the state of being far from their hometowns. Whosoever travels abroad, has hope of returning back to his hometown safe and sound. Obviously he would not like to separate himself from his near ones or abandon his material assets of life. Those who have left their hometowns and encountered calamities on their way or were stranded in a foreign country can understand how agonizing it is to be far from home.

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64 Sayyid ' Ali Khan, Riyadi al-Salikin, v.l, p.473