اِخْتِصار
root: خ-ص-ر / noun / plural: اِختِصارات / definition: abbreviation
So, admittedly, this may not be the most interesting post you’ll read on this blog. But anything that helps with understanding the Hans Wehr dictionary—and, by extension, Arabic—is worth posting, in my opinion.
Anyone who’s used the Hans Wehr dictionary will have noticed that many words are followed by little abbreviations, like this one:
These often refer to the grammar of a word or the field that it’s used in. They can also refer to the dialect in which the word is used, or the language from which the word was derived.
If you use a hard copy of the Hans Wehr, you can easily find a list of these abbreviations towards the front of the dictionary.
If you use the app or website however, you won’t find the full list.
So, here, I’ve decided to type out all of the abbreviations which means—whether you’re using the hard copy, app, or website—you can easily find the meaning of the abbreviation you’re looking for. Just press ctrl+F and search for what you need.
I’ve included some notes/explanations next to a few of the abbreviations for clarity.
Symbols are also included at the bottom of the list.
Note: dialect words are the ones marked by the lower-case abbreviations such as alg. for the Algerian dialect and syr. for the Syrian dialect.
When you see the same abbreviations beginning with a capital letter, these refer to the country itself, i.e. Alg. means Algeria and Syr. means Syria.
List of Abbreviations
abstr. = abstract
acc. = accusative (منصوب)
A.D. = anno Domini
adj. = adjective
adm. = administration
adv. = adverb
A.H. = year of the Hegira (Hijrah, i.e. the Islamic calendar)
Alg. = Algeria
alg. = Algerian
a.m. = ante meridiem
anat. = anatomy
apoc. = apocopate form (المضارع المجزوم)
approx. = approximately
arch. = architecture
archeol. = archeology
arith. = arithmetic
astron. = astronomy
athlet. = athletics
attrib. = attribute, attributively
biol. = biology
bot. = botany
Brit. = British
ca. = circa, about
caus. = causative
cf. = compare
chem. = chemistry
Chr. = Christian
coll. = collective (اسم الجمع)
colloq. = colloquial
com. = commerce
conj. = conjunction
constr.-eng. = construction engineering
Copt. = Coptic
cosm. = cosmetics
dam. = Damascene
def. = definite
dem. = demonstrative
dial. = dialectal
dimin. = diminutive
dipl. = diplomacy
do. = ditto
du. = dual
E = east, eastern
econ. = economy
Eg. = Egypt
eg. = Egyptian
e.g. = for example
el. = electricity
ellipt. = elliptical
Engl. = English
esp. = especially
ethnol. = ethnology
f. = feminine
fem. = feminine
fig. = figuratively
fin. = finance
foll. = following
Fr. = French
G. = German
G.B. = Great Britain
genit. = genitive (مجرور)
geogr. = geography
geol. = geology
geom. = geometry
Gr. = Greek
gram. = grammar
Hebr. = Hebrew
hij. = Hejazi
hort. = horticulture
i.e. = that is
imp. = imperative
imperf. = imperfect (present tense)
indef. = indefinite
interj. = interjection
Intern. Law = International Law
intr. = intransitive
invar. = invariable, invariant
Ir. = Iraq
ir. = Iraqi
Isl. = Islam, Islamic
It. = Italian
Jord. = Jordan Kingdom
journ. = journalism
Jud. = Judaism
jur. = jurisprudence
Leb. = Lebanon
leb. = Lebanese
lex. = lexicography
Lib. = Libya
lib. = Libyan
lit. = literally
m. = masculine
magn. = magnetism
Maḡr. = Maghrib
maḡr. = Maghribi
masc. = masculine
math. = mathematics
med. = medicine
meteor. = meteorology
mil. = military
min. = mineralogy
Mor. = Morocco
mor. = Moroccan
mus. = music
myst. = mysticism
N = north, northern
n. = noun, nomen
N.Afr. = North Africa
NE = northeast, northeastern
naut. = nautics
neg. = negation
nom. = nominative (مرفوع)
n. un. = nomen unitatis (اسم الوحدة)
n. vic. = nomen vicis (اسم المرّة)
NW = northwest, northwestern
obl. = obliquus (cases other than مرفوع)
obs. = obsolete
opt. = optics
o.s. = oneself
Ott. = Ottoman
Pal. = Palestine
pal. = Palestinian
parl. = parliamentary language
part. = particle
pass. = passive
path. = pathology
perf. = perfect (past tense)
Pers. = Persian
pers. = person, personal
pharm. = pharmacy
philos. = philosophy
phon. = phonetics
phot. = photography
phys. = physics
physiol. = physiology
pl. = plural
pl. comm. = pluralis communis
p.m. = post meridiem
poet. = poetry
pol. = politics
prep. = preposition
pron. = pronoun
pronun. = pronunciation
psych. = psychology
q.v. = which see
refl. = reflexive
rel. = relative
relig. = religion
rhet. = rhetoric
S = south
Saudi Ar. = Saudi Arabia
saud.-ar. = Saudi-Arabian
SE = southeast, southeastern
sing. = singular
s.o. = someone
Span. = Spanish
specif. = specifically
s.th. = something
styl. = stylistics
subj. = subjunctive (المضارع المنصوب)
subst. = substantive
surg. = surgery
SW = southwest, southwestern
Syr. = Syria
syr. = Syrian
techn. = technology
tel. = telephone
temp. = temporal
theat. = theatrical art
theol. = theology
trans. = transitive
Tun. = Tunisia
tun. = Tunisian
Turk. = Turkish
TV = television
typ. = typography
uninfl. = uninflected
verb. = verbal
W = west, western
Yem. = Yemen
yem. = Yemeni
zool. = zoology
Symbols
2 = diptote (ممنوع من الصرف)
◯ = the circle symbol indicates newly-coined (“new” being relative to the edition of the dictionary!) terms
◻ = the square symbol marks dialect words where the spelling indicates a colloquial pronunciation
هـ = this indicates that the verb takes an object without any preposition between them—e.g. “قطع to cut (هـ s.th.)” means that if you wanted to say “she cut it”, you’d say قطعته
That’s all of it! Note that the roman numerals you’ll see in verb entries relate to the verb forms. You can find a table of the verb forms here.
One final note: if anyone knows what the pluralis communis is in Arabic, let me know! I couldn’t find the equivalent in Arabic grammar.
!مع السلامة
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