Ten Arabic Verbs Meaning “to Support”

قَريباً

root: ق-ر-ب / adverb / definition: soon

Books seemed to be the gift of choice when I was in Qatar, as I received—I think—eight. With my overly-packed suitcase exceeding 30kg and three more books stuffed into my hand luggage, I managed to take with me all but one.

And I left that one, a novel, with a dear friend for safekeeping until we meet again. Soon, I hope.

I thought I’d be resting this week to recover from the jetlag, unpack, and come to terms with the cold here in London. But unexpected commitments and social events mean I’ll be out and about for the rest of the week.

But before that, let’s dive into another synonyms post!

This week, we’re looking into ten verbs meaning “to support (someone or something)” in Arabic:

دَعَمَ / يَدعَمُ

root: د-ع-م

form: I

This is the first verb that comes to mind for me when I think of “support”.

We can also use the form II verb from the same root, دَعَّمَ / يُدَعِّمُ, to express the same (or, at least, a similar) meaning.

أَيَّدَ / يُؤَيِّدُ

root: ء-ي-د

form: II

Our second term on the list is a form II verb from a hamzated and hollow root.

The root is related to the idea of strength (أَيْد), so this form II verb denotes “making someone/thing strong(er)”.

آزَرَ / يُؤازِرُ

root: ء-ز-ر

form: III

Here we have a form III from a hamzated root. Note the interesting spelling when we combine a hamza-initial root with the form III verb pattern. (Read more about the hamza and its writing conventions here.)

The root ء-ز-ر is related to covering.

ساعَدَ / يُساعِدُ

root: س-ع-د

form: III

We’re probably familiar with this verb too, which is often translated as “to help”.

This form III verb comes from a root related to happiness (سَعادة) and good fortune (سَعْد).

سانَدَ / يُسانِدُ

root: س-ن-د

form: III

This verb is twinning with the one above.

س-ن-د is all about having something to lean or rely on.

ساعَفَ / يُساعِفُ

root: س-ع-ف

form: III

Also twinning with the verb ساعَدَ is ساعَفَ.

The noun سَعَف from the same root refers to palm fronds… I’ll leave you to ponder the connection there.

رَفَدَ / يَرفِدُ

root: ر-ف-د

form: I

It’s hard not to see this root and think of الرّافِدانِ, a dual noun referring to the Tigris and Euphrates and—by extension—Mesopotamia (a.k.a. بِلاد الرافِدَينِ).

(For more interesting dual nouns, check out Five Dual Nouns Meaning “the Sun and the Moon”!)

آسى / يُؤاسي

root: ء-س-و

form: III

We encountered a (different) verb from this root in Wehr Wednesdays #173.

The root آسى is derived from relates to sorrow and grief, so it refers to a more emotional support. Something like “to console or comfort”.

ظاهرَ / يُظاهِرُ

root: ظ-ه-ر

form: III

Yet another form III verb here.

This root relates to emerging. Its verbal noun, مُظاهَرة, might sound familiar—it means “demonstration, rally”.

عَضَدَ / يَعضُدُ

root: ع-ض-د

form: I

I can’t be the only one that finds this verb difficult to pronounce. Go on, say it a few times over. The ض-د combo is brutal.

Under this root, we find the noun عَضُد (“upper arm”)—just like how the verb ساعَدَ is related to ساعِد (“forearm”). This actually reminds me of a brilliant book.

As I often mention in these posts, this list isn’t at all extensive. Have you come across any other synonyms?

See you on my next post!

!مع السلامة