A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
شقشقة النهار š. an-nahār daybreak, peep of dawn
Root: ش-ق-ش-ق
Page: 562*
Example: “تَرَكْنا أَسِرَّتَنا صامِتين عِنْدَ شَقْشَقةِ النَّهارِ وَتَسَلَّلْنا مِنَ البَيْتِ”
Translation: “we left our beds silently at the peep of dawn and snuck out of the house “
Notes:
- شَقشَقة is the verbal noun (المصدر) of the form I quadriliteral verb شَقشَقَ / يُشَقشِقُ (“to peep, chirp” or “for dawn to break”)
- This verbal noun is a reduplicated quadriliteral—we know that this type of word often refers to a repeated action or sound, so it makes sense that it refers to chirping and, I guess, daybreak
- Not only that, but شقشقة is a reduplicated form that relates back to a duplicated root with one of the same core meanings—i.e. ش-ق-ش-ق is related to ش-ق-ق, but places emphasis on the repetition aspect of the action; شَقَّ, amongst its many definitions, can also mean “for dawn to break”
- Gathering all of this up in a final thought: شقشقة refers to both the chirping we hear at this time of day as well as the light breaking through that we see, and it highlights the repetitive (cyclical) nature of both aspects
Revise all of the vocab from the series on Quizlet:
* The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th Edition
The Arabic Pages 