Fifteen Form XII Verbs in the Arabic Dictionary

اِصْطِناعي

root: ص-ن-ع / nisba adjective / definition: artificial

Since the rise of the AI search, the number of views my blog gets has tripped and faltered.

It makes sense. Sometimes I myself type a grammar question into Google and—lo and behold—the AI overview summarises an answer (from none other than The Arabic Pages, the product of my own hands) that makes scrolling down and clicking on the actual website link one click too many.

I say this, not out of bitterness, but out of a mix of wonder and slight anxiety. How amazing is it that my content immediately presents itself as an answer to someone’s search. But, then: how much is lost without the anecdotes, thoughtfully-selected wording, and obviously brilliant humour I weave into my posts?!

Will convenience prevail over the human touch? Will “artificial” become synonymous—and not just collocated—with “intelligence”?

Perhaps I’m sounding like a dinosaur: fretting about the pterodactyl’s antics while an apocalyptic asteroid zooms ever-nearer. Or, perhaps that asteroid is—

—never mind.

We’ve got a dictionary or two to consult.

Many eons ago (which is how 2021 feels), I wrote Arabic Verb Forms XI-XV, where I introduced the five triliteral (three-letter-root) verb forms beyond X. Yes, they exist.

This week, I thought we’d look at examples of one of these forms—form XII—in the Arabic dictionary.

Form XII verbs follow this pattern:

Key features:

the second root letter (represented by ع) occurs twice
a و appears between those two occurrences
in the verbal noun (المصدر), the و transforms into a ي

Form XII verbs are often—but not always—associated with colours and physical qualities. And they’re almost always—but, again, not always—intransitive.

Time for some examples:

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: ث-ن-ي (a defective root)

verb: اِثنَونى / يَثنَوني

verbal noun: اِثْنيناء

meaning: to be or become doubled or bent

dictionary: Hans Wehr

root: ح-د-ب

verb: اِحدَودَبَ / يَحدَودِبُ

verbal noun: اِحديداب

meaning: to be humpbacked, to be convex

dictionary: Hans Wehr

root: ح-ل-ك

verb: اِحلَولَكَ / يَحلَولِكُ

verbal noun: اِحليلاك

meaning: to be pitch-black

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: ح-ل-و (a defective root)

verb: اِحلَولى / يَحلَولي

verbal noun: اِحْليلاء

meaning: to be or become sweet; (as a transitive verb with an object:) to deem something to be sweet

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: خ-ش-ب

verb: اِخشَوشَبَ / يَخشَوشِبُ

verbal noun: اِخشيشاب

meaning: to be or become harsh or rough

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: خ-ش-ن

verb: اِخشَوشَنَ / يَخشَوشِنُ

verbal noun: اِخشيشان

meaning: to be or become very rough or harsh; to wear or accustom oneself to wearing coarse clothing

dictionary: Hans Wehr

root: خ-ض-ب

verb: اِخضَوضَبَ / يَخضَوضِبُ

verbal noun: اِخضيضاب

meaning: to be or become green

dictionary: Hans Wehr

root: خ-ض-ر

verb: اِخضَوضَرَ / يَخضَوضِرُ

verbal noun: اِخضيضار

meaning: to be or become green

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: خ-ض-ع

verb: اِخضَوضَعَ / يَخضَوضِعُ

verbal noun: اِخضيضاع

meaning: to be or become lowly or humble

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: ذ-ل-ي

verb: اِذلَولى / يَذلَولي

verbal noun: اِذْليلاء

meaning: to go away, hiding oneself; to hasten; to be or become easy or manageable; to be or become broken-hearted

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: ع-ص-ب

verb: اِعصَوصَب / يَعصَوصِبُ

verbal noun: اِعْصيصاب

meaning: to collect together as a party; to strive or exert oneself

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: ع-ل-و (a defective root)

verb: اِعلَولى / يَعلَولي

verbal noun: اِعْليلاء

meaning: to ascend something or upon something

dictionary: Hans Wehr

root: غ-د-ن

verb: اِغدَودَنَ / يَغدَودِنُ

verbal noun: اِغديدان

meaning: to grow long and luxuriantly

dictionary: Hans Wehr

root: غ-ر-ق

verb: اِغرَورَقَ / يَغرَورِقُ

verbal noun: اِغْريراق

meaning: to be bathed (in tears)

dictionary: Lane’s Lexicon

root: غ-ل-ب

verb: اِغلَولَبَ / يَغلَولِبُ

verbal noun: اِغْليلاب

meaning: to become abundant and dense, or tangled and luxuriant

And there’s our list!

Could AI do that? Huh? Well… yes, probably. But at least I’ve learnt some new words while writing this post and stretched my back by working at my standing desk. Wins all round, methinks.

This list is certainly not exhaustive, but these are the verbs that I, myself, have found in the dictionary.

Have you come across any other form XII verbs?

!في أمان الله