Dictionary Finds: the Curious Case of the Question Mark

اِستِفهام

root: ف-ه-م / form X verbal noun / definition: inquiry, question

For me, this week has been characterised by a lovely long chat in a cosy café, arranging a flurry of travel vaccinations, and adding some fresh ideas to my growing list of side hustles.

I don’t remember what I was doing, however, when I screenshotted a certain intriguing dictionary entry many months ago—but I’m glad I stumbled again upon this strange little gem.

Continue reading “Dictionary Finds: the Curious Case of the Question Mark”

Arabic Verbs for “to Look at” (Part 2)

نَظَر

root: ن-ظ-ر / noun / plural: أَنْظار / definition: sight, view

We’re adding to our synonyms series this week, with part two of Arabic Verbs for “to Look at”. And this time, we’re including some phrases. Let’s get into it:

Continue reading “Arabic Verbs for “to Look at” (Part 2)”

Arabic Observations: the True Meanings of Poetry

Art by Devrim Erbil—this one’s worth clicking and zooming in on…

اِرتِباط

root: ر-ب-ط / form VIII verbal noun / plural: اِرتِباطات / definition: connection, link

During one of your sessions journeying through an Arabic dictionary, you might have stumbled upon the entry for شِعْر, and maybe you also noticed how it has two primary meanings: knowledge and poetry.

(You’ll find quite a nice phrase under the entry too: لَيتَ شِعري, “I wish I knew”!)

I just love exploring how and why concepts might be linguistically linked, so this dictionary find got me thinking: what can we understand about perceptions of poetry in Arab societies through poetry-related Arabic words?

Continue reading “Arabic Observations: the True Meanings of Poetry”

Root Exploration: ج-ن-ح

طائِرة

root: ط-ي-ر / active participle of form I / plural: طائِرات / definition: airplane

A wise woman I met in the Jordanian desert told me to always have my next flight booked before the end of a trip. Good advice that I didn’t take at the time, and that now has me searching for flights and hotels to ease the post-travel blues that have taken hold.

And I think the ocean, rather than the desert, is calling me this time.

Continue reading “Root Exploration: ج-ن-ح”

Meanings of ما لم

مَجَرّة

root: ج-ر-ر / noun / plural: مَجَرّات / definition: galaxy

Four 5.5-hour flights in a matter of weeks seem to have taken their toll on my body, but my mind is alive with the memories of a night under the Milky Way on Wadi Rum’s dunes, a sunset from the mountaintop in Wadi Musa, and the fragrant cardamom and cinnamon teas that washed down eventful days.

And if my trip wasn’t already sweet enough, I also got my first taste of knafeh whilst I was there. Yum!

Continue reading “Meanings of ما لم”

Three Arabic Phrases Meaning “to Take Someone’s Place”

اِستِبْدال

root: ب-د-ل / verbal noun of form X / definition: replacement

Back in December, we explored the مَـ of place and time. Today, we’re taking a look at three phrases meaning “to take someone or something’s place” that combine a verb with a place noun from the same root:

Continue reading “Three Arabic Phrases Meaning “to Take Someone’s Place””

Strangeness and a Summer of Reading

غَريب

root: غ-ر-ب / adjective / definition: strange

Orhan Pamuk’s A Strangeness in My Mind has been sitting on the tiny, just-enough-space-for-tea-and-a-book shelf beside my bed, having remained unopened for far too long after I’d got into it and read a decent amount.

I’m not sure why it’s hard for me to pick it back up again, but perhaps—on some subconscious level—its title strikes a little too close to home these days.

Continue reading “Strangeness and a Summer of Reading”

Imperatives of Sound Form I Verbs

سَجّادة

root: س-ج-د / noun / plural: سَجاجيد / definition: carpet

On the weekend, I returned from an expectation-exceeding week-long stay in beautiful Baku, Azerbaijan. And I would jump on the five-and-a-half hour flight again in a heartbeat, even just to get my hands on the perfect xalça that I didn’t have time to shop around for.

But back from Baku, we have some grammar to get stuck into.

Continue reading “Imperatives of Sound Form I Verbs”

Dictionary Finds: Collocations of شقّ

جَوّ

root: ج-و-و / noun / plural: أَجْواء / definition: air, atmosphere

I try to evoke, in my physical spaces, an air of refreshing minimalism.

My bedroom walls, for example, are washed in white and bare, save the two (white) floating shelves and narrow (white) floating desk that quite subtly jut out along one side.

My laptop, on the other hand, has regretfully become an epicentre of hoarding. Don’t ask me to count how many tabs and windows I have open in Chrome, some of which have remained there since close to the dawn of modern time (i.e. one of the however-many pandemic lockdowns…).

Continue reading “Dictionary Finds: Collocations of شقّ”

Arabic Observations: “Seeking” in Arabic and Turkish

لُغَويّ

root: ل-غ-و / nisba adjective / definition: linguistic

I’ve been toying with the idea of writing this Arabic Observations post for a while, but I was unsure whether it’s too small of an observation to be added to this series.

I’ve since concluded, however, that no linguistic observation is too small to be noted. (It also helps that it’s something small this week, as I’m in a bit of a rush to get this posted before heading out!)

Continue reading “Arabic Observations: “Seeking” in Arabic and Turkish”