Arabic Observations: ج and the Body

جَسَد

root: ج-س-د / noun / plural: أَجْساد / definition: body

We’ve looked at word twins before—that is, two words with the same meaning that differ only in a single letter, like ضَجّة and لَجّة, or بُقْعة and رُقْعة, or سَهِرَ and سَهِدَ.

But there’s more to the story; synonyms carry similar sounds in different ways. For example, there are groups of Arabic synonyms that start with the same letter.

So it seems it’s not just about twins, there are whole family trees to explore…

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Dictionary Finds: Lawlessness and the Last Child

جَريمة

root: ج-ر-م / noun / plural: جَرائِم / definition: crime

What do youngest siblings have in common with lawlessness?

A few ideas might spring to your mind (although I, as the youngest child myself, see no relation whatsoever…).

But Arabic dictionaries hold the two definitions under the same term. Let’s see why.

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A New App: ArabyBuddy

تَطْبيق

root: ط-ب-ق / form II verbal noun / plural: تَطْبيقات / definition: app, application

I n three Tuesdays it’ll be autumn—but no one has time to dwell on that because, here in London, we’re being pulled into the swell of a fifth heatwave and our fridge is still full of pink-red watermelon.

So, we’re still firmly in الصَّيْف (summer). And that reminds me of last month’s dictionary find. And it also reminds me that it’s been around one-and-a-half years since I began working with a fellow Arabic enthusiast and app developer on a new project.

Arabic lovers, language learners, curious linguists: ArabyBuddy is here.

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Arabic’s Chameleon Words: قام

أَجْوَف

root: ج-و-ف / adjective / definition: hollow

Two weeks ago, in one of our Academic Arabic posts, we looked at the form I, hollow verb قامَ which—when followed by بِـ—means “to carry out or undertake”.

But قام holds many meanings. And its meaning in any given place is dictated by the semantic and syntactic context. (Keeping an eye out for the following preposition is key!)

Shall we explore?

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The Many Meanings of وَ

فَلَك

root: ف-ل-ك / noun / plural: أَفْلاك / definition: celestial orbit

July is waning and August, only four moonrises away, awaits expectantly.

And I, in four new moons, reach 29 (or 30, Turkish-ly speaking) and all this talk of moons is sending me into an orbital spin. Whatever that may mean.

And speaking of counting and meaning, did you know that there’s a one-letter Arabic particle that carries a whole system of definitions and connotations?

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Academic Arabic: Carrying Out, Conducting, Doing

كادَ

root: ك-و-د / form I past tense verb / definition: almost

When was the last time I wrote an Academic Arabic post? Too long ago, clearly, because I almost forgot this series existed.

But since my memory has been jogged, we’re getting back into it.

And today, we’re looking at two widely-applicable Arabic verbs that you’ll read or hear in academic contexts. They’re pretty much academic ways of saying doing.

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Dictionary Finds: Come Rain or Shine

يَصيفُ

root: ص-ي-ف / form I present tense, hollow verb / definition: to be summery

It’s mid-July. Summer’s peak. And while most have their faces stubbornly positioned in a fan’s airpath, my own spectacled one has been nestled warmly into the dictionary’s pages.

It seems that, come rain or shine, my mind will always be drawn back to one place. And—oh!—there’s an Arabic phrase for that.

Come rain or shine, meet صاف الزمان أم شتا.

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Arabic Observations: Warm Hearts, Cool Eyes

قُرّ

root: ق-ر-ر / noun / definition: cold, coolness

I’ve been napping a lot lately. Sometimes two or three times a day. My body feels heavy with a fatigue that pulls down my eyelids and drags my centre of gravity to the nearest flat surface to search for rest in the land of nod.

But no matter how much I sleep, or how I spend the day, no nodding-off awakens me.

Doctors have even studied my blood and still can’t find an answer to that age-old question: why is this girl so tired? Nor can they answer—more crucially—why I still have pins and needles in all my limbs, but my mum—unreassuringly—reassures me that I’ve just inherited her lineage’s “weak body” and that the almost-constant tingling is simply an ancestral bequest.

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Pins, Needles, and a Pause

تَنْميل

root: ن-م-ل / form II verbal noun / definition: pins and needles

I never thought I’d have to send a sick leave request with “pins and needles” as the reason—but each season homes realisations of the unexpected, and I submitted my GP note with bated breath and tingling limbs.

A four-week PhD pause, on my doctor’s recommendation.

Since my trip to A&E back in April, not much has improved, nor have I received any answer as to why my extremities sizzle whenever I sit or stand at my desk (or anywhere else, for that matter) or even when I lay down in a comfy bed holding a book to read.

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Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “Season”

هَنْهونة

root: ه-ن-ه-ن / noun / definition: lullaby

Tuesday’s early-hours London sky boomed and ignited in thunderstorm, and I—with my passionate affection for summer storms—heard the rumbles and roars as cradlesong and slipped effortlessly back into sleep after dawn prayer.

I was, however, mildly fearful that the “triangle of death” would fly into my room; that is, the giant and blurry moth I noticed against the window through sleepy, glasses-absent eyes. But the lullaby of the sky’s tumult was too slumber-inducing to protest rest.

Speaking of summer storms, we’re circling back to our Exploring Time series to look at the Arabic word for season.

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