غُطَيْطة root: غ-ط-ط / diminutive noun / definition: fog I overslept this morning. Upon rising: a foggy, rainy sky, and a suspiciously clear mind. Is there a term for the inverse of pathetic fallacy? What do we call it when my brain fog has ventured into the sky and its cloudlessness has migrated into myContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: غُطَيطة”
Tag Archives: dictionary
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.
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 syntacticContinue reading “Arabic’s Chameleon Words: قام”
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 ofContinue reading “The Many Meanings of وَ”
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 beContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: Come Rain or Shine”
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;Continue reading “Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “Season””
Four Shared Words for Camels in Arabic and Akkadian
إبِل root: ء-ب-ل / collective noun / definition: camels I learnt a new phrase this weekend, from an Arabic-speaking guy who drove three hours to an underwhelming event and told us: أَكَلْنا خازوق. Basically, as my husband put it, it means he took an L. In other words, “we’ve been done”. Or, in ever-so-slightly-less colloquialContinue reading “Four Shared Words for Camels in Arabic and Akkadian”
The Levantine بِدّي and a Weekly Request
وِدّ root: و-د-د / noun / definition: love, wish, desire Every weekend, my other half hears the same two words from me: بِدّي برغر (I want a burger). I can’t help my weekly craving for a juicy burger, and I think it started when I began travelling abroad regularly a few years back. Sure, I’dContinue reading “The Levantine بِدّي and a Weekly Request”
Dictionary Finds: Zaʿtar, Saʿtar, and Ṣaʿtar
مِسْكين root: م-س-ك-ن / noun / plural: مَساكين / definition: poor thing If you know me in-person, you’ve probably been fortunate enough to be an unwilling spectator and/or listener to my gleeful blabbering about some dictionary find or linguistic observation. This weekend, my husband—yet again, مسكين…—was in the line of fire as I gushed aboutContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: Zaʿtar, Saʿtar, and Ṣaʿtar”
Arabic-Akkadian Roots: ء-ك-ل ,ع-ل-و, and ب-ك-ي
دَجاج root: د-ج-ج / collective noun / definition: chicken Have you ever roasted a chicken upside down? Well I have. Twice. Well, it was one time—but two chickens. No questions, please. This was a cathartic confession, blurted out in a fluster of shame, and no more than that. Thank God for the antidote of blushing:Continue reading “Arabic-Akkadian Roots: ء-ك-ل ,ع-ل-و, and ب-ك-ي”
Around the Knot in Ten Blinks
غَمْضة root: غ-م-ض / noun / definition: a blink Can you believe it’s been ten years since I enrolled in my Arabic and Linguistics bachelor’s degree? No way! scream the imaginary crowd in my head. But yes, yes indeed. I’d stepped into university, fresh off of A-Level stress, printed timetable in hand—and then, in justContinue reading “Around the Knot in Ten Blinks”
Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “the Present”
ذِكْرى root: ذ-ك-ر / noun / plural: ذِكرَيات / definition: a memory Sometimes, we spend so long immersed in thoughts of the future and memories of the past that we forget that we’re floating in the present. I remember writing about floating, and then I think about how every all-consuming present of mine—well, all ofContinue reading “Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “the Present””
Dictionary Finds: مراح
شَلّال root: ش-ل-ل / noun / plural: شَلّالات / definition: waterfall It’s been a beautifully busy long weekend. Beach walks, waterfalls, countryside drives—oh, and still stealing some minutes here and there to upload videos to my YouTube channel. But it’s back to my laptop now and a return to the Dictionary Finds series…
Arabic-Akkadian Roots: q-b-l, k-l-m, and m-l-k
كَلام root: ك-ل-م / noun / definition: speech Since I stopped attending Akkadian evening classes, I’ve been feeling a little detached from this language I’d started falling in love with. And I miss learning and writing about the connections between Arabic and Akkadian—so here we are today. I’ve previously explored some lexical similarities between theContinue reading “Arabic-Akkadian Roots: q-b-l, k-l-m, and m-l-k”
Between Observations and Wishful Thinking
حالِمة root: ح-ل-م / form I active participle, feminine form / definition: dreamer, dreaming Maybe, from my writings on this blog, you get the impression that I’m always floating between thoughts. An observation here, a dictionary find there, multiple pivots per post… And you’d be right to think so, of course. My mind is alwaysContinue reading “Between Observations and Wishful Thinking”
Opportunity: Online Literary Translation Summer School
أَدَبيّ root: ء-د-ب / nisba adjective / definition: literary I don’t know where the time’s gone, but it’s been about a month since I started my work placement with an Arabic literary magazine, and I’ve just written tomorrow’s piece for their poetry-in-translation newsletter (subscribe to emails here!). And speaking of literature and translation… someone reachedContinue reading “Opportunity: Online Literary Translation Summer School”
New Hats, and More Wednesday Writings
دَوْر root: د-و-ر / noun / plural: أَدْوار / definition: role What’s new? Well, quite a lot. I’ve found myself, as we tick through month one of twenty-twenty-six, switching between several roles—with my work placement, consultation sessions, study, and new endeavours. (I also keep meaning to set a date for my workshop; let me knowContinue reading “New Hats, and More Wednesday Writings”
Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “Autumn”
ضَباب root: ض-ب-ب / noun / definition: fog, mist It’s never great to have brain fog. It’s even worse if someone else suggests you have it. And more so if your brain doesn’t feel particularly foggy and you start to question what “symptoms” the other person noticed… And then, all of a sudden (the sameContinue reading “Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “Autumn””
Winter, Visas, Bowl
صَحْن root: ص-ح-ن / noun / plural: صُحون / definition: bowl, dish In case any one of you hadn’t noticed that daylight hours have dwindled to their almost-minimum: it’s winter. (And if you actually hadn’t noticed, I apologise for being the bearer of this heavy news.) That is, of course, unless you’re over on theContinue reading “Winter, Visas, Bowl”
Arabic Observations: The Root of Falling, and Love
مَهْوًى root: ه-و-ي / noun of place and time / plural: مَهاوٍ / definition: abyss I love little linguistic crossovers between languages. The ones where we find that two or more languages, far-removed in terms of place and origin, express a particular concept through the same semantic lens. Maybe I love them because they revealContinue reading “Arabic Observations: The Root of Falling, and Love”
The Arabic Pages 