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”
Tag Archives: dictionary
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”
Dictionary Finds: A Form XIV Verb
نادِر root: ن-د-ر / adjective, form I active participle / definition: uncommon, rare As they say, one discovery in the dictionary leads to another. So that’s why—for the second week in a row—I couldn’t resist adding to the Dictionary Finds series. And this time, our dictionary find brings us back to an uncommon triliteral verbContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: A Form XIV Verb”
Dictionary Finds: The Thursday Before الخميس
خَميس root: خ-م-س / noun / definition: Thursday Last Thursday marked my move into my twenty-ninth year of life, which makes me twenty-eight in some cultures and twenty-nine in others—and makes me closer to twenty-one in my head. But it’s not like numbers really matter. Except in the case of the days of the weekContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: The Thursday Before الخميس”
Arabic Observations: Reflections on حصحص and the Truth
اِستِطْراد root: ط-ر-د / form X verbal noun / definition: digression I was browsing my notes on Notion, seeking inspiration for today’s post, when one little word pulled at my eyelashes and demanded attention. So the title thus began to take form, and I headed to the dictionary where my semantics addiction took hold andContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Reflections on حصحص and the Truth”
Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “the Future”
اللّامَعْنى root: ع-ن-ي / compound abstract noun / definition: meaninglessness The clocks went back the day before yesterday and, like every year, it feels like someone somewhere switched off the warming daylight and left us in a cold, dark wintertime. I think about how a shift of just an hour changes so much, and IContinue reading “Exploring Time in the Arabic Dictionary: “the Future””
Uncontactable and Unread
اِختِفاء root: خ-ف-ي / form VIII verbal noun / definition: disappearance For those who have found me almost uncontactable—of whom I must mention: journal co-editors, my Akkadian teacher, and dear friends whose messages lie in wait in my Whatsapp unreads—I apologise for my unexplained disappearance. You see, there was an unexpected meeting. Then, a chosenContinue reading “Uncontactable and Unread”
Arabic Observations: Solace Through Forgetting
التَّأَمُّل root: ء-م-ل / form V verbal noun / definition: reflection, contemplation I’ve been in a reflective mood lately. And it’s the type of reflection that is directly opposed to productivity rather than one that drives it: consuming, daydreamy, paralysing. As such, it made sense for me to write a reflective post today, adding toContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Solace Through Forgetting”
A Useful Structure: ما إن ـــــ حتى ـــــ
إبْريق root: ب-ر-ق / noun / plural: أَباريق / definition: teapot, jug With the pouring of a never-emptying teapot and the stealing of smiling glances, another Sunday passed and this week has left me in unfamiliar but exciting territory. I served the dolma and wondered if any of the leaves had gotten stuck between myContinue reading “A Useful Structure: ما إن ـــــ حتى ـــــ”
A Final Call, a Third Year
نِداء root: ن-د-و / noun / plural: نِداءات / definition: call, public announcement If you saw four dishevelled passengers racing through Istanbul Airport to catch their transfer flight and making it just before their gate closed on Saturday evening… that was me and my family. Gate F1—why did you have to be so far. AContinue reading “A Final Call, a Third Year”
Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence
التَّدَرُّج root: د-ر-ج / form V verbal noun / definition: gradual advance or progression I’ve gone straight from floating to hitting the ground running. And between that landing and my approaching take-off, things have progressed unexpectedly quickly in the space of a week. I could get used to this pace. But Arabic’s form VI verbsContinue reading “Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence”
The Arabic Pages 