Tag Archives: learning

Same Rule, Another Noun: عِزون

مَعْرَج root: ع-ر-ج / noun of place / plural: مَعارِج / definition: place or route of ascent Over a year ago, in Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals, we explored some non-human nouns that—unexpectedly—take on sound, masculine plural forms (which are usually reserved for nouns referring to humans). Think: سِنون and عالَمون and أولون. Or, with a differentContinue reading “Same Rule, Another Noun: عِزون”

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”

Root Exploration: Venus, Mars, and Saturn

كَوْكَب root: ك-و-ك-ب / noun / plural: كَواكِب / definition: planet (compare with the Akkadian) Isn’t it ironic (or maybe just careless of me) that I placed all of my winter boots in storage just before the heavens opened over London last night and left us deluged in a mizzle-to-downpour pendulum. My friend questioned myContinue reading “Root Exploration: Venus, Mars, and Saturn”

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”

Five Arabic Terms for the Bedouins

وَبَر root: و-ب-ر / noun / plural: أَوْبار / definition: the fur of camels and goats Throughout my twenties, I’ve carried a sort of sign-up-and-see-what-happens attitude. I’ll sign up to lead a workshop or run a marathon or join a summer school abroad, etcetera, and then just follow the path of fate. Sometimes, though, IContinue reading “Five Arabic Terms for the Bedouins”

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””