Tag Archives: vocabulary

Uncommon Arabic Words for the Desert

صَحراء root: ص-ح-ر / noun / plural: صَحارٍ / definition: desert In this series so far, we’ve explored uncommon Arabic words for colours, clouds, and rain. This time—as I’ve kept on coming across alternative terms for it in my regular resorts to the dictionary—I’m compiling a list of uncommon Arabic words for “desert”, most commonlyContinue reading “Uncommon Arabic Words for the Desert”

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #13

اِستِسلام root: س-ل-م / form X verbal noun / definition: surrender I was torn this week between: writing about Arabic-Akkadian case endings; adding to the Uncommon Arabic Words for… series; and dedicating my time to a step-by-step literature translation. As you can see from the title, I settled on the third option. It only seemedContinue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #13”

The Exclamation of Lament

أَسَف root: ء-س-ف / noun / definition: grief We’re all familiar with the vocative particle (حَرف نِداء) that is يا, which we use to call on someone. (And you can find another use of يا explained in the comments under Wehr Wednesdays #174…) But how many of us have heard of the particle وا, whichContinue reading “The Exclamation of Lament”

Resource: Palestinian Literature Arabic Podcast

تَضاؤُل root: ض-ء-ل / form VI verbal noun / definition: waning It’s an unseasonably warm evening here in London and I’m feeling grateful for this flare of heat that’s allaying the melancholy that inevitably arises from the waning of summer. But with my graduate school inductions beginning in less than two weeks, I sit hereContinue reading “Resource: Palestinian Literature Arabic Podcast”

Arabic-Turkish Observations: the Mediterranean Sea

أَبيَض root: ب-ي-ض / adjective / definition: white Anyone who knows both Turkish and Arabic might have realised that the terms for the Mediterranean Sea in both languages include the word “white”: we have Akdeniz in Turkish, and البحر الأبيض المتوسّط in Arabic. But the reasons this sea is described as “white” in these twoContinue reading “Arabic-Turkish Observations: the Mediterranean Sea”

Some Arabic Proverbs from the Hans Wehr Dictionary

مَثَل root: م-ث-ل / noun / plural: أَمْثال / definition: proverb I almost completed writing an entirely different post to publish today, but it just didn’t feel like the right day to post it. That happens sometimes when I write posts, and I then store them in my drafts to publish another week, or IContinue reading “Some Arabic Proverbs from the Hans Wehr Dictionary”

The Archaic Particle لاتَ

زِفاف root: ز-ف-ف / noun / definition: wedding After 24 hours of travel (each way), I’ve returned (very jetlagged) from a blissful week in Malaysia where I got to celebrate my friend’s wedding after not having seen her for eight whole years! Ah, the lush tropical greenery juxtaposed with glass skyscrapers… and the awe-inspiring viewsContinue reading “The Archaic Particle لاتَ”

Dictionary Finds: ء-ل-ك and Angels

مَلَك root: م-ل-ك or ل-ء-ك or ء-ل-ك… / noun / plural: مَلائِكة / definition: angel I had a conversation with my teacher about the Akkadian root ʔ-l-k (the equivalent of ء-ل-ك) which carries the general meaning of “to go” and, discussing one of his theories, he mentioned that he wasn’t sure whether this ancient SemiticContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: ء-ل-ك and Angels”

Searching for Meaning in Language

بَحْث root: ب-ح-ث / form I verbal noun / definition: searching, looking It’s Thursday and we’ve been busy translating clauses from Hittite laws in class and for homework. And my mind, exhausted but enriched from a second intense week of ancient language learning, can’t stop running. As well as concreting my love for dictionaries (orderContinue reading “Searching for Meaning in Language”

Some Arabic-Akkadian Lexical Observations

أَكّادي root: ء-ك-د / nisba adjective, noun / definition: Akkadian For the past week, I’ve been intensively studying Akkadian as part of the three-week Ancient Languages of Anatolia program, run by the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilisations (ANAMED). And when I say intensively, I mean it: I feel like I’ve studied the equivalentContinue reading “Some Arabic-Akkadian Lexical Observations”