Tag Archives: vocabulary

Arabic Diptotes: الممنوع من الصرف

اِنْتِظار root: ن-ظ-ر / form VIII verbal noun / definition: waiting Time and tide wait for no man. Yesterday was the first day I came across this English proverb. Its meaning resonated, but what really drew me to this phrase was the word “tide”. You see, I’ve been thinking about the sea a lot lately.Continue reading “Arabic Diptotes: الممنوع من الصرف”

Uncommon Arabic Words for Mankind

البَشَر root: ب-ش-ر / noun / definition: mankind For someone who aspires for a slow-paced life, I sure do seem to be on the go a lot. “Another project?” they ask. Yes, apparently so. I’ve been liaising with venues and thinking of my friend’s article in between organising a family trip on an I’ll-reply-when-I-can groupContinue reading “Uncommon Arabic Words for Mankind”

The Taste of Language

لِسان root: ل-س-ن / noun / plural: أَلسِنة، أَلسُن / definition: tongue, language I’m on day 3 of a five-day run of meetings and meet-ups. TfL continues to fleece me, my average step count continues to rise, and I continue to wonder what kind of rehab my introverted self will need after this. Popping intoContinue reading “The Taste of Language”

Academic Arabic: Bridging, Framing, and Projecting

صَباح root: ص-ب-ح / noun / definition: morning Today, I woke up busy. I spent all my morning hours—and half of my afternoon ones—on my rocking chair with laptop in lap, steadily ticking through my checklist. I’ll become a morning person by force at this rate. Yet, don’t fret, nothing can distract me from writingContinue reading “Academic Arabic: Bridging, Framing, and Projecting”

إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots

صُداع root: ص-د-ع / noun / definition: headache I keep forgetting I’m 27. In my head, I’m already 28, and I’m not sure why. It’s slightly ironic that I can’t digest the number 27; it seems I recognise 27 in everything but myself. (I wonder if I lost a year in the time difference betweenContinue reading “إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots”

Writer’s Grief and Closing a Chapter

كاتِبة root: ك-ت-ب / form I active participle, feminine form / definition: writing, a writer I get emotionally attached to plans. I’ve been gathering quotes, ideas, and notes for months—only to realise there’s not enough word count (or time) to include everything in the chapter I’m writing. So I save bullet points of brain clutterContinue reading “Writer’s Grief and Closing a Chapter”

Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an

مَخْفيّ root: خ-ف-ي / adjective / definition: hidden, concealed Last week, I attended an online talk about developing a writing system for Cypriot Arabic. As a Cypriot linguist who’s studying Arabic, I kind of couldn’t miss it. I hadn’t realised, though, that it was a “camera-on” event—so I quickly threw on a headscarf and smoothedContinue reading “Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an”

Root Exploration: ر-ح-م

رَحّال root: ر-ح-ل / adjective / plural: رُحَّل / definition: nomadic Every now and then, a wave of embarrassment that I thought had ebbed into nonexistence surges over me once more. Once upon a time, I received feedback for one of my undergrad Linguistics essays and was mortified to find that the teacher had correctedContinue reading “Root Exploration: ر-ح-م”

10:27, Baghdad, Page 63

مَقْهًى root: ق-ه-و /noun / plural: مَقاهٍ / definition: café I can’t help but notice that, beyond my screen, my تبغدد top is drying on the heater upside down. . I’m normally the most unobservant person—my friends can tell you that. But there are some things, especially in times of stress, that I’ll notice toContinue reading “10:27, Baghdad, Page 63”

Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals

إنْسان root: ء-ن-س / noun / definition: a human I was thinking about the root of the word إنْسان (“human”)—how ء-ن-س is associated with friendliness and familiarity, and how even the dictionary knows that humanity can be lost and corrupted if you muddle its origin (see ء-س-ن). And the humanness of language is very muchContinue reading “Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals”