صلب backbone in Arabic
صلب is how you say “backbone” in Arabic.
Root ص ل ب ṣ-l-b. noun (substantive). ṣulb.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of backbone in Arabic
- backbone, spine the body's rigid, load-bearing part — tied to the root's core sense of hardness and firmness
Example sentence
ثم ذكر محله الذي يخرج منه وهو بين الصلب والترائب
Then He mentioned its place from which it emerges, which is between the backbone and the ribs.
الصُّلْبِ the backbone
A noun made definite by al-, 'the backbone', in the genitive from 'between', the first of the two points. The al- names it as the known anatomical part.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
The root's basic sense is being hard, firm, rigid, or tough — the opposite of lāna 'to be soft.' صُلْب 'backbone' names the body's own rigid support, while the same core sense of stiffened, taut limbs underlies صَلَبَ 'to crucify' and صَلِيبٌ 'cross.' Form V تصلّب extends the idea figuratively to a person acting with forced sternness, strength, or resolve.
Words from the same root
- صَلَبَ to crucify (lit. from rendering the limbs rigid/taut on wood)
- صَلِيبٌ a cross
- صَلَابَةٌ hardness, firmness, rigidity, toughness
- مَصْلُوبٌ a crucified person
- تَصْلِيبٌ crucifying; making the sign of the cross; a cross-figure on cloth
- تَصَلُّبٌ acting with forced hardness, resolve, or sternness (figurative)
- صَالِبٌ continual, vehement (said of a fever)
More example sentences
صلب الرجل وترائب المرأة وهو موضع القلادة من صدرها
The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman, which is the place of the necklace on her chest.
صُلْبُ The backbone
A noun 'backbone' heading a possessive pairing with 'the man' after it: 'the backbone of the man'. It gives up its own article and takes definiteness from the owner; it stands as the subject of the quoted statement.
وقيل صلب الرجل وترائبه وهي صدره فيخرج من صلبه وصدره
And it was said that the backbone of the man and his ribs, which is his chest, is where it comes out from.
صُلْبُ the backbone
This noun opens an 'of' possessive chain with the word that follows: the backbone belongs to the man. Arabic builds 'the backbone of the man' by placing the two nouns directly side by side, so this first noun carries no 'the' of its own and takes its definiteness from the owner coming next.
وقيل صلب الرجل وترائبه وهي صدره فيخرج من صلبه وصدره
And it was said that the backbone of the man and his ribs, which is his chest, is where it comes out from.
صُلْبِهِ his backbone
The backbone noun again, now governed by the preceding 'from', so it sits in the genitive ending the preposition forces. The attached 'his' ending names the man as its owner, packing noun and possessor into one word.
Common questions
- How do you say "backbone" in Arabic?
- صُلْب (ṣulb).
- Is صُلْب related to صَلِيب (cross) and صَلَبَ (to crucify)?
- Yes — all three share the root ص ل ب, whose basic meaning is hardness/rigidity; the backbone is the body's rigid support, and crucifixion/cross draw on the same image of stiffened, stretched limbs.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).