Arabic vocabulary
صدرchest in Arabic
صدر is how you say “chest” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root ص د ر (ṣ-d-r)noun (masculine)Pronounced ṣadr
Meaning of chest in Arabic
- chest, breast — the literal body part; the plain noun also serves as an infinitive noun of the verb meaning 'to strike someone's chest'
- the fore or upper part of a thing; a heading or opening — tropical use, e.g. giving a book or piece of writing its title/opening (صدّر كتابه بكذا)
The root's core sense is physical/directional: to return or go back from a place, extended tropically to a saying or deed 'issuing' from someone. صَدْر (ṣadr) itself is the concrete body part, the chest or breast, but by extension also names the front, upper, or opening part of something — as when a book is given its title or a person takes the foremost seat in an assembly.
Words from the same root
- صَدَرَto return, go back (from water or a place); also, for a saying or action to issue, proceed, or emanate from someone
- أَصْدَرَto send someone/something back, cause to return; to issue forth (a saying)
- تَصَدَّرَto sit up straight in the chest while sitting; to take the highest seat in a gathering, i.e. become advanced or promoted
- مُصَادَرَةٌthe exacting of a fine or debt from someone; to sue or press someone for payment
- تَصْدِيرٌtying a camel's breast-girth; also, giving a heading or opening to a piece of writing
- مَصْدَرٌverbal noun of ṣadara, denoting the act of returning
Common questions
- How do you say "chest" in Arabic?
- صَدْر (ṣadr).
- What does the root ص-د-ر mean?
- Basically 'to return or go back' (from water or a place); by extension, 'to issue or proceed from' (a saying or action). صَدْر, from this root, is the chest/breast, and figuratively the front or opening part of something, like a book's title.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وَيُشِيرُ إلَى صَدْرِهِ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ،
and he pointed to his chest three times.
صَدْرِهِ — his chest. In the genitive after 'to', with 'his' fused on, naming the chest, the seat of the heart. The gesture underlines that piety resides within.
From: Brotherhood in Islam →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.
صَدْرِهَا — her chest. A noun with -ha (her) attached, 'her chest', in the genitive from the preposition before it. The attached -ha is the owner; the word pins the location to the woman's chest.
From: Creating Life from Nothing →وقيل صلب الرجل وترائبه وهي صدره
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