Arabic vocabulary
دَاءٌillness in Arabic
دَاءٌ is how you say “illness” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root د و أ (d-w-ʾ)noun (verbal noun / maṣdar)Pronounced dāʾ
Meaning of illness in Arabic
- disease, disorder, malady, illness — physical, of the body or a limb
- vice, fault, defect, blemish — figurative, of character or conduct
- diseased, sick, afflicted with a disorder — used as an epithet describing a person
Dāʾ covers both a physical ailment and, figuratively, a moral fault or vice — as in the saying that the vice of avarice is the worst of vices, and the well-known phrase asking which vice is graver than niggardliness. Its plural adwāʾ is notable as the only mamdūd (hamza-final) singular in Arabic with a mamdūd plural.
Words from the same root
- دَآءَto be or become diseased, sick
- أَدَآءَto afflict with a disease
- أَدْوَأُmore grievous, worse (of vices)
- دَآءٍdiseased, sick, unwell
Common questions
- How do you say "illness" in Arabic?
- دَاءٌ (dāʾ).
- Can دَاءٌ mean something other than physical illness?
- Yes — it is also used figuratively for a moral fault or vice, as in 'the vice of avarice' (دَاءُ الشُّحّ).
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
والظل الذي ينزل على بيت المقدس شفاء من كل داء من جنان الجنة
And the shade that descends upon Bayt al-Maqdis is a cure for every illness, from the gardens of Paradise.
دَاءٍ — illness. da means 'illness, disease'; the '-in' ending — 'every illness'.
From: Angels at al-Aqsa →
Related words
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