كَعْب Ka'b in Arabic
كَعْب is how you say “Ka'b” in Arabic.
Root ك ع ب k-ʿ-b. noun. kaʿb.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of Ka'b in Arabic
- the ankle-bone; the joint where the shank meets the foot each foot has two such bones, one on either side; grammarians disputed whether it sits atop the foot or between shank and foot
- a knuckle-bone or die thrown in games the cockal-bone used in a backgammon-like game; playing with it is mentioned as forbidden
- a cube, in arithmetic; also a knot or joint-segment of a reed, cane, or spear-shaft
- eminence, nobility, glory (figurative) as in the invocation 'may God exalt his glory'
Example sentence
وعن كعب قال
And Ka'b said:
كَعْبٍ Ka'b
Proper name (Ka'b); the '-in' ending — it follows 'an' (from), so it takes the 'of' (genitive) ending.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
كَعْب names the ankle-joint anatomically, but also covers anything with the same round, jointed, or block-like shape: a die or play-bone, a segment of a reed, or a cube in arithmetic. It also carries a figurative sense of standing or glory, as in the classical phrase 'may God exalt his kaʿb.'
Words from the same root
- كَعَبَ for a girl's breast to swell or become prominent
- كَعَّبَ to make square or cubic; to fold cloth firmly; of a reed, to put forth jointed segments
- أَكْعَبَ to hasten off; to leave hurriedly, heedless of what is left behind
- كَاعِبٌ a girl whose breasts have just begun to swell
- مُكَعَّبٌ made cubic or square; firmly folded
- مُكَعِّبٌ one who strikes; an epithet from beating the protuberances of the head
More example sentences
قال أبي بن كعب لأن هذا فعل الجبابرة
Ubayy ibn Ka'b said that this is the action of the tyrants.
كَعْبٍ Ka'b
This is the father's name, the owner in 'son of Ka'b', in the genitive to mark that possessive link. Its ending closes the naming chain.
Common questions
- How do you say "ankle" in Arabic?
- كَعْب (kaʿb) — the ankle-bone, at the joint where the shank meets the foot.
- Does كَعْب mean anything besides "ankle"?
- Yes: it also names a die or knuckle-bone used in games, a cube in arithmetic, a knot-segment of a reed or spear-shaft, and figuratively "glory" or "eminence."
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).