Arabic vocabulary
سَمَّmark in Arabic
سَمَّ is how you say “mark” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root س م م (s-m-m)verb (form I)Pronounced samma
Meaning of mark in Arabic
- to mark out, single out, or appropriate (something) for a particular purpose — e.g. سَمَّ النِّعْمَةَ, 'he set the bounty apart as special'; the appropriated thing itself is then described as سَمَّتْ, 'particular, peculiar'
- to poison; to put poison into food or drink — also said of a venomous creature striking someone with its poison
- to probe or examine (an affair) closely, testing its depth — used figuratively, of investigating a case or matter
- to rectify, or to patch up and reconcile the affairs between people — also used of closing or stopping up a vessel such as a flask
As a form I verb this root covers a surprising range: from the very concrete 'to poison' (food, drink, a sting) to the figurative 'to probe' an affair's depth, 'to rectify' a rift between people, and 'to mark out' something as special or set apart. The same consonants also give the everyday noun samm 'poison' and samūm, the scorching desert wind.
Words from the same root
- سَمٌّpoison, venom (a well-known deadly substance); also a narrow perforation or hole
- تَسْمِيمٌfitting a girth-strap with loops, and adorning it with strung cowrie-shells
- سُمَّةٌa string of cowrie-shells (from stringing them together)
- سَمُومٌa hot, poisonous wind that strikes a day or a plant
- سَمْسَمَto walk gently; said of a fox, to run
Common questions
- How do you say "mark" in Arabic?
- سَمَّ (samma) — here in the sense of marking something out or setting it apart for a particular purpose, as in سَمَّ النِّعْمَةَ, 'he marked the bounty as special.'
- Is سَمَّ related to the word for poison?
- Yes — the same root and verb form also mean 'to poison' (put poison into food or drink), alongside senses like probing a matter or reconciling people.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
فإياكم وفضول المطعم، فإنه يسم القلب بالقسوة، ويبطئ بالجوارح عن الطاعة، ويصم الأذان عن السماع للموعظة،
Beware of excess in food, for it marks the heart with hardness, slows the limbs from obedience, and deafens the ears from hearing admonition.
بِالْقَسْوَةِ — with the hardness. The 'bi-' marks the means or instrument, 'with hardness', and forces the genitive on the noun after it. It tells you what the heart is afflicted with as a result of the excess.
From: Eating in Moderation →
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