تَشْحَذُsharpen

Example sentences

• وَعَنْ الأَصْمَعِيِّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الرَّشِيدَ يَقُولُ النَّوَادِرُ تَشْحَذُ الأَذْهَانَ وَتَفْتُقُ الآذَانَ

  And from al-Asma'i: I heard al-Rashid say, "Anecdotes sharpen minds and quicken ears."

  تَشْحَذُ — sharpen. A present-tense verb in the feminine-singular shape, which Arabic uses with a non-human plural subject like 'anecdotes', not because of any female meaning. So the form agrees with the inanimate plural, a rule English has no equivalent for.

  From: Permissible Laughter and Conduct →