Learn Arabic › B1 › إِلْف
إِلْف
intimate friend, companion /ˈʔilf/
nounB1#2533 most common
Also: close associate, one who is familiar/accustomed to another
Example sentences
أَحْمَدُ إِلْفِي مُنْذُ الصِّغَرِ.
Ahmad has been my close friend since childhood.
وَجَدْتُ فِي هَذِهِ الْمَدِينَةِ إِلْفًا صَادِقًا.
I found a true, close companion in this city.
كَانَ الْكِتَابُ إِلْفَهُ فِي لَيَالِي الْوَحْدَةِ.
The book was his companion on lonely nights.
لَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدٌ إِلْفًا لَهُ مِثْلَ أَخِيهِ الْأَكْبَرِ.
No one was as close a companion to him as his older brother.
اتَّخَذَ الصَّمْتَ إِلْفًا لَهُ بَعْدَ رَحِيلِ زَوْجَتِهِ.
He took silence as his companion after his wife's departure.
تَغَنَّى الشُّعَرَاءُ الْقُدَامَى بِفِرَاقِ أُلاَّفِهِمُ الَّذِينَ فَارَقُوهُمْ فِي الْغُرْبَةِ.
The ancient poets sang mournfully of parting from the companions they lost in exile.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | إِلْفٌ | أُلاَّفٌ |
| Genitive | إِلْفٍ | أُلاَّفٍ |
| Accusative | إِلْفًا | أُلاَّفًا |
| Vocative | يَا إِلْفُ | يَا أُلاَّفُ |
Word family
أَلِفَto become familiar with, get used to
أُلْفَةintimacy, rapport, familiarity
مَأْلُوفfamiliar, customary, usualمُؤَلِّفauthor, composer
تَأْلِيفcomposition, authorship
Etymology
The word comes from the Arabic root ء-ل-ف, which carries the sense of joining, uniting, and becoming familiar or accustomed. From this root Arabic also derives the verb أَلِفَ, meaning to grow used to something, and the abstract noun أُلْفَة, meaning intimacy or rapport. Arabic is a Semitic language, so this root has no connection to Indo-European vocabulary.
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