Learn Arabic › B1 › تَسَكَّع
تَسَكَّع
to loiter, to wander aimlessly /tasakˈkaʕa/
verbB1#2877 most common
Also: to hang around aimlessly, to roam the streets with no purpose, to bum around
Example sentences
هُوَ يَتَسَكَّعُ فِي الشَّارِعِ.
He is loitering in the street.
لَا تَتَسَكَّعْ بَعْدَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ، عُدْ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ مُبَاشَرَةً.
Don't loiter after school, go straight home.
تَسَكَّعَ الْأَوْلَادُ فِي الْحَيِّ طَوَالَ الْمَسَاءِ بِلَا هَدَفٍ.
The boys wandered around the neighborhood all evening with no purpose.
كَانَ يَتَسَكَّعُ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ الْقَدِيمَةِ بَحْثًا عَنْ شَيْءٍ يَشْغَلُ وَقْتَهُ.
He used to wander around the old city looking for something to fill his time.
بَعْدَ أَنْ فَقَدَ وَظِيفَتَهُ، أَخَذَ يَتَسَكَّعُ فِي الْمَقَاهِي بَدَلَ الْبَحْثِ عَنْ عَمَلٍ جَدِيدٍ.
After he lost his job, he took to loitering in cafes instead of looking for new work.
يَرَى بَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ الِاجْتِمَاعِ أَنَّ الْمُرَاهِقِينَ الَّذِينَ يَتَسَكَّعُونَ فِي الشَّوَارِعِ لَيْلًا غَالِبًا مَا يَفْتَقِرُونَ إِلَى الرِّقَابَةِ الْأُسَرِيَّةِ.
Some sociologists hold that teenagers who loiter in the streets at night often lack family supervision.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَتَسَكَّعُ | تَسَكَّعْتُ | سَأَتَسَكَّعُ |
| 2sg | تَتَسَكَّعُ | تَسَكَّعْتَ | سَتَتَسَكَّعُ |
| 3sg | يَتَسَكَّعُ | تَسَكَّعَ | سَيَتَسَكَّعُ |
| 1pl | نَتَسَكَّعُ | تَسَكَّعْنَا | سَنَتَسَكَّعُ |
| 2pl | تَتَسَكَّعُونَ | تَسَكَّعْتُمْ | سَتَتَسَكَّعُونَ |
| 3pl | يَتَسَكَّعُونَ | تَسَكَّعُوا | سَيَتَسَكَّعُونَ |
Word family
تَسَكُّعloitering, vagrancy (verbal noun)
مُتَسَكِّعloiterer, vagrant, aimless wanderer
سُكَّعvagrants, tramps (a plural from the same root)
Etymology
تَسَكَّع is a Form V (تَفَعَّلَ) verb built on the triliteral Semitic root س-ك-ع, which classical Arabic dictionaries already gloss as aimless wandering or drifting about. The Form V pattern adds a reflexive shade, so the verb pictures a person giving themselves over to that wandering rather than being directed toward it. It is a native Arabic formation, not a borrowing.
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