Learn Arabic › B1 › ثُعْبان
ثُعْبان
snake /θuʕˈbaːn/
nounB1#2789 most common
Also: serpent, large snake
Example sentences
رَأَيْتُ ثُعْبانًا فِي الحَدِيقَةِ.
I saw a snake in the garden.
الثُّعْبانُ يَزْحَفُ عَلَى الأَرْضِ بِبُطْءٍ.
The snake crawls slowly on the ground.
يَخافُ كَثيرٌ مِنَ النّاسِ مِنَ الثُّعْبانِ.
Many people are afraid of snakes.
تَسَلَّلَ الثُّعْبانُ إِلَى داخِلِ المَنْزِلِ لَيْلًا فَأَفْزَعَ السُّكّانَ.
The snake slipped into the house at night and scared the residents.
تَنْتَشِرُ ثَعابِينُ سامَّةٌ فِي هَذِهِ المِنْطَقَةِ الاسْتِوائِيَّةِ.
Venomous snakes are widespread in this tropical region.
يُعَدُّ الثُّعْبانُ فِي بَعْضِ الأَساطِيرِ رَمْزًا لِلْحِكْمَةِ وَالخُطُورَةِ فِي آنٍ وَاحِدٍ.
In some myths, the snake stands for both wisdom and danger at once.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ثُعْبانٌ | ثَعابِينُ |
| Genitive | ثُعْبانٍ | ثَعابِينَ |
| Accusative | ثُعْباناً | ثَعابِينَ |
| Vocative | يا ثُعْبانُ | يا ثَعابِينُ |
Word family
ثَعابِينsnakes (plural)
ثَعَبَto gush forth, burst out
مَثْعَبdrainpipe, gutter
انْثَعَبَto pour out, stream forth
Etymology
Thuʿbān comes from the Semitic root ث-ع-ب, tied to the verb thaʿaba, meaning to gush or burst forth, as water does from a spring or wound. The noun likely picked up its sense of a large snake from that same image of something surging or shooting forward. The word appears in the Quran, where Moses' staff turns into a thuʿbān, which gave it lasting weight in Arabic beyond everyday speech.
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