Learn Arabic › B2 › حادِي
حادِي
camel driver (one who urges camels on by singing) /ħaː.ˈdiː/
nounB2#3490 most common
Also: caravan leader, guide who chants ahead of the group, one who spurs on
Example sentences
هذا حادي الإبل.
This is the camel driver.
الحادي يغني للإبل في الصحراء.
The camel driver sings to the camels in the desert.
كان الحادي يقود القافلة ليلاً وهو يُنشد الحُداء.
The camel driver led the caravan at night while chanting the camel song.
سمعنا صوت الحادي يبعث النشاط في خطى الإبل المتعبة.
We heard the camel driver's voice put new energy into the tired camels' steps.
يُضرب المثل بصوت الحادي الذي يُهوّن على الإبل وعثاء السفر الطويل.
The camel driver's voice is proverbial for easing the hardship of a long journey for the camels.
في الشعر الجاهلي، يمثل الحادي رمزاً للصبر والإرشاد، إذ يقود الركب بأنغامه عبر قفار لا نهاية لها.
In pre-Islamic poetry, the camel driver stands as a symbol of patience and guidance, leading the caravan with his melodies across endless deserts.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | حادٍ / الحادي (ḥādin / al-ḥādī) | حُداة (ḥudāh) |
| Genitive | حادٍ / الحادي (ḥādin / al-ḥādī) | حُداة (ḥudāh) |
| Accusative | حادياً / الحادي (ḥādiyan / al-ḥādiya) | حُداةً (ḥudātan) |
| Vocative | يا حادي (yā ḥādī) | يا حُداة (yā ḥudāh) |
Word family
حَدَا، يَحْدُوto urge camels on by singing
حُدَاءthe chant used to drive camels
حُداةcamel drivers (plural of حادي)
حَدْوthe act of driving camels with song
مَحْدُوّdriven onward, urged along
Etymology
The word comes from the Arabic root ح-د-و (ḥ-d-w), the source of the verb حدا, يحدو, meaning to urge camels forward by chanting to them. حادي is the active participle of that verb, so it literally means one who drives on by singing. Because و is the weak final root letter, it surfaces as ي after the short i vowel of the participle pattern, the same shift seen in داعي (caller) and قاضي (judge). This is a Semitic root, not an Indo-European one, so it has no PIE ancestor.
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