Learn Arabic › B2 › حَبْس
حَبْس
imprisonment /ˈħabs/
nounB2#4343 most common
Also: confinement, detention, restraint
Example sentences
هُوَ في الحَبْس.
He is in prison.
حُكِمَ عَلَيْهِ بِالحَبْس سَنَة.
He was sentenced to a year in prison.
يُريدُ القاضي حَبْسَ المُتَّهَم.
The judge wants to imprison the accused.
تَمَّ حَبْسُهُ بِسَبَبِ سَرِقَتِهِ.
He was imprisoned because of his theft.
يَنُصُّ القانونُ عَلى حَبْسِ كُلِّ مَن يُخالِفُ هذا النِّظام.
The law stipulates the imprisonment of anyone who violates this system.
أَثارَ حَبْسُ الصَّحَفِيِّينَ دونَ مُحاكَمَةٍ عادِلَةٍ جَدَلاً واسِعاً في الأوساطِ الحُقوقِيَّة.
The imprisonment of journalists without a fair trial sparked wide controversy in human rights circles.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | حَبْسٌ | حُبُوسٌ |
| Genitive | حَبْسٍ | حُبُوسٍ |
| Accusative | حَبْساً | حُبُوساً |
| Vocative | يا حَبْسُ | يا حُبُوسُ |
Word family
حَبَسَto imprison, detain, confine
مَحْبَسprison, place of confinement
مَحْبوسimprisoned, held in confinement
حابِسone who confines or detains
انْحَبَسَto be held back, become confined
Etymology
حَبْس is the maṣdar, or verbal noun, of the Form I verb حَبَسَ, built on the triliteral root ح-ب-س. The root carries the core sense of holding something back or shutting it in, and it spread across the Semitic languages with that same idea of restraint. Arabic uses it today mainly for legal and physical confinement, from jail terms to holding one's breath.
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