Learn Arabic › B2 › حَتْف
حَتْف
death (especially sudden or fatal doom) /ˈħatf/
nounB2#3675 most common
Also: doom, fatal end, demise
Example sentences
لقي حتفه في الحادث.
He met his death in the accident.
مات حتف أنفه بعد مرض طويل.
He died a natural death after a long illness.
كان حتفه على يد رفيقه دون قصد.
His death came at his companion's hand, without intent.
لقيت الطائرة حتفها عندما تحطمت فوق الجبل.
The plane met its doom when it crashed over the mountain.
لم يكن أحد يتوقع أن يجد البطل حتفه في معركة كان يظنها سهلة.
No one expected the hero to meet his death in a battle he thought would be easy.
تحدثت الرواية عن جندي وجد حتفه غريقاً في نهر بعيد عن وطنه، تاركاً خلفه حكاية لم تكتمل.
The novel told of a soldier who met his death, drowned, in a river far from his homeland, leaving behind an unfinished story.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | حَتْفٌ | حُتُوفٌ |
| Genitive | حَتْفٍ | حُتُوفٍ |
| Accusative | حَتْفًا | حُتُوفًا |
| Vocative | يا حَتْفُ | يا حُتُوفُ |
Word family
حتفdeath, doom
حتوفdeaths (plural)
حاتفunseen voice or caller
مات حتف أنفهhe died a natural death
Etymology
Ḥatf comes from the Classical Arabic triliteral root ḥ-t-f, which centers on the idea of death or doom. It appears often in the old idiom māta ḥatfa anfihi, 'he died the death of his nose,' meaning he died naturally rather than by the sword. The same root also gives ḥātif, an unseen voice or caller, a separate branch of meaning within the same root rather than a borrowing from another language.
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