Learn ArabicB2 › حُجَّة

حُجَّة

argument (proof, case) /ˈħudʒ.dʒa/

nounB2#3221 most common

Also: proof, evidence, pretext, excuse

Example sentences

هٰذِهِ حُجَّةٌ قَوِيَّةٌ.
This is a strong argument.
قَدَّمَ المُحَامِي حُجَّةً قَوِيَّةً فِي المَحْكَمَةِ.
The lawyer presented a strong argument in court.
لَا أَجِدُ حُجَّةً مُقْنِعَةً لِتَبْرِيرِ غِيَابِي.
I can't find a convincing excuse to justify my absence.
اِسْتَخْدَمَ حُجَّةَ ضِيقِ الوَقْتِ لِيَتَهَرَّبَ مِنَ المَسْؤُولِيَّةِ.
He used the excuse of having little time to dodge responsibility.
تُفَنَّدُ حُجَجُ الخَصْمِ عَادَةً بِتَقْدِيمِ أَدِلَّةٍ عِلْمِيَّةٍ دَامِغَةٍ.
The opponent's arguments are usually refuted by presenting decisive scientific evidence.
لَمْ تَصْمُدْ حُجَّتُهُ أَمَامَ التَّدْقِيقِ المَنْطِقِيِّ الصَّارِمِ الَّذِي أَجْرَاهُ الفَيْلَسُوفُ.
His argument did not hold up under the strict logical scrutiny the philosopher applied.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeحُجَّةٌحُجَجٌ
Genitiveحُجَّةٍحُجَجٍ
Accusativeحُجَّةًحُجَجًا
Vocativeيَا حُجَّةُيَا حُجَجُ

Word family

حَجّpilgrimage to Mecca
حَاجّ / حُجَّاجpilgrim / pilgrims
اِحْتَجَّto protest, to object, to argue
اِحْتِجَاجprotest, objection
مُحَاجَّةdisputation, mutual argument

Etymology

Hujja comes from the Semitic root ḥ-j-j, whose core sense in Arabic is arguing, disputing, and proving a case. The word itself is a noun of single instance built on the fuʿla pattern, so it literally means one act of arguing or proving, that is, a single piece of evidence or an argument. The same root gives Arabic hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca; classical philologists linked the two through an old sense of the verb meaning to set out toward or to press one's case before someone, though the exact historical link between the arguing sense and the journey sense stays debated. As a Semitic root, ḥ-j-j has no Indo-European ancestor, so it sits outside the PIE family entirely.

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