Learn Arabic › B2 › دَعَك
دَعَك
to rub, knead, or massage /ˈdaʕaka/
verbB2#3951 most common
Also: to crumple, rumple (cloth or paper), to scrub
Example sentences
هُوَ يَدْعَكُ يَدَيْهِ.
He rubs his hands.
دَعَكَتِ الْأُمُّ الثِّيَابَ بِيَدِهَا.
The mother rubbed the clothes by hand.
يَجِبُ أَنْ تَدْعَكَ الْبُقْعَةَ بِرِفْقٍ قَبْلَ غَسْلِهَا.
You must rub the stain gently before washing it.
دَعَكَ الطَّبِيبُ ظَهْرَ الْمَرِيضِ لِتَخْفِيفِ الْأَلَمِ.
The doctor massaged the patient's back to ease the pain.
لَا تَدْعَكْ عَيْنَيْكَ بَعْدَ التَّعَرُّضِ لِلْغُبَارِ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ قَدْ يُسَبِّبُ الْتِهَابًا.
Do not rub your eyes after exposure to dust, because that can cause inflammation.
كَانَتِ الْجَدَّةُ تَدْعَكُ الصُّوفَ بَيْنَ رَاحَتَيْهَا حَتَّى يَلِينَ قَبْلَ غَزْلِهِ.
The grandmother used to knead the wool between her palms until it softened before spinning it.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَدْعَكُ | دَعَكْتُ | سَأَدْعَكُ |
| 2sg | تَدْعَكُ | دَعَكْتَ | سَتَدْعَكُ |
| 3sg | يَدْعَكُ | دَعَكَ | سَيَدْعَكُ |
| 1pl | نَدْعَكُ | دَعَكْنَا | سَنَدْعَكُ |
| 2pl | تَدْعَكُونَ | دَعَكْتُمْ | سَتَدْعَكُونَ |
| 3pl | يَدْعَكُونَ | دَعَكُوا | سَيَدْعَكُونَ |
Word family
دَعْكthe act of rubbing or kneading
مِدْعَكَةa scrubbing brush or rubbing tool
دَاعِكone who rubs (active participle)
مَدْعُوكrubbed, kneaded, crumpled (passive participle)
Etymology
The verb comes from the triliteral Semitic root د-ع-ك (d-ʕ-k), which carries the core sense of pressing and working something with the hands. Classical Arabic dictionaries such as Lisān al-ʿArab list it alongside the near-synonym دلك (dalaka), both denoting rubbing or kneading motion. The root produced a small, tightly bound word family covering the act, the tool used, and the person doing it. No reliable cognates outside Arabic are established.
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