Learn Arabic › B2 › ذُباب
ذُباب
fly (the insect, used as a collective/mass noun) /ðuˈbaːb/
nounB2#3477 most common
Also: flies (as a class, order Diptera), gadfly (figurative, an annoying pestering person)
Example sentences
هُناكَ ذُبابٌ في الغُرْفةِ.
There are flies in the room.
الذُّبابُ يُزْعِجُني كَثيراً.
Flies annoy me a lot.
طَرَدْتُ الذُّبابَ عَن الطَّعامِ.
I chased the flies away from the food.
يَنْجَذِبُ الذُّبابُ إلى رَوائِحِ الطَّعامِ الفاسِدِ.
Flies are attracted to the smell of spoiled food.
يَنْقُلُ الذُّبابُ الجَراثيمَ مِن مَكانٍ إلى آخَرَ، مِمّا يُشَكِّلُ خَطَراً صِحِّياً.
Flies carry germs from place to place, which poses a health risk.
رَغْمَ صِغَرِ حَجْمِهِ، يُعَدُّ الذُّبابُ مِن أَكْثَرِ الحَشَراتِ انْتِشاراً وَتَكَيُّفاً مَعَ البِيئاتِ المُخْتَلِفَةِ.
Despite its small size, the fly is one of the most widespread and adaptable insects to different environments.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ذُبابٌ | ذُباباتٌ |
| Genitive | ذُبابٍ | ذُباباتٍ |
| Accusative | ذُباباً | ذُباباتٍ |
| Vocative | يا ذُبابُ | يا ذُباباتُ |
Word family
ذُبابةa fly (one individual insect)
ذَبَّto drive away, ward off
مِذَبَّةfly swatter, whisk
ذبابيfly-like, dipteran
ذبابياتDiptera, the order of flies
Etymology
ذُباب comes from the triliteral Arabic root ذ-ب-ب, the same root behind the verb ذَبَّ, meaning to drive off or defend against. The insect's name likely points to the constant swatting motion people use against it, or to its own quick, evasive movement. Related words for the fly appear elsewhere in the Semitic language family, which suggests the term is old within that group.
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