Learn Arabic › B2 › رَفِيع
رَفِيع
high, elevated (also: fine, thin, refined) /raˈfiːʕ/
adjectiveB2#3380 most common
Also: thin, slender, refined, exquisite, high-pitched
Example sentences
هذا خيط رفيع.
This is a thin thread.
صوتها رفيع وجميل.
Her voice is high-pitched and lovely.
هو رجل رفيع المستوى في عمله.
He is a high-caliber man in his work.
تناولنا العشاء في مطعم رفيع المستوى.
We had dinner at a high-end restaurant.
يتمتع الدبلوماسي بذوق رفيع في اختيار كلماته.
The diplomat has refined taste in choosing his words.
كانت العلاقات بين البلدين تُدار عبر قنوات دبلوماسية رفيعة المستوى.
Relations between the two countries were handled through high-level diplomatic channels.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | رَفِيعٌ | رُفَعَاءُ |
| Genitive | رَفِيعٍ | رُفَعَاءَ |
| Accusative | رَفِيعًا | رُفَعَاءَ |
| Vocative | يَا رَفِيعُ | يَا رُفَعَاءُ |
Word family
رفعto raise, lift
ارتفاعheight, rise, elevation
مرتفعelevated; highland
رفعةloftiness, nobility
رافعةcrane, lever
Etymology
رفيع comes from the Semitic root ر-ف-ع (r-f-ʕ), whose base verb رفع means to raise or lift up. The word takes the فعيل (faʿīl) pattern, a common template for adjectives that describe a lasting quality, so رفيع marks something as raised in position, refinement, or fineness. From concrete height it extended to abstract rank and quality, and separately to physical thinness, since a thin thread or a high voice both sit at a fine, narrow extreme.
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