Learn Arabic › B2 › رَفّ
رَفّ
shelf /ˈrafː/
nounB2#3829 most common
Also: flock (of birds in flight), ledge
Example sentences
الكِتابُ على الرَّفِّ.
The book is on the shelf.
وضَعَتْ سارة الكوبَ على الرَّفِّ.
Sara put the cup on the shelf.
اشتريتُ رَفًّا جديدًا للمطبخِ.
I bought a new shelf for the kitchen.
امتلأت رُفوفُ المكتبةِ بالكُتُبِ القديمةِ.
The library's shelves were filled with old books.
رأينا رَفًّا مِنَ الحَمامِ يُحلِّقُ فوقَ السَّاحةِ عِندَ الغُروبِ.
We saw a flock of pigeons flying over the square at sunset.
سَقَطَ الرَّفُّ الخَشَبِيُّ عَنِ الحائطِ فَجْأةً بِسَبَبِ ثِقَلِ الكُتُبِ المُكَدَّسةِ عَليهِ طَوالَ سَنَواتٍ.
The wooden shelf suddenly fell off the wall because of the weight of the books piled on it over the years.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | رَفٌّ | رُفُوفٌ |
| Genitive | رَفٍّ | رُفُوفٍ |
| Accusative | رَفًّا | رُفُوفًا |
| Vocative | يَا رَفُّ | يَا رُفُوفُ |
Word family
رُفُوفshelves (plural of رَفّ)
رَفَّto flutter, flap, or shimmer
رَفْرَفَto flutter repeatedly, flap wings
رَفْرَفfender or mudguard; also a decorative flap or awning
رَفيفa flutter, glimmer, or shimmer
Etymology
رَفّ comes from the native Arabic triliteral root ر-ف-ف. The base verb رَفَّ carries the sense of fluttering, flapping, or gleaming, and it also describes a flat, raised surface. From this the noun رَفّ came to mean a shelf, a flat ledge fixed to a wall, and by extension a flock of birds moving together in flight. The root is Semitic, not Indo-European, so it has no PIE ancestor.
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