Learn Arabic › B2 › زَنْد
زَنْد
forearm (bone) /ˈzand/
nounB2#3128 most common
Also: fire-stick (used to kindle fire by friction), bolt/trigger mechanism of a rifle
Example sentences
زَنْدِي قَوِيٌّ.
My forearm is strong.
أَمْسَكَ أَخِي بِزَنْدِي بِقُوَّةٍ.
My brother grabbed my forearm firmly.
اِنْكَسَرَ زَنْدُ اللَّاعِبِ أَثْنَاءَ الْمُبَارَاةِ.
The player's forearm bone broke during the match.
رَبَطَ الْمُمَرِّضُ زَنْدَ الْمَرِيضِ بِضِمَادَةٍ مُحْكَمَةٍ.
The nurse wrapped the patient's forearm with a tight bandage.
قَدَحَ الْبَدَوِيُّ بِزَنْدِهِ حَتَّى أَوْرَى النَّارَ.
The Bedouin struck his fire-stick until he kindled the fire.
يُضْرَبُ الْمَثَلُ «رِخْوُ الزَّنْدِ» لِمَنْ قَدَحَ فَلَمْ يُورِ، كِنَايَةً عَنِ الْعَجْزِ.
The proverb 'slack of fire-stick' is said of one who strikes but produces no spark, a figure for incapacity.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | زَنْدٌ | زِنَادٌ |
| Genitive | زَنْدٍ | زِنَادٍ |
| Accusative | زَنْدًا | زِنَادًا |
| Vocative | يَا زَنْدُ | يَا زِنَادُ |
Word family
زِنَادtrigger or bolt of a firearm; also the plural of زند
أَزْنَادforearms or fire-sticks (alternate plural)
قَدَحَ زَنْدَهُidiom: he struck his fire-stick, meaning he tested or proved his own ability
Etymology
The root z-n-d is a native Semitic triliteral. Its oldest concrete sense is the forearm bone, and by extension the shape gave its name to the wooden fire-drill stick used to strike a spark. From that image classical Arabic built the idiom of 'striking one's zand' to mean testing one's own capability. In modern usage the same spark imagery was carried over to the bolt or trigger mechanism of a firearm.
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