Learn Arabic › B2 › زِمام
زِمام
rein (the rope or strap used to lead and control an animal, especially a camel) /zi.ˈmaːm/
nounB2#4374 most common
Also: reins of control (figurative, as in "zimam al-umur"), halter, nose-rope
Example sentences
أَمْسَكَ الرَّاعِي بِزِمَامِ الجَمَلِ.
The shepherd held the camel's rein.
زِمَامُ الفَرَسِ مَصْنُوعٌ مِنَ الجِلْدِ.
The horse's rein is made of leather.
فَقَدَ السَّائِقُ زِمَامَ السَّيَارَةِ عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ الزَّلِقِ.
The driver lost control of the car on the slippery road.
تُحَاوِلُ الحُكُومَةُ أَنْ تُمْسِكَ بِزِمَامِ الأُمُورِ بَعْدَ الأَزْمَةِ.
The government is trying to grasp the reins of affairs after the crisis.
انْفَلَتَ زِمَامُ الأَحْدَاثِ مِنْ يَدِ الرَّئِيسِ خِلَالَ الأُسْبُوعِ الْمَاضِي.
The reins of events slipped from the president's grip over the past week.
مُنْذُ تَوَلِّيهِ السُّلْطَةَ، لَمْ يُفَرِّطِ الزَّعِيمُ فِي زِمَامِ المُبَادَرَةِ رَغْمَ الضُّغُوطِ المُتَلَاحِقَةِ.
Since taking power, the leader has not let go of the reins of initiative, despite mounting pressures.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | زِمَامٌ | أَزِمَّةٌ |
| Genitive | زِمَامٍ | أَزِمَّةٍ |
| Accusative | زِمَاماً | أَزِمَّةً |
| Vocative | يَا زِمَامُ | يَا أَزِمَّةُ |
Word family
زَمَّto tie a rope through an animal's nose, to fasten
أَزِمَّةreins (plural of zimām)
زَمَّامone who holds the reins, a controller or leader
مَزْمُومtied, restrained, led by a rein
Etymology
Zimām comes from the Arabic root z-m-m (ز-م-م), whose base verb zamma means to bind or fasten, originally the act of tying a rope through a camel's nose to lead it. The noun follows the fiʿāl pattern, common for tools and instruments, so zimām denotes the rein or nose-rope itself. From this concrete image Arabic extended the word to the abstract sense of control, as in the fixed phrase zimām al-umūr, the reins of affairs.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free