Learn Arabic › A2 › سَمَّى
سَمَّى
to name /ˈsam.maː/
verbA2#714 most common
Also: to call (by a name), to designate, to say bismillah (the name of God)
Example sentences
سَمَّى الأَبُ ابْنَهُ عَلِيًّا.
The father named his son Ali.
سَمَّيْتُ قِطَّتي "مِشْمِش".
I named my cat Mishmish.
لِماذا سَمَّيْتُمُ المَدْرَسَةَ بِهٰذَا الاسْمِ؟
Why did you all name the school this name?
سَيُسَمِّي الفَريقُ المُنْتَجَ الجَديدَ بَعْدَ التَّصْويتِ.
The team will name the new product after the vote.
سَمَّوْا الجائِزَةَ تَكْريماً لِمُؤَسِّسِ المَعْهَدِ.
They named the prize in honor of the institute's founder.
سَمَّى النّاقِدُ هٰذا الأُسْلوبَ بِمُصْطَلَحٍ جَديدٍ سُرْعانَ ما شاعَ بَيْنَ الكُتّابِ.
The critic gave this style a new term that soon spread among writers.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أُسَمِّي | سَمَّيْتُ | سَأُسَمِّي |
| 2sg | تُسَمِّي | سَمَّيْتَ | سَتُسَمِّي |
| 3sg | يُسَمِّي | سَمَّى | سَيُسَمِّي |
| 1pl | نُسَمِّي | سَمَّيْنَا | سَنُسَمِّي |
| 2pl | تُسَمُّونَ | سَمَّيْتُمْ | سَتُسَمُّونَ |
| 3pl | يُسَمُّونَ | سَمَّوْا | سَيُسَمُّونَ |
Word family
اسمname
تَسمِيةnaming; designation
مُسَمّىthe thing named; denotation
تَسَمَّىto be named; to call oneself
سَمِيّnamesake; one of the same name
Etymology
سَمَّى is the Form II verb of the root س-م-و, the same root behind اسم, 'name.' The doubled middle consonant gives the root a causative sense: to make something carry a name, that is, to name it. The root also carries the idea of height, seen in سَماء, 'sky.' Grammarians long debated whether 'name' comes from this root or from وسم, 'to mark.'
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