Learn Arabic › B2 › سُلَّم
سُلَّم
ladder /ˈsul.lam/
nounB2#3236 most common
Also: musical scale, stairs (in some dialects), career/social ladder (figurative)
Example sentences
صَعِدَ الوَلَدُ عَلَى السُّلَّمِ.
The boy climbed up the ladder.
ضَعِ السُّلَّمَ بِجانِبِ الحائِطِ.
Put the ladder next to the wall.
نَزَلَتِ القِطَّةُ مِنَ السُّلَّمِ بِبُطءٍ.
The cat came down the ladder slowly.
يَستَخدِمُ الفَنِّيُّ سُلَّماً لِإِصلاحِ سَقفِ المَنزِلِ.
The technician uses a ladder to fix the house's roof.
يُعتَبَرُ السُّلَّمُ المُوسيقِيُّ أَساسَ تَعَلُّمِ العَزفِ عَلَى البِيانو.
The musical scale is considered the basis for learning to play the piano.
تَسَلَّقَ العُمّالُ سَلالِمَ طَويلَةً لِلوُصولِ إِلى أَعلى بُرجِ الاتِّصالاتِ رَغمَ خُطورَةِ المُهِمَّةِ.
The workers climbed long ladders to reach the top of the communications tower despite the danger of the task.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | سُلَّمٌ | سَلَالِمُ |
| Genitive | سُلَّمٍ | سَلَالِمَ |
| Accusative | سُلَّماً | سَلَالِمَ |
| Vocative | يَا سُلَّمُ | يَا سَلَالِمُ |
Word family
سَلَامpeace
مُسْلِمMuslim, one who submits
سَلِيمsound, safe, healthyتَسْلِيمhanding over, deliveryاِسْتِسْلَامsurrender
Etymology
Sullam comes from the Semitic root s-l-m, which carries the sense of safety, soundness, and peace. Classical Arabic lexicographers link the ladder to this root because it lets a person move up step by step without falling, that is, safely. The same root gives Arabic its words for peace and submission, but the ladder sense stands on its own and carries no religious weight.
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