Learn ArabicA2 › صَمَت

صَمَت

to be silent /ˈsˤa.ma.ta/

verbA2#1227 most common

Also: to keep quiet, to fall silent, to hold one's tongue

Example sentences

صَمَتَ الوَلَدُ.
The boy fell silent.
صَمَتَتْ لَمّا دَخَلَ المُعَلِّمُ.
She went quiet when the teacher came in.
صَمَتَ الجَمِيعُ عِنْدَ سَماعِ الخَبَرِ.
Everyone went silent on hearing the news.
فَضَّلَ أَنْ يَصْمُتَ بَدَلاً مِنْ أَنْ يَقُولَ كَلِمَةً يَنْدَمُ عَلَيْها.
He preferred to stay silent rather than say a word he would regret.
صَمَتَ الشّاهِدُ طَوِيلاً ثُمَّ اعْتَرَفَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ.
The witness stayed silent for a long time, then confessed to everything.
مَنْ صَمَتَ عَنِ الحَقِّ فَهُوَ شَيْطانٌ أَخْرَسُ.
Whoever keeps silent about the truth is a mute devil.

Conjugation

Present ActiveSimple Past ActiveSimple Future Active
1sgأَصْمُتُصَمَتُّسَأَصْمُتُ
2sgتَصْمُتُصَمَتَّسَتَصْمُتُ
3sgيَصْمُتُصَمَتَسَيَصْمُتُ
1plنَصْمُتُصَمَتْناسَنَصْمُتُ
2plتَصْمُتُونَصَمَتُّمْسَتَصْمُتُونَ
3plيَصْمُتُونَصَمَتُواسَيَصْمُتُونَ

Word family

صَمْتsilenceصامِتsilent, mute
صَمُوتtaciturn
اُصْمُتْbe quiet (imperative)
صُمُوتsilence (verbal noun)

Etymology

صَمَتَ comes from the Semitic root ṣ-m-t, which carries the idea of silence and stillness. Arabic built a whole family on it, from the noun ṣamt (silence) to the adjective ṣāmit (mute). The verb names the act of holding one's tongue, often by choice. It is a Semitic word, not an Indo-European one, so it has no PIE root.

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