Learn Arabic › B2 › ضِلْع
ضِلْع
rib /ˈdˤilʕ/
nounB2#4152 most common
Also: side (of a triangle or polygon), flank, slope (of a hill)
Example sentences
عِنْدِي أَلَمٌ فِي ضِلْعِي.
I have pain in my rib.
كَسَرَ اللَّاعِبُ ضِلْعَهُ أَثْنَاءَ الْمُبَارَاةِ.
The player broke his rib during the match.
لِلْمُثَلَّثِ ثَلَاثَةُ أَضْلَاعٍ.
A triangle has three sides.
يَقُولُ الْمَثَلُ إِنَّ ضِلْعَهُ أَعْوَجُ وَلَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ أَبَدًا.
The saying goes that his rib is crooked and will never straighten.
خَضَعَ الْمَرِيضُ لِعَمَلِيَّةٍ جِرَاحِيَّةٍ لِإِزَالَةِ ضِلْعٍ زَائِدٍ ضَغَطَ عَلَى رِئَتِهِ.
The patient underwent surgery to remove an extra rib that was pressing on his lung.
تُحِيطُ الْأَضْلَاعُ بِالْقَفَصِ الصَّدْرِيِّ لِتَحْمِيَ الْقَلْبَ وَالرِّئَتَيْنِ مِنَ الصَّدَمَاتِ الْخَارِجِيَّةِ.
The ribs surround the chest cavity to protect the heart and lungs from outside impact.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ضِلْعٌ | أَضْلاَعٌ |
| Genitive | ضِلْعٍ | أَضْلاَعٍ |
| Accusative | ضِلْعًا | أَضْلاَعًا |
| Vocative | يَا ضِلْعُ | يَا أَضْلاَعُ |
Word family
أَضْلاَعribs (plural)
ضَليعproficient, well-versed
تَضَلَّعَto become well-versed, to master a subject
مُضَلَّعpolygon
Etymology
Ḍilʿ comes from the Semitic root ḍ-l-ʕ, tied to the idea of bending or curving, which fits the curved shape of a rib bone. The same root gave Arabic the geometric sense of "side" (of a triangle or polygon), since a rib is a curved boundary line of the chest. The word has a close and well-known parallel in Hebrew.
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