Learn Arabic › B2 › طَفَح
طَفَح
to overflow /tˤaˈfaħa/
verbB2#4307 most common
Also: to brim over, to boil over, to reach one's limit
Example sentences
طَفَحَ الماءُ مِنَ الكوبِ.
The water overflowed from the cup.
طَفَحَ الكوبُ لأنَّه امتلأَ كثيرًا.
The cup overflowed because it got too full.
طَفَحَتِ القِدْرُ على النارِ.
The pot boiled over on the fire.
طَفَحَ كَيْلُ صَبْرِهِ بعدَ تلك الحادثةِ.
His patience ran out after that incident.
طَفَحَتِ الأنهارُ بسبب الأمطارِ الغزيرةِ هذا الشتاءَ.
The rivers overflowed because of the heavy rains this winter.
عندما طَفَحَ الكيلُ بالمواطنين، خرجوا في مظاهراتٍ حاشدةٍ للمطالبةِ بالإصلاح.
When the citizens' patience finally ran out, they took to the streets in mass protests demanding reform.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَطْفُحُ | طَفَحْتُ | سَأَطْفُحُ |
| 2sg | تَطْفُحُ | طَفَحْتَ | سَتَطْفُحُ |
| 3sg | يَطْفُحُ | طَفَحَ | سَيَطْفُحُ |
| 1pl | نَطْفُحُ | طَفَحْنَا | سَنَطْفُحُ |
| 2pl | تَطْفُحُونَ | طَفَحْتُمْ | سَتَطْفُحُونَ |
| 3pl | يَطْفُحُونَ | طَفَحُوا | سَيَطْفُحُونَ |
Word family
طَفْحan overflow, a spilling over
طَافِحoverflowing, brimming, full to the top
طُفُوحthe act or state of overflowing
طُفَاحَةfroth or scum pushed out by overflow
Etymology
طَفَح comes from the Semitic triliteral root ط-ف-ح, which carries the core sense of a liquid or contained substance rising past its limit and spilling out. Classical Arabic dictionaries such as Lisan al-Arab already record it with this literal meaning of a vessel running over, and the figurative sense of a person's patience or emotions overflowing developed naturally from that image. Arabic is a Semitic language, not an Indo-European one, so it has no Proto-Indo-European ancestor.
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