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عام
year /ˈʕaːm/
nounA1#245 most common
Also: the year (in date expressions, e.g. عام ٢٠٢٤)
Example sentences
هذا عامٌ جديد.
This is a new year.
كل عام وأنت بخير.
Best wishes for the year ahead.
عشتُ في القاهرة لمدة عامٍ كامل.
I lived in Cairo for a whole year.
في كل عام نسافر إلى الجبال هرباً من حرّ الصيف.
Every year we travel to the mountains to escape the summer heat.
شهد العام الماضي تحوّلات كبيرة في مسيرتي المهنية.
The past year saw major shifts in my career.
مرّت عليه أعوامٌ طوالٌ في الغربة قبل أن يعود إلى وطنه.
Long years of exile passed over him before he returned to his homeland.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عامٌ | أعوامٌ |
| Genitive | عامٍ | أعوامٍ |
| Accusative | عاماً | أعواماً |
| Vocative | يا عامُ | يا أعوامُ |
Word family
أعوامyears (plural of عام)
عامانtwo years (dual)
سَنَةyear (common synonym, different root)سَنَوِيّannual, yearlyحَوْلa full year (classical)Etymology
The noun عام (ʿām) means "year" and derives from the triliteral root ع-و-م. It is a hollow noun: the medial و appears as ا in the singular but resurfaces in the plural أعوام. Classical lexicographers linked the root to the verb عام, "to swim or float," picturing the year as a cycle that turns. Both عام and سنة mean "year" and are largely interchangeable today.
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