Learn Arabic › B2 › عَبْد
عَبْد
slave /ˈʕabd/
nounB2#3222 most common
Also: servant, servant of God, worshipper
Example sentences
هُوَ عَبْدٌ صَالِحٌ.
He is a righteous servant.
أَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ.
I am a servant of God.
كَانَ ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ عَبْدًا فِي الْمَاضِي.
That man was a slave in the past.
حَرَّرَ السَّيِّدُ عَبْدَهُ بَعْدَ سَنَوَاتٍ طَوِيلَةٍ مِنَ الْخِدْمَةِ.
The master freed his slave after many long years of service.
يُؤْمِنُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ بِأَنَّ كُلَّ إِنْسَانٍ عَبْدٌ لِلَّهِ وَحْدَهُ.
Muslims believe that every human being is a servant of God alone.
عَاشَ الْعَبِيدُ فِي ظُرُوفٍ قَاسِيَةٍ قَبْلَ إِلْغَاءِ الرِّقِّ فِي الْقَرْنِ التَّاسِعِ عَشَرَ.
Slaves lived in harsh conditions before the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عَبْدٌ | عَبِيدٌ |
| Genitive | عَبْدٍ | عَبِيدٍ |
| Accusative | عَبْدًا | عَبِيدًا |
| Vocative | عَبْدُ | عَبِيدُ |
Word family
عُبُودِيَّة (ʿubūdiyyah)slavery, servitude
عِبَادَة (ʿibādah)worship
عَابِد (ʿābid)worshipper
تَعَبَّدَ (taʿabbada)to worship devoutly
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic root ʿ-b-d, meaning to serve, to worship, or to be in bondage to someone. This root is old and widespread across the Semitic language family, not part of the Indo-European tree, so it has no PIE ancestor. In Arabic the bare root gives the noun ʿabd, 'slave' or 'servant,' while related forms cover worship and servitude more broadly.
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