Learn Arabic › A1 › عَبْر
عَبْر
crossing, passage /ˈʕabr/
nounA1#568 most common
Also: across, via, through (used as a preposition), traversal, transit
Example sentences
سافَرْنا عَبْرَ البَحْرِ.
We traveled across the sea.
وَصَلَتِ الرِّسالَةُ عَبْرَ البَريدِ الإلِكْتُرونِيِّ.
The message arrived via email.
تَنْتَشِرُ الأَخْبارُ بِسُرْعَةٍ عَبْرَ مَواقِعِ التَّواصُلِ الاجْتِماعِيِّ.
News spreads quickly across social media sites.
كانَ عَبْرُ النَّهْرِ في الشِّتاءِ مُغامَرَةً خَطِرَةً.
Crossing the river in winter was a dangerous venture.
ظَلَّتِ القَوافِلُ تَنْقُلُ البَضائِعَ عَبْرَ الصَّحْراءِ لِقُرونٍ طَويلَةٍ.
Caravans kept carrying goods across the desert for long centuries.
لا تُقاسُ عَظَمَةُ الأُمَمِ إلّا بِقُدْرَتِها عَلى العَبْرِ نَحْوَ المُسْتَقْبَلِ دونَ نِسْيانِ ماضيها.
The greatness of nations is measured only by their ability to cross toward the future without forgetting their past.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عَبْرٌ (ʿabrun) | None |
| Genitive | عَبْرٍ (ʿabrin) | None |
| Accusative | عَبْراً (ʿabran) | None |
| Vocative | يا عَبْرُ (yā ʿabru) | None |
Word family
عَبَرَ (ʿabara)to cross, traverse
عُبور (ʿubūr)crossing, transit
مَعْبَر (maʿbar)crossing point, passage
عابِر (ʿābir)passing, transient
عِبْرة (ʿibra)lesson, moral
Etymology
عَبْر comes from the Semitic root ع-ب-ر (ʿ-b-r), whose core sense is to cross or pass over, often a river. The same root yields عُبور (crossing) and the very common preposition عَبْرَ (across, via). It is cognate with Hebrew ʿavar, to pass over, and with ʿivri (Hebrew), thought to mean one from across the river. Akkadian ebēru, to cross water, shows the age of the root.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free