Learn Arabic › A1 › عَثَر
عَثَر
to stumble, trip /ˈʕa.θa.ra/
verbA1#675 most common
Also: to come across, find (with على), to slip up, lapse, to chance upon
Example sentences
عَثَرَ الوَلَدُ وَوَقَعَ.
The boy stumbled and fell.
عَثَرَتْ عَلى مِفْتاحِها في الحَقيبَةِ.
She found her key in the bag.
عَثَرْتُ على رِسالَةٍ قَديمَةٍ في الدُّرْجِ.
I came across an old letter in the drawer.
عَثَرَ المُحَقِّقونَ على أَدِلَّةٍ مُهِمَّةٍ في مَسْرَحِ الجَريمَةِ.
The investigators found important evidence at the crime scene.
عَثَرَ عالِمُ الآثارِ على نُقوشٍ تَعودُ إلى أَلْفَيْ عامٍ مَضَتْ.
The archaeologist discovered inscriptions dating back two thousand years.
لَوْلا أَنَّهُ عَثَرَ بِخُطْواتِهِ المُتَسَرِّعَةِ لَما أَدْرَكَ خَطَأَهُ ولا عادَ عَنْ غُرورِهِ.
Had he not stumbled with his hasty steps, he would not have realized his error nor turned back from his arrogance.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَعْثُرُ | عَثَرْتُ | سَأَعْثُرُ |
| 2sg | تَعْثُرُ | عَثَرْتَ | سَتَعْثُرُ |
| 3sg | يَعْثُرُ | عَثَرَ | سَيَعْثُرُ |
| 1pl | نَعْثُرُ | عَثَرْنَا | سَنَعْثُرُ |
| 2pl | تَعْثُرُونَ | عَثَرْتُمْ | سَتَعْثُرُونَ |
| 3pl | يَعْثُرُونَ | عَثَرُوا | سَيَعْثُرُونَ |
Word family
عَثْرَةstumble, slip, lapse
تَعَثَّرَto stumble repeatedly, falter
عَاثِرstumbling; unlucky
عُثورfinding, discovery
عِثَارstumbling, a slip
Etymology
عَثَر derives from the common Semitic triliteral root ع-ث-ر. The core image is a foot striking an obstacle, so the verb first meant to trip. From this it grew two figurative branches: a moral slip, and, with the preposition على, the act of chancing upon something. Both the literal and figurative senses remain common in modern Arabic.
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