Learn Arabic › A1 › عَدَم
عَدَم
nonexistence /ˈʕa.dam/
nounA1#468 most common
Also: lack, absence, nothingness
Example sentences
عَدَمُ النَّومِ مُتعِب.
Lack of sleep is tiring.
أَعتَذِرُ عَن عَدَمِ حُضوري.
I apologize for my absence.
عَدَمُ الاهتِمامِ بِالتَّفاصيلِ يُسَبِّبُ أَخطاءً كَثيرة.
Lack of attention to details causes many mistakes.
يُعاني الاقتِصادُ مِن عَدَمِ الاستِقرارِ مُنذُ سَنَوات.
The economy has suffered from instability for years.
ناقَشَ الفَلاسِفَةُ العَلاقَةَ بَينَ الوُجودِ وَالعَدَم.
Philosophers discussed the relationship between existence and nothingness.
يَرى بَعضُ المُتَصَوِّفَةِ أَنَّ الكَونَ خَرَجَ مِنَ العَدَمِ بِإِرادَةٍ إِلهِيَّة، وَأَنَّ إِلَيهِ يَعود.
Some Sufis hold that the universe emerged from nothingness by divine will, and that to it it returns.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عَدَمٌ | |
| Genitive | عَدَمٍ | |
| Accusative | عَدَمًا | |
| Vocative | عَدَمُ |
Word family
عَدِمَto lack, to lose
مَعْدومnonexistent, lacking
اِنْعِدامtotal absence, lack
إِعْدامexecution, capital punishmentأَعْدَمَto put to death, to annihilate
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic triliteral root ع-د-م (ʕ-d-m), which carries the sense of lacking, losing, or ceasing to be. From it Arabic forms the noun عَدَم for the bare state of not being. In theology and philosophy it became the standard counterpart to وُجود, existence.
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