Learn Arabic › B1 › عَصاً
عَصاً
stick / staff /ʕaˈsˤaː/
nounB1#2320 most common
Also: cane, rod, walking staff
Example sentences
هٰذِهِ عَصا.
This is a stick.
يَحْمِلُ الرَّجُلُ عَصاً.
The man is carrying a stick.
اِسْتَخْدَمَ الرَّاعي عَصاهُ لِيَقودَ الأَغْنامَ.
The shepherd used his staff to guide the sheep.
ضَرَبَ موسى البَحْرَ بِعَصاهُ فَانْفَلَقَ.
Moses struck the sea with his staff, and it split.
كانَتِ العَصا رَمْزاً لِلسُّلْطَةِ عِنْدَ كِبارِ السِّنِّ في القَريَةِ.
The staff was a symbol of authority for the village elders.
يُقالُ "العَصا لِمَنْ عَصى"، وَهُوَ مَثَلٌ يُبَرِّرُ اسْتِخْدامَ الشِّدَّةِ في التَّأْديبِ.
It is said, "the stick is for the one who disobeys," a proverb used to justify firmness in discipline.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عَصًا | عِصِيٌّ |
| Genitive | عَصًا | عِصِيٍّ |
| Accusative | عَصًا | عِصِيًّا |
| Vocative | يا عَصا | يا عِصِيّ |
Word family
عَصاstick, staff
عِصِيّsticks, staffs (plural)
عَصَوِيّrod-shaped (used in biology for bacilli)
اِعْتَصىto lean on or support oneself with a staff
عَصا القِيادَةbaton (of a conductor or marshal)
Etymology
The word goes back to the Semitic root ʿ-ṣ-w, which centered on a wooden rod used for walking, herding, or striking. The final root consonant, a weak waw, shifted to a long alif at the end of the word, giving the defective noun shape seen today. The same shape appears across Classical and Modern Standard Arabic with little change in meaning.
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