Learn Arabic › A1 › عَمّ
عَمّ
paternal uncle (father's brother) /ˈʕamm/
nounA1#502 most common
Also: father's brother, uncle (respectful term for an older man)
Example sentences
هٰذَا عَمِّي.
This is my uncle.
عَمِّي يَسْكُنُ قَرِيبًا مِنَّا.
My uncle lives near us.
دَعَانَا عَمِّي إِلَى الْعَشَاءِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ.
My uncle invited us to dinner on Friday.
تَزَوَّجَتْ أُخْتِي مِنِ ابْنِ عَمِّنَا.
My sister married our paternal cousin, our uncle's son.
لَمْ يَتْرُكْ لِي عَمِّي إِلَّا ذِكْرَيَاتٍ جَمِيلَةً عَنْ طُفُولَتِي فِي الْقَرْيَةِ.
My uncle left me nothing but beautiful memories of my childhood in the village.
يُخَاطِبُ النَّاسُ الرَّجُلَ الْمُسِنَّ بِـ«يَا عَمّ» احْتِرَامًا، وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ بَيْنَهُمْ قَرَابَةٌ.
People address the elderly man as 'O uncle' out of respect, even when there is no kinship between them.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عَمٌّ | أَعْمامٌ |
| Genitive | عَمٍّ | أَعْمامٍ |
| Accusative | عَمًّا | أَعْماماً |
| Vocative | عَمّ | أَعْمام |
Word family
عَمّةpaternal aunt
أَعْمامpaternal uncles (plural)
عُمُومةunclehood, paternal kinship
ابن العَمّpaternal cousin (uncle's son)
Etymology
عَمّ comes from the Semitic root ʿ-m-m, tied to the idea of the father's kin. It names the father's brother, while the mother's brother is خال. The same root underlies the Hebrew word ʿam, 'people,' which began as a term for paternal kin. The two final consonants merge into one m carrying a shadda.
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