Learn Arabic › B2 › عُقْدَة
عُقْدَة
knot /ˈʕʊq.da/
nounB2#4035 most common
Also: complex (psychological), crux of a problem, node
Example sentences
هذه عُقْدَةٌ في الحبل.
This is a knot in the rope.
لا أستطيع فكّ هذه العُقْدَة.
I can't undo this knot.
عنده عُقْدَة نفسية من الكلاب.
He has a psychological complex about dogs.
أين تكمن العُقْدَة في هذه المشكلة؟
Where does the crux of this problem lie?
تعقّدت الأمور حتى صارت عُقْدَةً يصعب حلّها.
Matters grew so tangled that they became a knot hard to untie.
عُقْدَة الحبكة في الرواية تُحَلّ في الفصل الأخير بطريقة مفاجئة.
The plot's central knot is resolved in the novel's final chapter in a surprising way.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عُقْدَةٌ | عُقَدٌ |
| Genitive | عُقْدَةٍ | عُقَدٍ |
| Accusative | عُقْدَةً | عُقَداً |
| Vocative | يا عُقْدَةُ | يا عُقَدُ |
Word family
عَقْدcontract, deal
عَقِيدَةcreed, belief
مُعَقَّدcomplicated
انْعَقَدَto be held, convened (of a meeting)
عَاقِدcontracting party
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic root ʿ-q-d, meaning to tie or bind. Classical Arabic used it for physical knots and extended it to binding agreements, which is why the related word عقد means contract. The psychological sense, a mental knot or hang-up, is a modern extension of the same core image.
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