Learn Arabic › A2 › عِصابَة
عِصابَة
gang /ʕiˈsˤaːba/
nounA2#1057 most common
Also: band (of outlaws), criminal group, headband (literal sense)
Example sentences
العِصابة خَطيرة.
The gang is dangerous.
هَرَبَت العِصابة مِنَ الشُّرطة.
The gang fled from the police.
سَرَقَت العِصابة البَنك في وَضَح النَّهار.
The gang robbed the bank in broad daylight.
تَتَكَوَّن العِصابة مِن خَمسة رِجال مُسَلَّحين.
The gang is made up of five armed men.
ألقَت الشُّرطة القَبض على أفراد العِصابة بَعد مُطارَدة طَويلة.
The police arrested the gang members after a long chase.
تَمَكَّنَت السُّلُطات أخيراً مِن تَفكيك العِصابة الإجرامية التي رَوَّعَت المَدينة لِسَنَوات.
The authorities finally managed to dismantle the criminal gang that had terrorized the city for years.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عِصابةٌ | عِصاباتٌ |
| Genitive | عِصابةٍ | عِصاباتٍ |
| Accusative | عِصابةً | عِصاباتٍ |
| Vocative | يا عِصابةُ | يا عِصاباتُ |
Word family
عَصَبnerve, sinew
عَصَّبَto bind, bandage
تَعَصُّبfanaticism, bigotry
عَصَبِيّnervous; fanaticalعُصبةband, group, league
Etymology
The word comes from the triliteral root ʿ-ṣ-b, meaning to bind or tie. An ʿiṣāba was first a band or fillet tied around the head, then by extension a body of people bound by a common purpose. In modern Arabic the sense narrowed to a criminal gang. The same root gives ʿaṣab (nerve, sinew) and taʿaṣṣub (fanaticism).
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free