Learn Arabic › B1 › عِلْيَة
عِلْيَة
the elite; the upper class (of a people) /ˈʕɪl.jah/
nounB1#2984 most common
Also: nobility, aristocracy, notables
Example sentences
هُوَ مِنْ عِلْيَةِ القَوْمِ.
He is one of the elite of the people.
عَائِلَتُهَا مِنْ عِلْيَةِ المُجْتَمَعِ.
Her family belongs to the upper class of society.
كَانَ الحُضُورُ فِي الحَفْلِ مِنْ عِلْيَةِ القَوْمِ وَأَشْرَافِهِمْ.
The guests at the party were from the elite and nobles of the people.
لَمْ يُدْعَ إِلَى الاجْتِمَاعِ إِلَّا عِلْيَةُ القَوْمِ وَكِبَارُ التُّجَّارِ.
Only the elite of the people and the leading merchants were invited to the meeting.
طَالَمَا احْتَكَرَتْ عِلْيَةُ القَوْمِ فِي ذَلِكَ العَصْرِ مَقَالِيدَ الحُكْمِ وَالثَّرْوَةِ.
The elite of the people in that era long monopolized the reins of power and wealth.
يَصِفُ المُؤَرِّخُ كَيْفَ نَشَأَتْ عِلْيَةُ القَوْمِ كَطَبَقَةٍ مُتَمَيِّزَةٍ اسْتَأْثَرَتْ بِالنُّفُوذِ عَلَى حِسَابِ عَامَّةِ النَّاسِ.
The historian describes how the elite of the people arose as a distinct class that monopolized influence at the expense of ordinary people.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عِلْيَةُ | None |
| Genitive | عِلْيَةِ | None |
| Accusative | عِلْيَةً | None |
| Vocative | يَا عِلْيَةُ | None |
Word family
عالي (ʿālī)high, elevated
أعلى (aʿlā)higher, highest
عُلُوّ (ʿuluww)height, loftiness
معالي (maʿālī)Excellency (honorific title)
تعالى (taʿālā)to be exalted, rise above
Etymology
The word comes from the Arabic root ʿ-l-w, which carries the sense of being high or elevated. From this root Arabic also derives ʿālī, meaning high or elevated, and ʿuluww, meaning height or loftiness. ʿIlyah applies that idea of elevation to people, giving a noun that names those standing above the rest, the socially elevated.
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