Learn Arabic › B2 › عِيان
عِيان
eyewitnessing, direct sight with one's own eyes /ʕiːˈjaːn/
nounB2#4014 most common
Also: ocular observation, seeing for oneself, in-person inspection
Example sentences
رأيتُ الحادثة عِياناً.
I saw the accident with my own eyes.
كان شاهدَ عِيانٍ على الحريق.
He was an eyewitness to the fire.
الخبر ليس كالعِيان.
Hearing about something is not like seeing it with your own eyes.
أفاد شهود العِيان بأن السيارة كانت مسرعة.
Eyewitnesses stated that the car was speeding.
عايَنَ المهندسُ الموقعَ عِياناً قبل أن يوافقَ على التصميم.
The engineer inspected the site in person before approving the design.
لا يُمكن إثباتُ الواقعةِ إلا بشهادةِ العِيانِ لا بالسماعِ.
The event can only be proven by eyewitness testimony, not by hearsay.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عِيانٌ | None |
| Genitive | عِيانٍ | None |
| Accusative | عِياناً | None |
| Vocative | None | None |
Word family
عايَنَto view or inspect directly with one's own eyes
معاينةinspection, direct examination
عينeye; also spring or source
شاهد عيانeyewitness
عيانيvisual, empirical, observed directly
Etymology
عِيان comes from the Arabic root ع-ي-ن, the same root behind عين (eye, spring, source). It is a verbal noun of the form-III verb عايَنَ, meaning to view something directly with the eye. The root ع-ي-ن is a core Semitic root, and the same consonants recur across Semitic languages with the core sense of eye.
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