Learn ArabicB2 › فَضْلَة

فَضْلَة

leftover, scrap /ˈfɑdˤ.lah/

nounB2#4077 most common

Also: remnant, surplus piece, (grammar) non-essential sentence element, adjunct, (pl. فضلات) waste, excretions

Example sentences

أَكَلَتِ القِطَّةُ فَضْلَةَ الطَّعَامِ.
The cat ate the leftover food.
أَعْطَيْتُ الكَلْبَ فَضْلَةَ اللَّحْمِ.
I gave the dog the scrap of meat.
احْتَفَظَتْ أُمِّي بِفَضْلَةِ القُمَاشِ لِخِيَاطَةِ وِسَادَةٍ.
My mother kept the scrap of fabric to sew a pillow.
لَمْ تَتْرُكْ فَضْلَةً وَاحِدَةً مِنَ الوَجْبَةِ.
She did not leave a single leftover from the meal.
فِي النَّحْوِ العَرَبِيِّ، تُسَمَّى العَنَاصِرُ غَيْرُ الأَسَاسِيَّةِ فِي الجُمْلَةِ "فَضْلَة".
In Arabic grammar, the non-essential elements of a sentence are called a "faḍlah."
يُمْكِنُ حَذْفُ الفَضْلَةِ مِنَ الجُمْلَةِ دُونَ أَنْ يَخْتَلَّ مَعْنَاهَا الأَسَاسِيُّ.
The adjunct can be dropped from the sentence without breaking its core meaning.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeفَضْلَةٌفَضَلَاتٌ
Genitiveفَضْلَةٍفَضَلَاتٍ
Accusativeفَضْلَةًفَضَلَاتٍ
Vocativeيَا فَضْلَةُيَا فَضَلَاتُ

Word family

فَضْل (faḍl)grace, favor, surplus, merit
أَفْضَل (afḍal)better, best
فَاضِل (fāḍil)virtuous, excellent
تَفَضَّلَ (tafaḍḍala)to be so kind as to, please go ahead
فُضُول (fuḍūl)curiosity, nosiness

Etymology

Fadlah comes from the triliteral Semitic root f-ḍ-l, whose core sense is exceeding, surpassing, or being left over. The same root gives faḍl (grace, merit, extra), afḍal (better, best), and tafaḍḍala (to kindly go ahead). Fadlah is built on the faʿlah pattern, which in Arabic often marks one concrete instance of a root's meaning, so it names a single tangible leftover rather than the abstract idea of surplus.

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