Learn Arabic › B2 › قَبِيلَة
قَبِيلَة
tribe /qaˈbiː.la/
nounB2#3046 most common
Also: clan, kinship group
Example sentences
هَذِهِ قَبِيلَةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ.
This is a large tribe.
يَعِيشُ جَدِّي فِي قَبِيلَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ.
My grandfather lives in a small tribe.
تَنْتَمِي هَذِهِ العَائِلَةُ إِلَى قَبِيلَةٍ عَرَبِيَّةٍ قَدِيمَةٍ.
This family belongs to an ancient Arab tribe.
تَجْتَمِعُ قَبَائِلُ المِنْطَقَةِ كُلَّ عَامٍ لِحَلِّ الخِلَافَاتِ.
The tribes of the region gather every year to settle disputes.
يُحَافِظُ شَيْخُ القَبِيلَةِ عَلَى العَادَاتِ وَالتَّقَالِيدِ المُتَوَارَثَةِ.
The tribe's sheikh upholds its inherited customs and traditions.
تَتَشَابَكُ مَصَالِحُ القَبَائِلِ المُتَجَاوِرَةِ فِي قَضَايَا المِيَاهِ وَالأَرَاضِي مِمَّا يَسْتَدْعِي حُلُولًا دِبْلُومَاسِيَّةً مُعَقَّدَةً.
The interests of neighboring tribes are entangled over water and land, which calls for intricate diplomatic solutions.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | قَبِيلَةٌ | قَبَائِلُ |
| Genitive | قَبِيلَةٍ | قَبَائِلَ |
| Accusative | قَبِيلَةً | قَبَائِلَ |
| Vocative | يَا قَبِيلَةُ | يَا قَبَائِلُ |
Word family
قَبَائِلtribes (plural)
قَبَلِيّtribal
قِبْلَةthe direction faced in prayer
مُقَابَلَةmeeting, interview
اسْتِقْبَالreception, welcome
Etymology
Qabīla comes from the Semitic root q-b-l, whose core sense is to face or come before someone. Classical Arabic lexicographers explain the tribe as a group whose members face one another, united by shared descent and mutual obligation. The word is native Arabic, not a borrowing, and belongs to a large family of terms built on the same three-letter root.
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