Learn Arabic › B1 › قَبْضَة
قَبْضَة
fist /ˈqabdˤa/
nounB1#2786 most common
Also: grip / hold, handful, hilt (of a sword or tool)
Example sentences
قَبْضَةُ الوَلَدِ صَغِيرَةٌ.
The boy's fist is small.
أَغْلَقَ يَدَهُ وَصَنَعَ قَبْضَةً.
He closed his hand and made a fist.
أَخَذَ قَبْضَةً مِنَ الرَّمْلِ وَرَمَاهَا فِي البَحْرِ.
He took a handful of sand and threw it into the sea.
قَبْضَةُ السَّيْفِ مَصْنُوعَةٌ مِنَ الفِضَّةِ.
The sword's hilt is made of silver.
شَدَّدَتِ الحُكُومَةُ قَبْضَتَهَا الأَمْنِيَّةَ عَلَى المَدِينَةِ بَعْدَ الاِضْطِرَابَاتِ.
The government tightened its security grip on the city after the unrest.
ظَلَّ الاِقْتِصَادُ فِي قَبْضَةِ التَّضَخُّمِ لِسَنَوَاتٍ طَوِيلَةٍ رَغْمَ مُحَاوَلَاتِ الإِصْلَاحِ.
The economy stayed in the grip of inflation for many years despite reform efforts.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | قَبْضَةٌ | قَبَضَاتٌ |
| Genitive | قَبْضَةٍ | قَبَضَاتٍ |
| Accusative | قَبْضَةً | قَبَضَاتٍ |
| Vocative | يَا قَبْضَةُ | يَا قَبَضَاتُ |
Word family
قَبَضَto grasp, seize, arrest
قَابِضgripping; astringent
مَقْبِضhandle, knobاِنْقِبَاضcontraction; a feeling of gloom or tightness
قَبَّاضcashier, collector of money (colloquial)
Etymology
Qabḍah comes from the Arabic root q-b-ḍ (ق-ب-ض), which carries the core sense of seizing, closing the hand, or contracting. The pattern faʿlah turns that general verbal idea into a single concrete instance, so qabḍah names one act or result of gripping: a closed fist, whatever fills a closed hand, or the part of a tool built to be held. The same root gives Arabic the everyday verb qabaḍa, to grasp or seize, and the medical term inqibāḍ, contraction.
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