Learn Arabic › B2 › قَنّاص
قَنّاص
sniper /qanˈnɑːsˤ/
nounB2#3511 most common
Also: sharpshooter, hunter
Example sentences
هُوَ قَنَّاصٌ.
He is a sniper.
القَنَّاصُ يَحْمِلُ بُنْدُقِيَّةً.
The sniper carries a rifle.
اِخْتَبَأَ القَنَّاصُ عَلَى السَّطْحِ لِسَاعَاتٍ.
The sniper hid on the rooftop for hours.
أَصَابَ القَنَّاصُ هَدَفَهُ مِنْ مَسَافَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ جِدًّا.
The sniper hit his target from a very long distance.
تَدَرَّبَ القَنَّاصُونَ لِسَنَوَاتٍ عَلَى تَحَمُّلِ البَرْدِ وَالانْتِظَارِ الصَّامِتِ قَبْلَ إِطْلَاقِ النَّارِ.
The snipers trained for years to endure the cold and the silent waiting before opening fire.
عَلَى الرَّغْمِ مِنْ أَنَّ القَنَّاصَ لَمْ يَتَحَرَّكْ لِسَاعَاتٍ، فَإِنَّ حِدَّةَ تَرَكُّزِهِ ظَلَّتْ كَأَنَّهُ يَرَى فَرِيسَتَهُ رَأْيَ العَيْنِ.
Although the sniper had not moved for hours, his focus stayed as sharp as if he could see his prey with his own eyes.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | قَنَّاصٌ | قَنَّاصُونَ |
| Genitive | قَنَّاصٍ | قَنَّاصِينَ |
| Accusative | قَنَّاصًا | قَنَّاصِينَ |
| Vocative | يَا قَنَّاصُ | يَا قَنَّاصُونَ |
Word family
قَنَصَto hunt, trap, snare
قَنْصhunting, trapping
قَانِصhunter
مَقْنَصhunting ground, trap
قَنِيصَةquarry, game caught
Etymology
Qannāṣ comes from the Semitic triliteral root q-n-ṣ, seen in the Arabic verb qanaṣa, meaning to hunt, trap, or snare game. Arabic forms nouns of profession or habitual, intense action with the fa'ʿāl pattern, the same pattern behind najjār (carpenter) from the root for carving wood, or khabbāz (baker) from the root for baking bread. Applied to the hunting root, this pattern gives qannāṣ, literally one who hunts habitually and skillfully. In modern Arabic, especially in news and military contexts, the word narrowed to its present meaning of sniper.
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