Learn Arabic › B1 › قَوْس
قَوْس
bow (as in bow and arrow) /ˈqaws/
nounB1#2992 most common
Also: arc, archway, Sagittarius (zodiac sign)
Example sentences
هذا قَوْسٌ جميل.
This is a beautiful bow.
يستخدم الصياد القَوْسَ للصيد.
The hunter uses the bow for hunting.
رأينا قَوْسَ قُزَحَ بعد المطر.
We saw a rainbow after the rain.
صمم المهندس قَوْساً حجرياً فوق المدخل.
The engineer designed a stone arch above the entrance.
تُقاس زاوية القَوْس بالدرجات في الهندسة.
The arc's angle is measured in degrees in geometry.
يرمز برج القَوْس إلى الرامي في علم الفلك.
The sign of Sagittarius represents the archer in astrology.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | قَوْسٌ | أَقْوَاسٌ |
| Genitive | قَوْسٍ | أَقْوَاسٍ |
| Accusative | قَوْساً | أَقْوَاساً |
| Vocative | يا قَوْسُ | يا أَقْواسُ |
Word family
قَوَّسَto bend, to arch something
تَقَوَّسَto become bowed or curved
أَقْوَاسarches; also parentheses/brackets in writing
قَوْس قُزَحrainbow
قَوَّاسarcher, bowman
Etymology
Qaws comes from the triliteral Semitic root q-w-s, tied to the idea of a curved or bent shape. Classical Arabic used it for the hunting and war weapon, and later extended it to any arc-like form, including the rainbow and the geometric arc. The same root gave Aramaic and Syriac their word for bow, pointing to a shared Semitic inheritance rather than a borrowing.
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