Learn Arabic › B2 › قُطْب
قُطْب
pole (axis, as in North/South Pole or magnetic pole) /ˈqutˤb/
nounB2#3606 most common
Also: axis, pivot, leading figure (political or spiritual)
Example sentences
القُطْبُ الشَّمالِيُّ بارِدٌ جِدًّا.
The North Pole is very cold.
يَقَعُ القُطْبُ الجَنُوبِيُّ فِي أَقْصَى الجَنُوبِ.
The South Pole lies at the far south.
يَدُورُ المِغْناطِيسُ حَوْلَ قُطْبَيْنِ: شَمالِيٍّ وَجَنُوبِيٍّ.
A magnet turns around two poles: north and south.
يُعَدُّ فُلانٌ قُطْبًا مِنْ أَقْطابِ السِّياسَةِ فِي البِلادِ.
So-and-so is regarded as one of the leading figures in the country's politics.
يَتَجَمَّدُ الماءُ عِنْدَ القُطْبَيْنِ بِسَبَبِ دَرَجاتِ الحَرارَةِ المُنْخَفِضَةِ جِدًّا.
Water freezes at the two poles because of the extremely low temperatures.
اُعْتُبِرَ الشَّيْخُ قُطْبًا مِنْ أَقْطابِ التَّصَوُّفِ فِي عَصْرِهِ.
The sheikh was regarded as one of the leading spiritual masters of Sufism in his era.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | قُطْبٌ | أَقْطابٌ |
| Genitive | قُطْبٍ | أَقْطابٍ |
| Accusative | قُطْبًا | أَقْطابًا |
| Vocative | يا قُطْبُ | يا أَقْطابُ |
Word family
قَطَبَto frown, knit the brow
قُطْبِيّpolar
قُطْبِيَّةpolarity
أَقْطابpoles, leading figures (plural of qutb)
Etymology
Qutb comes from the Semitic root q-t-b, which in verb form (qataba) carries a sense of drawing together or fixing at a center. The noun qutb denotes the pin or pivot around which a millstone or wheel turns, and from there it extended to the celestial and magnetic poles, and figuratively to a person who stands at the center of a field, such as a political or spiritual leader. Arabic is a Semitic language, so it has no Indo-European root.
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