Learn Arabic › A2 › كَلْم
كَلْم
wound /ˈkalm/
nounA2#966 most common
Also: cut, gash, incision
Example sentences
في يدِهِ كَلْمٌ.
There is a wound on his hand.
الكَلْمُ يؤلمُهُ كثيراً.
The wound hurts him a lot.
اندملَ الكَلْمُ بعدَ أيّامٍ قليلةٍ.
The wound healed after a few days.
تركَ السيفُ كَلْماً عميقاً في كتفِهِ.
The sword left a deep wound in his shoulder.
قالَ الشاعرُ إنَّ كَلْمَ اللسانِ أشدُّ من كَلْمِ السِّنانِ.
The poet said the wound of the tongue is worse than the wound of the spear.
ما زالتْ كُلومُ الحربِ تنزفُ في ذاكرةِ الأمّةِ.
The wounds of the war still bleed in the nation's memory.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | كَلْمٌ | كُلومٌ |
| Genitive | كَلْمٍ | كُلومٍ |
| Accusative | كَلْماً | كُلوماً |
| Vocative | يا كَلْمُ | يا كُلومُ |
Word family
كَلَمَto wound, to cut
مَكْلومwounded, hurt
كُلومwounds (plural)
كِلامwounds (alternate plural)
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic root k-l-m, which means to cut or wound. Classical Arabic built two families on this root: one for physical wounds, including كَلْم, and one for speech, including كلمة (word). The Hebrew cognate kalam moved toward the sense of insult and shame, treating a slight as a wound to a person's honor.
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