Learn Arabic › B1 › كَوَى
كَوَى
to iron (clothes) /ka.ˈwaː/
verbB1#1849 most common
Also: to cauterize (a wound), to burn or brand with heat
Example sentences
أَنا أَكْوِي القَميص.
I am ironing the shirt.
كَوَتْ أُمِّي الفُستانَ أَمسِ.
My mother ironed the dress yesterday.
هَل كَوَيْتَ المَلابِسَ قَبلَ السَّفَر؟
Did you iron the clothes before the trip?
كَوَى الطَّبيبُ الجُرحَ لِيوقِفَ النَّزيف.
The doctor cauterized the wound to stop the bleeding.
كَوَيْنا القُماشَ بِعِنايَةٍ حَتّى لا نُتلِفَ خُيوطَهُ الرَّقيقة.
We ironed the fabric carefully so as not to damage its delicate threads.
يَقولُ المَثَلُ: "آخِرُ الدَّواءِ الكَيُّ"، فَقَد كَوَى القُدَماءُ الجِراحَ بِالنّارِ عِندَ اليَأس.
The proverb says, "the last remedy is cauterization," so the ancients burned wounds with fire when all else failed.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَكْوِي | كَوَيْتُ | سَأَكْوِي |
| 2sg | تَكْوِي | كَوَيْتَ | سَتَكْوِي |
| 3sg | يَكْوِي | كَوَى | سَيَكْوِي |
| 1pl | نَكْوِي | كَوَيْنَا | سَنَكْوِي |
| 2pl | تَكْوُونَ | كَوَيْتُمْ | سَتَكْوُونَ |
| 3pl | يَكْوُونَ | كَوَوْا | سَيَكْوُونَ |
Word family
مِكْوَاةiron (the appliance)
كَيّironing; cauterizationمَكْوِيّironed; cauterized
اِكْتَوَىto be burned or branded
كَوّاءpresser, one who irons clothes
Etymology
The verb comes from the common Semitic root k-w-y, which carries the idea of burning or searing with heat. In Arabic it narrowed toward two everyday senses: pressing cloth with a hot iron and cauterizing a wound. The same root appears in older Semitic languages with the plain sense of scorching.
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