Learn Arabic › B2 › ماعِز
ماعِز
goat /ˈmaː.ʕiz/
nounB2#4358 most common
Also: billy goat, goats (collective)
Example sentences
هذا ماعِز.
This is a goat.
عِنْدي ماعِز في المزرعة.
I have a goat on the farm.
يأكل الماعِز العشب في الجبل.
The goat eats grass on the mountain.
يُرَبّي الفلّاحون الماعِز من أجل الحليب واللحم.
Farmers raise goats for milk and meat.
يتميّز الماعِز بقدرته على تسلّق المنحدرات الصخرية بمهارة فائقة.
The goat stands out for its ability to climb rocky slopes with great skill.
على الرغم من أنّ الماعِز يُصنَّف ضمن الثدييات المجترّة، فإنّ سلوكه الغذائي يختلف عن سلوك الأغنام من حيث تفضيله تصفّح الشجيرات بدلاً من الرعي فقط.
Although the goat is classified among ruminant mammals, its feeding behavior differs from that of sheep, since it prefers browsing shrubs over plain grazing.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ماعِزٌ | مَواعِزُ |
| Genitive | ماعِزٍ | مَواعِزَ |
| Accusative | ماعِزًا | مَواعِزَ |
| Vocative | يا ماعِزُ | يا مَواعِزُ |
Word family
معزgoats (collective, as opposed to sheep)
ماعزةnanny goat, she-goat
مِعزىgoats (alternate collective form)
راعي الماعزgoatherd
Etymology
Arabic ماعِز comes from the triliteral root م-ع-ز, the same root behind معز (ma'z), the collective term for goats as opposed to ضأن (sheep). Classical Arab lexicographers such as those behind Lisan al-Arab traditionally connected this root to the verb ماز/ميّز, meaning to distinguish, noting that herders told goats and sheep apart partly by their tails. Arabic is a Semitic language, so it has no Proto-Indo-European root.
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