Learn Arabic › B2 › ماهِيَّة
ماهِيَّة
essence (the intrinsic "whatness" or nature of a thing) /maːˈhij.jah/
nounB2#4397 most common
Also: quiddity, nature, identity (of a thing, not a person)
Example sentences
ما هي ماهية هذا السؤال؟
What is the nature of this question?
لم يشرح ماهية المشكلة.
He did not explain the nature of the problem.
تختلف ماهية العمل من شركة إلى أخرى.
The nature of the work differs from one company to another.
يناقش الفلاسفة ماهية الوجود منذ قرون.
Philosophers have discussed the essence of existence for centuries.
تسعى الميتافيزيقا إلى الكشف عن ماهية الأشياء في ذاتها.
Metaphysics seeks to uncover the essence of things in themselves.
لا يمكن اختزال ماهية الوعي الإنساني إلى مجرد عمليات فيزيائية عصبية.
The essence of human consciousness cannot be reduced to mere physical neural processes.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ماهِيَّةٌ | ماهِيَّاتٌ |
| Genitive | ماهِيَّةٍ | ماهِيَّاتٍ |
| Accusative | ماهِيَّةً | ماهِيَّاتٍ |
| Vocative | ماهِيَّةُ | ماهِيَّاتُ |
Word family
Etymology
The word is built directly from the Arabic interrogative ما ("what") plus the nisba suffix ية, which turns an idea into an abstract noun. Grammarians trace it to the phrase ما هو ("what is it") compressed into a single word meaning "whatness." Medieval Arabic philosophers coined it to render Aristotle's technical term for essence, working through earlier Syriac translations, much as Latin scholars later built quidditas from quid ("what"). It is a native Semitic formation, not a borrowing.
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