Learn ArabicB1 › مَتْحَف

مَتْحَف

museum /ˈmatħaf/

nounB1#2544 most common

Example sentences

هذا مَتْحَف.
This is a museum.
أذهب إلى المتحف يوم الجمعة.
I go to the museum on Friday.
زرنا متحف الفن الإسلامي في القاهرة.
We visited the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo.
يضم المتحف مجموعة نادرة من القطع الأثرية.
The museum holds a rare collection of artifacts.
تم افتتاح المتحف الجديد بعد سنوات من الترميم.
The new museum opened after years of restoration.
أثارت المتاحف العالمية جدلاً واسعاً حول إعادة القطع الأثرية المنهوبة إلى بلدانها الأصلية.
World museums have stirred wide debate over returning looted artifacts to their countries of origin.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeمَتْحَفٌ (matḥafun)مَتَاحِفُ (matāhifu)
Genitiveمَتْحَفٍ (matḥafin)مَتَاحِفَ (matāhifa)
Accusativeمَتْحَفًا (matḥafan)مَتَاحِفَ (matāhifa)
Vocativeيَا مَتْحَفُ (yā matḥafu)يَا مَتَاحِفُ (yā matāhifu)

Word family

تحفة (tuḥfa)a masterpiece, a prized curio
تحف (tuḥaf)plural of tuḥfa, precious or rare objects
متاحف (matāhif)plural of matḥaf, museums
أتحف (atḥafa)to present someone with a precious gift, to regale
مُتحِف (mutḥif)delightful, entertaining

Etymology

Matḥaf comes from the Arabic root t-ḥ-f, the same root behind tuḥfa, a precious or rare object, a curio. The prefix mīm plus the pattern maf'al forms a noun of place, so the word literally builds to mean a place where precious objects are kept. Arabic language academies adopted it in the modern era to name the new institution of the museum, extending an old word for treasured curios to a new use.

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