Learn Arabic › B2 › مَسَك
مَسَك
to hold, grasp /maˈsaka/
verbB2#3685 most common
Also: to seize, to grasp firmly, to catch
Example sentences
مَسَكَتِ البنتُ القلمَ.
The girl held the pen.
مَسَكْتُ يدَ صديقي وأنا خائفٌ.
I held my friend's hand while I was afraid.
يَمْسُكُ الصيادُ الشبكةَ بقوةٍ.
The fisherman holds the net firmly.
امْسُكْ هذا الكتابَ جيدًا حتى لا يسقطَ.
Hold this book well so it doesn't fall.
لو مَسَكْتَ الحبلَ بإحكامٍ لما انزلقتَ.
If you had held the rope tightly, you wouldn't have slipped.
بينما كان يَمْسُكُ بزمامِ الأمورِ، ظلَّ الآخرون يتخبطون في قراراتهم المتسرعة.
While he held the reins of affairs, the others kept floundering in their hasty decisions.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَمْسُكُ | مَسَكْتُ | سَأَمْسُكُ |
| 2sg | تَمْسُكُ | مَسَكْتَ | سَتَمْسُكُ |
| 3sg | يَمْسُكُ | مَسَكَ | سَيَمْسُكُ |
| 1pl | نَمْسُكُ | مَسَكْنَا | سَنَمْسُكُ |
| 2pl | تَمْسُكُونَ | مَسَكْتُمْ | سَتَمْسُكُونَ |
| 3pl | يَمْسُكُونَ | مَسَكُوا | سَيَمْسُكُونَ |
Word family
مُمْسِكone who holds; stingy (colloquial)
إِمْسَاكrestraint, holding back; constipation
تَمَاسُكcohesion, coherence, composure
مِمْسَاكa device for gripping, such as a clip
ماسِكholder, one who grips
Etymology
The root m-s-k is a common Semitic triliteral meaning to hold or seize. It appears across the Semitic family with related but shifted senses, such as the Hebrew cognate meaning to draw or pull. Arabic uses this root productively across several verb patterns, from the plain sense of holding to derived stems meaning to cling or to restrain. As a Semitic root, it has no Proto-Indo-European ancestor.
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