Learn Arabic › A1 › مَعْذِرَة
مَعْذِرَة
excuse /ˈmaʕðira/
nounA1#545 most common
Also: apology, pardon, excuse me
Example sentences
مَعْذِرَة، أَيْنَ الْمَحَطَّة؟
Excuse me, where is the station?
مَعْذِرَة، لَمْ أَفْهَمْ كَلامَكَ.
Sorry, I did not understand what you said.
قَدَّمَ لِي مَعْذِرَةً عَنْ تَأَخُّرِهِ.
He gave me an excuse for his lateness.
لَنْ أَقْبَلَ أَيَّ مَعْذِرَةٍ بَعْدَ الْيَوْمِ.
I will not accept any excuse after today.
مَعْذِرَةً إِنْ بَدَوْتُ قَاسِيًا، فَلَمْ أَقْصِدْ ذَلِكَ.
Forgive me if I seemed harsh, I did not mean it.
الْتَمَسَ لِنَفْسِهِ مَعْذِرَةً، لَكِنَّ الْوَقَائِعَ كَانَتْ ضِدَّهُ.
He sought an excuse for himself, but the facts were against him.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | مَعْذِرَةٌ | مَعَاذِرُ |
| Genitive | مَعْذِرَةٍ | مَعَاذِرَ |
| Accusative | مَعْذِرَةً | مَعَاذِرَ |
| Vocative | يَا مَعْذِرَةُ | يَا مَعَاذِرُ |
Word family
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic triliteral root ع-ذ-ر (ʿ-dh-r), which carries the sense of excusing or pardoning. A mīm prefix forms a verbal noun on the pattern maf'ila, so the word names the act or the plea of excusing. The same root gives عُذْر (an excuse) and اِعْتَذَرَ (to apologize). Arabic belongs to the Semitic family, so the word has no Proto-Indo-European root.
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