Learn ArabicB2 › مَقام

مَقام

station, standing, or place /maˈqaːm/

nounB2#3126 most common

Also: shrine (of a saint), musical mode (maqam), rank, social standing

Example sentences

هذا مَقامٌ جميلٌ.
This is a beautiful place.
مَقامُ الوَلِيِّ قريبٌ مِن هنا.
The saint's shrine is near here.
لِكُلِّ إنسانٍ مَقامٌ في المُجتَمَعِ.
Every person has a standing in society.
يَحتَلُّ الأُستاذُ مَقامًا رَفيعًا بَينَ زُملائِهِ.
The professor holds a high standing among his colleagues.
غَنَّى المُطرِبُ عَلى مَقامِ الحِجازِ.
The singer sang in the Hijaz maqam, a musical mode.
لَيسَ هَذا مَقامَ الحَديثِ عَن تَفاصيلَ حَساسَةٍ.
This is not the occasion to speak of sensitive details.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeمَقامٌمَقاماتٌ
Genitiveمَقامٍمَقاماتٍ
Accusativeمَقامًامَقاماتٍ
Vocativeيا مَقامُيا مَقاماتُ

Word family

قامَto stand, rise
قَوْمpeople, nation
إقامةresidence, stay
قِيمَةvalue, worth
مُقيمresident, residing

Etymology

Maqām comes from the Semitic root q-w-m, meaning to stand or rise. Arabic builds it with the prefix mim, which forms nouns of place, giving the sense of a place where one stands. Over time the word widened from a literal spot to rank, occasion, a saint's shrine, and a mode in classical Arabic music.

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