Learn Arabic › B2 › مَكَث
مَكَث
to stay or remain in a place for a period of time /maˈkaθa/
verbB2#3145 most common
Also: to tarry, to dwell, to linger
Example sentences
مَكَثَ فِي البَيْتِ.
He stayed at home.
مَكَثْتُ سَاعَةً فِي المَكْتَبَةِ.
I stayed an hour in the library.
مَكَثَ الطُّلَّابُ فِي الصَّفِّ بَعْدَ انْتِهَاءِ الدَّرْسِ.
The students stayed in the classroom after the lesson ended.
مَكَثَتْ فِي المُسْتَشْفَى أُسْبُوعًا كَامِلًا بَعْدَ العَمَلِيَّةِ.
She stayed in the hospital a full week after the operation.
مَكَثَ النَّبِيُّ فِي الغَارِ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَعُودَ إِلَى مَكَّةَ.
The Prophet stayed in the cave for three nights before he returned to Mecca.
لَبِثَ يُوسُفُ فِي السِّجْنِ سِنِينَ، لَكِنَّهُ مَكَثَ صَابِرًا مُحْتَسِبًا حَتَّى فَرَّجَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.
Joseph remained in prison for years, but he stayed patient and trusting until God relieved him.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَمْكُثُ | مَكَثْتُ | سَأَمْكُثُ |
| 2sg | تَمْكُثُ | مَكَثْتَ | سَتَمْكُثُ |
| 3sg | يَمْكُثُ | مَكَثَ | سَيَمْكُثُ |
| 1pl | نَمْكُثُ | مَكَثْنَا | سَنَمْكُثُ |
| 2pl | تَمْكُثُونَ | مَكَثْتُمْ | سَتَمْكُثُونَ |
| 3pl | يَمْكُثُونَ | مَكَثُوا | سَيَمْكُثُونَ |
Word family
مُكْثa stay, a period of remaining somewhere
مَاكِثstaying, remaining, resident
تَمَكَّثَto linger, to tarry a while
مَكْثًاas a stay, used adverbially with duration phrases
Etymology
مَكَث comes from the native Arabic (Semitic) root m-k-th, meaning to stay or tarry in a place for some stretch of time. The word appears in classical texts and the Quran, often marking a fixed span of waiting or dwelling. Arabic is a Semitic language, so this root has no established link to Proto-Indo-European.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free