Learn Arabic › B2 › مِحَكّ
مِحَكّ
touchstone (a test or criterion by which something is judged) /mɪˈħakː/
nounB2#3487 most common
Also: criterion, benchmark, litmus test
Example sentences
الصِّدْقُ مِحَكٌّ.
Honesty is a touchstone.
النَّجاحُ مِحَكُّ الجُهْدِ.
Success is the test of effort.
تَعْتَبِرُ الشَّرِكَةُ المُقَابَلَةَ مِحَكًّا لِقُدُرَاتِ المُتَقَدِّمِينَ.
The company treats the interview as a test of the applicants' abilities.
الأَزْمَاتُ مِحَكٌّ حَقِيقِيٌّ لِمَعْدِنِ الإِنْسَانِ.
Crises are a real touchstone for a person's true character.
وَضَعَ الِاقْتِصَادِيُّونَ عِدَّةَ مَحَكَّاتٍ لِقِيَاسِ نَجَاحِ السِّيَاسَةِ الجَدِيدَةِ.
The economists set several criteria to measure the success of the new policy.
يَبْقَى الوَفَاءُ فِي أَوْقَاتِ الشِّدَّةِ المِحَكَّ الَّذِي تُقَاسُ بِهِ صِدْقُ العَلَاقَاتِ الإِنْسَانِيَّةِ.
Loyalty in hard times remains the touchstone by which the sincerity of human relationships is measured.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | مِحَكٌّ | مِحَكّاتٌ |
| Genitive | مِحَكٍّ | مِحَكّاتٍ |
| Accusative | مِحَكًّا | مِحَكّاتٍ |
| Vocative | يا مِحَكُّ | يا مِحَكّاتُ |
Word family
حَكَّto rub, scratch
حِكَّةan itch
اِحْتِكاكfriction, contact
حاكّrubbing, itchy
Etymology
مِحَكّ comes from the triliteral root ح-ك-ك (ḥakka), meaning to rub, scratch, or grate. The م prefix and vowel pattern form an instrument noun, so the word literally names a thing used for rubbing. That sense narrowed to the touchstone, a hard black stone jewelers rubbed gold or silver against to judge its purity from the streak left behind. From there the word moved into figurative use for any test or criterion that reveals true worth.
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