Learn Arabic › B2 › نات
نات
to sway (to and fro) /ˈnaː.ta/
verbB2#3103 most common
Also: to totter, to swing, dangle
Example sentences
الغصنُ ناتَ في الريح.
The branch swayed in the wind.
ناتَ الرجلُ من التعب الشديد.
The man swayed from severe exhaustion.
كانت السفينةُ تَنُوتُ فوق الأمواج.
The ship was swaying atop the waves.
رأيتُ الحبلَ يَنُوتُ بين الشجرتين مع كل نسمة.
I saw the rope swinging between the two trees with every breeze.
ناتَ الشيخُ الهَرِمُ وهو يمشي متكئًا على عصاه.
The frail old man tottered as he walked, leaning on his cane.
وصف الشاعرُ السفينةَ وهي تَنُوتُ بين أمواجٍ متلاطمة كأنّ يدَ الريح تُرقّصها.
The poet described the ship swaying among crashing waves, as if the hand of the wind were making it dance.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَنُوتُ | نُتُّ | سَأَنُوتُ |
| 2sg | تَنُوتُ | نُتَّ | سَتَنُوتُ |
| 3sg | يَنُوتُ | ناتَ | سَيَنُوتُ |
| 1pl | نَنُوتُ | نُتْنا | سَنَنُوتُ |
| 2pl | تَنُوتُونَ | نُتُّم | سَتَنُوتُونَ |
| 3pl | يَنُوتُونَ | ناتوا | سَيَنُوتُونَ |
Word family
ناتَ / يَنُوتُto sway, swing to and fro
نَوْتa swaying or swinging motion
نائِتswaying, tottering (active participle)
نَوْتِيّsailor, mariner (traditional but disputed link to this root)
Etymology
نات is the third-person masculine singular past tense of the native Arabic hollow verb ناتَ, يَنُوتُ, from the triliteral root ن-و-ت. In hollow verbs the middle radical و surfaces as a long ا in the past tense, which is why the surface form looks like a simple three-letter word. Classical dictionaries such as Lisan al-Arab define it as swaying or tottering, the unsteady back-and-forth motion of something loosely hung or someone unsteady on their feet. As a Semitic root it has no Indo-European ancestor, and the resemblance to English words like nautical is coincidental rather than a shared origin.
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