Learn Arabic › B2 › والِي
والِي
governor (of a province) /ˈwaː.liː/
nounB2#3085 most common
Also: ruler, administrator, custodian/patron (classical sense)
Example sentences
هذا هو والي المدينة.
This is the governor of the city.
زار الوالي المدرسة أمس.
The governor visited the school yesterday.
يعمل والي الإقليم على تحسين الخدمات.
The province's governor works to improve services.
اجتمع الوالي بوجهاء القبائل لمناقشة الأمن.
The governor met with tribal dignitaries to discuss security.
عُيِّن والٍ جديد على الولاية بعد استقالة سلفه.
A new governor was appointed over the province after his predecessor's resignation.
كان الولاة في العهد العثماني يمثلون السلطان في الأقاليم البعيدة.
Governors in the Ottoman era represented the sultan in distant provinces.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | والٍ / الوالي | وُلاة |
| Genitive | والٍ / الوالي | وُلاة |
| Accusative | واليًا / الواليَ | وُلاة |
| Vocative | يا والي | يا وُلاة |
Word family
وَلِيَto govern, take charge of
وَلِيّguardian, patron, saintوِلايةprovince; governorship, guardianship
تَوَلّىto take charge of, assume (a post)
مَوْلىmaster, patron, client
Etymology
Wali comes from the Arabic root w-l-y, whose core sense is to be next to something or to follow it directly, and by extension to take charge of it. The active-participle pattern fa'il turns the verb waliya, to govern or be in charge, into a noun for the person who governs: the one placed in direct charge. The same root gives Arabic its word for province, wilaya, and its word for a religious patron or saint, wali.
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