Learn Arabic › A1 › وَشْك
وَشْك
verge, brink (of doing something) /ˈwaʃk/
nounA1#674 most common
Also: imminence, the point of (doing something), swiftness
Example sentences
أَنَا عَلَى وَشْكِ النَّوْمِ.
I am about to sleep.
القِطَارُ عَلَى وَشْكِ الوُصُولِ.
The train is about to arrive.
كَانَتْ عَلَى وَشْكِ البُكَاءِ عِنْدَمَا سَمِعَتِ الخَبَرَ.
She was about to cry when she heard the news.
الشَّرِكَةُ عَلَى وَشْكِ الإِفْلَاسِ بِسَبَبِ الدُّيُونِ.
The company is on the verge of bankruptcy because of its debts.
شَعَرْتُ أَنَّ الحَرْبَ عَلَى وَشْكِ الِانْدِلَاعِ فِي تِلْكَ المِنْطَقَةِ المُتَوَتِّرَةِ.
I felt that war was on the verge of breaking out in that tense region.
عَلَى الرَّغْمِ مِنَ المُفَاوَضَاتِ، بَدَا الِاتِّفَاقُ عَلَى وَشْكِ الِانْهِيَارِ فِي اللَّحْظَةِ الأَخِيرَةِ.
Despite the negotiations, the agreement seemed on the verge of collapse at the last moment.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | وَشْكٌ | — |
| Genitive | وَشْكٍ | — |
| Accusative | وَشْكاً | — |
| Vocative | يا وَشْكُ | — |
Word family
وَشِيكimminent, impending
أَوْشَكَto be about to, to be on the verge of
عَلَى وَشْكabout to, on the verge of
وَشْكَانhaste, swiftness
Etymology
The noun comes from the triliteral root w-sh-k, which carries the sense of speed and nearness in time. The classical verb wašuka meant to be swift or to be imminent. The word now lives almost entirely inside the fixed phrase ʿalā washk, meaning on the verge of.
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