Learn Arabic › B1 › وَكَى
وَكَى
to tie shut (a waterskin); to fasten the mouth of a container with a cord /waˈkaː/
verbB1#1432 most common
Also: to fasten the mouth of a waterskin, to bind shut with a cord, to secure (a skin or sack)
Example sentences
وَكَى الرَّجُلُ القِرْبَةَ.
The man tied the waterskin shut.
وَكَيْتُ السِّقَاءَ قَبْلَ السَّفَرِ.
I tied the waterskin shut before the journey.
تَكِي أُمِّي كِيسَ الدَّقِيقِ كَيْ لَا يَنْسَكِبَ.
My mother ties the flour sack shut so it does not spill.
لَنْ أَكِيَ القِرْبَةَ حَتَّى أَمْلَأَهَا بِالْمَاءِ.
I will not tie the waterskin shut until I fill it with water.
قَالَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ: مَنْ وَكَى سِقَاءَهُ حَفِظَ مَاءَهُ مِنَ الضَّيَاعِ.
The bedouin said: whoever ties his waterskin shut keeps his water from being lost.
فِي الأَثَرِ أَنَّ العَيْنَ وِكَاءُ السَّهِ، فَمَنْ نَامَ انْحَلَّ مَا وَكَى.
It is reported that the eye is the binding of the body's lower opening, so whoever sleeps, what he tied comes undone.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَكِي | وَكَيْتُ | سَأَكِي |
| 2sg | تَكِي | وَكَيْتَ | سَتَكِي |
| 3sg | يَكِي | وَكَى | سَيَكِي |
| 1pl | نَكِي | وَكَيْنَا | سَنَكِي |
| 2pl | تَكُونَ | وَكَيْتُمْ | سَتَكُونَ |
| 3pl | يَكُونَ | وَكَوْا | سَيَكُونَ |
Word family
وِكَاءcord for tying a waterskin's mouth
أَوْكَىto tie up tightly, fasten the mouth of a skin
وَكْيthe act of tying shut
مَوْكِيّtied shut, fastened
Etymology
وَكَى comes from the Semitic triliteral root و-ك-ي, with the sense of binding or fastening. In classical Arabic it names a specific act: tying the mouth of a waterskin or sack with a cord. The cord itself is the وِكَاء. The verb is rare in modern speech and survives mainly in proverbs, hadith, and older texts.
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