Learn Arabic › B2 › وَكَّس
وَكَّس
to shortchange (someone), to cause them a loss or give them less than their fair due /wakˈkasa/
verbB2#3834 most common
Also: to underpay someone unfairly, to cheat someone in a price or deal, to diminish someone's due
Example sentences
هُوَ وَكَّسَ صَدِيقَهُ فِي الثَّمَنِ.
He shortchanged his friend on the price.
لَا تُوَكِّسِ العَامِلَ أَجْرَهُ.
Don't shortchange the worker his wage.
وَكَّسَ البَائِعُ الزَّبُونَ عِنْدَمَا أَعْطَاهُ البَاقِيَ نَاقِصًا.
The seller shortchanged the customer when he gave him less change than he owed.
اتُّهِمَ التَّاجِرُ بِأَنَّهُ وَكَّسَ الفَلَّاحِينَ فِي أَسْعَارِ مَحَاصِيلِهِمْ.
The merchant was accused of shortchanging the farmers on the prices of their crops.
نَصَّ الفُقَهَاءُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يُوَكَّسَ أَحَدُ الزَّوْجَيْنِ فِي تَقْدِيرِ المَهْرِ.
Jurists ruled that neither spouse may be shortchanged in the assessment of the dowry.
وَرَدَ فِي كُتُبِ الفِقْهِ القَدِيمَةِ تَحْذِيرٌ مِنْ أَنْ يُوَكِّسَ الوَصِيُّ اليَتِيمَ فِي حَقِّهِ مِنَ المِيرَاثِ طَمَعًا فِي المَالِ.
Old jurisprudence texts warn against a guardian shortchanging an orphan of his right to inheritance out of greed for money.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أُوَكِّسُ | وَكَّسْتُ | سَأُوَكِّسُ |
| 2sg | تُوَكِّسُ | وَكَّسْتَ | سَتُوَكِّسُ |
| 3sg | يُوَكِّسُ | وَكَّسَ | سَيُوَكِّسُ |
| 1pl | نُوَكِّسُ | وَكَّسْنَا | سَنُوَكِّسُ |
| 2pl | تُوَكِّسُونَ | وَكَّسْتُمْ | سَتُوَكِّسُونَ |
| 3pl | يُوَكِّسُونَ | وَكَّسُوا | سَيُوَكِّسُونَ |
Word family
وَكْسloss or deficiency suffered in a deal
تَوْكِيسthe act of shortchanging someone
مُوَكِّسone who shortchanges another
مُوَكَّسshortchanged, cheated of one's due
Etymology
The verb comes from the triliteral Arabic root w-k-s, which carries the sense of decrease, deficiency, or loss, especially in a trade or bargain. The base form wakasa means to suffer or incur a loss. Doubling the middle radical produces the Form II verb wakkasa, a causative meaning to make someone else suffer that loss, that is, to shortchange them. The root and its noun waks appear in classical legal texts discussing fair pricing, wages, and dowries.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free