أب

See also: اب, آب, ات, آپ, and آت

Arabic

Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *ʔabw-, from the root ء ب و (ʔ-b-w). Cognate with Hebrew אב ('áv). Compare Italian babbo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔab/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

أَب • (ʔab) m (construct state أَبُو (ʔabū), dual أَبَوَانِ (ʔabawāni), plural آبَاء (ʔābāʔ))

1. father
2. ancestor, forefather

Usage notes

• This word has the irregular vocative forms أَبَتَ (ʔabata) and أَبَتِ (ʔabati).

Declension

Declension of noun أَب (ʔab)

Singular	singular long construct
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَب ʔab	الْأَب al-ʔab	أَبُو ʔabū
Nominative	أَبٌ ʔabun	الْأَبُ al-ʔabu	أَبُو ʔabū
Accusative	أَبًا ʔaban	الْأَبَ al-ʔaba	أَبَا ʔabā
Genitive	أَبٍ ʔabin	الْأَبِ al-ʔabi	أَبِي ʔabī
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَبَوَيْن‎; أَبَيْن ʔabawayn‎; ʔabayn	الْأَبَوَيْن‎; الْأَبَيْن al-ʔabawayn‎; al-ʔabayn	أَبَوَيْ‎; أَبَيْ ʔabaway‎; ʔabay
Nominative	أَبَوَانِ‎; أَبَانِ ʔabawāni‎; ʔabāni	الْأَبَوَانِ‎; الْأَبَانِ al-ʔabawāni‎; al-ʔabāni	أَبَوَا‎; أَبَا ʔabawā‎; ʔabā
Accusative	أَبَوَيْنِ‎; أَبَيْنِ ʔabawayni‎; ʔabayni	الْأَبَوَيْنِ‎; الْأَبَيْنِ al-ʔabawayni‎; al-ʔabayni	أَبَوَيْ‎; أَبَيْ ʔabaway‎; ʔabay
Genitive	أَبَوَيْنِ‎; أَبَيْنِ ʔabawayni‎; ʔabayni	الْأَبَوَيْنِ‎; الْأَبَيْنِ al-ʔabawayni‎; al-ʔabayni	أَبَوَيْ‎; أَبَيْ ʔabaway‎; ʔabay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	آبَاء ʔābāʔ	الْآبَاء al-ʔābāʔ	آبَاء ʔābāʔ
Nominative	آبَاءٌ ʔābāʔun	الْآبَاءُ al-ʔābāʔu	آبَاءُ ʔābāʔu
Accusative	آبَاءً ʔābāʔan	الْآبَاءَ al-ʔābāʔa	آبَاءَ ʔābāʔa
Genitive	آبَاءٍ ʔābāʔin	الْآبَاءِ al-ʔābāʔi	آبَاءِ ʔābāʔi

Synonyms

• (father): وَالِد (wālid)

Coordinate terms

• (father): أُمّ (ʔumm, “mother”)

Descendants

• → Proto-Abkhaz-Abaza: *abá
  • Abaza: аба (aba)
  • Abkhaz: аб (ab)
• → Assamese: আব্বা (abba)
• → Bengali: আব্বা (abba)
• → Urdu: ابو (abbū)
• → Maltese: bu (“construct state, only used in some surnames and place names”)
• → Rohingya: abba
• → Swahili: bwana, (abbreviation) Bw.
  • → Chichewa: bwana
  • → English: bwana
• → Ottoman Turkish: اب (eb)
• → Ottoman Turkish: ابوین (from dual أَبَوَيْن)
  • Turkish: ebeveyn
• → Medieval Latin: borago, borrāgō
  • Italian: borragine, borraggine
  • Old French: borage
    • French: bourrache
    • → English: borage
    • → Irish: borráiste
  • Old Occitan:
    • Catalan: borratja
      • → Spanish: borraja
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: *borragẽ
    • Galician: borraxe
    • Portuguese: borragem
  • Sicilian: vurràjina
  • → Bulgarian: пореч (poreč)
  • → Middle Dutch: borage
    • Dutch: bernagie
  • → Greek: μποράγο (borágo)
  • → Polish: burak
    • → Belarusian: бура́к (burák)
    • → Russian: буря́к (burják)
    • → Ukrainian: буря́к (burják)
    • → Yiddish: בוריק (burik)
  • → Middle Low German: boragie, borraghe
  • → Middle High German: boretsch, buretsch
    • German: Borretsch
  • → Slovak: borága
• ⇒ Arabic: أَبُو حِبَاب (ʔabū ḥibāb, “father of many seeds”)
  • → Medieval Latin: bahobab
    • → Armenian: բաոբաբ (baobab)
    • → Danish: baobab
    • → Dutch: baobab
    • → English: baobab
      • → Japanese: バオバブ (baobabu)
    • → French: baobab
      • Mauritian Creole: baobab
      • → Vietnamese: bao báp
    • → Italian: baobab
    • → Polish: baobab
    • → Portuguese: baobá
    • → Russian: баобаб (baobab)
    • → Spanish: baobab
• ⇒ Arabic: أَبُو المِسْك (ʔabū l-misk, “father of musk”)
  • → Italian: abelmosch
    • → New Latin: abelmoschus
      • → Dutch: abelmos
      • → English: abelmosk
      • → Portuguese: abelmosco
      • → Spanish: abelmosco
        • → Italian: abelmosco
        • → Norwegian Bokmål: abelmoskus

See also

• (nouns with long construct singular) الْأَسْمَاء السِّتَّة (al-ʔasmāʔ as-sitta); أَب (ʔab), أَخ (ʔaḵ), حَم (ḥam), فَم (fam), ذُو (ḏū), هَن (han) ^{(Category: Arabic nouns with long construct singular)}

Etymology 2

Verb

أُبْ • (ʔub) (form I) /ʔub/

1. second-person masculine singular imperative of آبَ (ʔāba)

Further reading

• Lane, Edward William (1863) “أب”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[1], London: Williams & Norgate, pages 3, 10–11
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1904) Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎^[2] (in German), Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner, pages 69–72 (for etymology of the vocative forms)
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “أبو”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, pages 2–3

Karakhanid

Etymology

Inherited from Common Turkic *ap. Cognate with Old Uyghur [script needed] (ap).

Conjunction

أَبْ (ap)

1. not, neither, nor

   اَبْ بُو اَبْ اُولْ ― Ap bū ap ol. ― Neither this nor that.

Further reading

• al-Kashgarî, Mahmud (1072–1074) Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the “Compendium of the languages of the Turks”] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, volume I, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurmu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, page 34
• al-Kashgarî, Mahmud (1072–1074) Ercilasun, Ahmet B., Akkoyunlu Ziyat, transl., Kâşgarlı Mahmud Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Giriş - Metin - Çeviri - Notlar - Dizin [Mahmud al-Kashgari's “Compendium of the languages of the Turks” Introduction - Texts - Translation - Notes - Index] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 1120) (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurmu Basımevi, published 2020, →ISBN, page 15

North Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَب (ʔab).

Noun

أب • (ʔabb) m (construct state أبو (ʔabu), plural أبات (ʔabbāt) or أبهات (ʔabbahāt) or أبوات (ʔabbawāt))

1. (Syria) father

   Synonym: بي (bayy) (Lebanon)

   Coordinate term: إم (ʔimm, “mother”)

Usage notes

• When a suffix pronoun is added, either أب (ʔab-) or the construct form is used, e.g. أبي / أبوي (ʔabi / ʔabūy, “my father”).

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَب (ʔab).

Noun

أبّ • (ʔabb) m (construct state أبو (ʔabu), plural أبّهات (ʔabbahāt))

1. Alternative form of أبو (ʔabu, “father”)