حيلة

See also: حیله

Arabic

Root
ح و ل (ḥ-w-l)

Etymology

Compare حَاوَلَ (ḥāwala, “to try, to deceive by artifice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ħiː.la/

Noun

حِيلَة • (ḥīla) f (plural حِيَل (ḥiyal) or حِيلَات (ḥīlāt))

1. trick, artifice, maneuver
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 4:98:

     إِلَّا ٱلْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ وَٱلنِّسَاءِ وَٱلْوِلْدَانِ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ حِيلَةً وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ سَبِيلًا

     ʔillā l-mustaḍʕafīna mina r-rijāli wan-nisāʔi wal-wildāni lā yastaṭīʕūna ḥīlatan walā yahtadūna sabīlan

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. shift
3. means to an end
4. dodge

Declension

Declension of noun حِيلَة (ḥīla)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حِيلَة ḥīla	الْحِيلَة al-ḥīla	حِيلَة ḥīlat
Nominative	حِيلَةٌ ḥīlatun	الْحِيلَةُ al-ḥīlatu	حِيلَةُ ḥīlatu
Accusative	حِيلَةً ḥīlatan	الْحِيلَةَ al-ḥīlata	حِيلَةَ ḥīlata
Genitive	حِيلَةٍ ḥīlatin	الْحِيلَةِ al-ḥīlati	حِيلَةِ ḥīlati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حِيلَتَيْن ḥīlatayn	الْحِيلَتَيْن al-ḥīlatayn	حِيلَتَيْ ḥīlatay
Nominative	حِيلَتَانِ ḥīlatāni	الْحِيلَتَانِ al-ḥīlatāni	حِيلَتَا ḥīlatā
Accusative	حِيلَتَيْنِ ḥīlatayni	الْحِيلَتَيْنِ al-ḥīlatayni	حِيلَتَيْ ḥīlatay
Genitive	حِيلَتَيْنِ ḥīlatayni	الْحِيلَتَيْنِ al-ḥīlatayni	حِيلَتَيْ ḥīlatay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote‎; sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حِيَل‎; حِيلَات ḥiyal‎; ḥīlāt	الْحِيَل‎; الْحِيلَات al-ḥiyal‎; al-ḥīlāt	حِيَل‎; حِيلَات ḥiyal‎; ḥīlāt
Nominative	حِيَلٌ‎; حِيلَاتٌ ḥiyalun‎; ḥīlātun	الْحِيَلُ‎; الْحِيلَاتُ al-ḥiyalu‎; al-ḥīlātu	حِيَلُ‎; حِيلَاتُ ḥiyalu‎; ḥīlātu
Accusative	حِيَلًا‎; حِيلَاتٍ ḥiyalan‎; ḥīlātin	الْحِيَلَ‎; الْحِيلَاتِ al-ḥiyala‎; al-ḥīlāti	حِيَلَ‎; حِيلَاتِ ḥiyala‎; ḥīlāti
Genitive	حِيَلٍ‎; حِيلَاتٍ ḥiyalin‎; ḥīlātin	الْحِيَلِ‎; الْحِيلَاتِ al-ḥiyali‎; al-ḥīlāti	حِيَلِ‎; حِيلَاتِ ḥiyali‎; ḥīlāti

Descendants

• Maltese: ħila
• → Azerbaijani: hiylə
• → Kazakh: айла (aila)
• → Ottoman Turkish: حیله (hile)
  • Turkish: hile
• → Persian: حیله
• → Swahili: hila
• → Uyghur: ھىيلە (hiyle)
• → Uzbek: hiyla

References

• Wehr, Hans (1979) “حيلة”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN