أب

See also: اب‎, آب‎, ات‎, آپ‎, and آت‎

Arabic

Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *ʔabw-, from the root ء ب و‎ (ʾ-b-w)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔab/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

أَب • (ʾab) m (construct state أَبُو‎ (ʾabū), dual أَبَوَانِ‎ (ʾabawāni), plural آبَاء‎ (ʾābāʾ), feminine أُمّ‎ (ʾumm))

1. father
2. ancestor, forefather

Usage notes

• This word has the irregular vocative forms أَبَتَ‎ (ʾabata) and أَبَتِ‎ (ʾabati).

Declension

Declension of noun أَب (ʾab)

Singular	singular long construct
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَب ʾab	الْأَب‎ al-ʾab	أَبُو‎ ʾabū
Nominative	أَبٌ ʾabun	الْأَبُ‎ al-ʾabu	أَبُو‎ ʾabū
Accusative	أَبًا‎ ʾaban	الْأَبَ‎ al-ʾaba	أَبَا‎ ʾabā
Genitive	أَبٍ ʾabin	الْأَبِ‎ al-ʾabi	أَبِي‎ ʾabī
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَبَوَيْن‎‎; أَبَيْن‎ ʾabawayn‎; ʾabayn	الْأَبَوَيْن‎‎; الْأَبَيْن‎ al-ʾabawayn‎; al-ʾabayn	أَبَوَيْ‎‎; أَبَيْ‎ ʾabaway‎; ʾabay
Nominative	أَبَوَانِ‎‎; أَبَانِ‎ ʾabawāni‎; ʾabāni	الْأَبَوَانِ‎‎; الْأَبَانِ‎ al-ʾabawāni‎; al-ʾabāni	أَبَوَا‎‎; أَبَا‎ ʾabawā‎; ʾabā
Accusative	أَبَوَيْنِ‎‎; أَبَيْنِ‎ ʾabawayni‎; ʾabayni	الْأَبَوَيْنِ‎‎; الْأَبَيْنِ‎ al-ʾabawayni‎; al-ʾabayni	أَبَوَيْ‎‎; أَبَيْ‎ ʾabaway‎; ʾabay
Genitive	أَبَوَيْنِ‎‎; أَبَيْنِ‎ ʾabawayni‎; ʾabayni	الْأَبَوَيْنِ‎‎; الْأَبَيْنِ‎ al-ʾabawayni‎; al-ʾabayni	أَبَوَيْ‎‎; أَبَيْ‎ ʾabaway‎; ʾabay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	آبَاء‎ ʾābāʾ	الْآبَاء‎ al-ʾābāʾ	آبَاء‎ ʾābāʾ
Nominative	آبَاءٌ‎ ʾābāʾun	الْآبَاءُ‎ al-ʾābāʾu	آبَاءُ‎ ʾābāʾu
Accusative	آبَاءً‎ ʾābāʾan	الْآبَاءَ‎ al-ʾābāʾa	آبَاءَ‎ ʾābāʾa
Genitive	آبَاءٍ‎ ʾābāʾin	الْآبَاءِ‎ al-ʾābāʾi	آبَاءِ‎ ʾābāʾi

Synonyms

• (father): وَالِد‎ (wālid)

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
  • → 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: [Term?]
    • Catalan: borratja
      • → Spanish: borraja
  • Old 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 (ʾabū 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 (ʾabū 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-ʾasmāʾ as-sitta); أَب (ʾab), أَخ‎ (ʾaḵ), حَم‎ (ḥam), فَم‎ (fam), ذُو‎ (ḏū), هَن‎ (han) ^{(Category: Arabic nouns with long construct singular)}

Etymology 2

Verb

أُبْ • (ʾub) (form I)

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

Further reading

• Lane, Edward William (1863), “أب”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate, pages 3, 10–11
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1904) Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎^[1] (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

---

North Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَب‎ (ʾab).

Noun

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

1. (Syria) father

   Synonym: (Lebanon) بي‎ (bayy)

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”).

See also

• إم‎ (ʔimm, “mother”)

---

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَب‎ (ʾab).

Noun

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

1. father

   Synonym: (formal) والد‎ (wāled)

Usage notes

• When a suffix pronoun is added, the construct form is used, e.g. أبوي‎ (ʔabūy, “my father”).

See also

• بابا‎ (ḅāḅa, “dad”)
• إمّ‎ (ʔimm, “mother”)