باب

Arabic

بَاب

Root
ب و ب (b w b)
5 terms

Etymology

Usually considered a borrowing from Aramaic בָּבָא (bāḇā, “gate”), from Akkadian 𒆍 (bābum, “gate”), particularly since the Arabs, living in tents, did not need doors. However, Hans Bauer considers all of these words native, explaining the formation as an ancient univerbation of etyma equivalent to Arabic بَاءَ (bāʔa) بِ (bi) “he has entered into (the house)”.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /baːb/
Audio: (file)

Noun

بَاب • (bāb) m (plural أَبْوَاب (ʔabwāb) or بِيبَان (bībān))

door, gate
opening, gateway
entrance
gullet, weasand
- c. 1200, يحيى بن محمد بن أحمد بن العوام [yaḥyā ibn muḥammad ibn ʔaḥmad ibn al-ʕawwām], edited by José Antonio Banqueri, كتاب الفلاحة [Book on Agriculture], volume 2, Madrid: Imprenta Real, published 1802^IA, Cap. 33, Art. 10, page 677 line 6:
  وقد تخرج للدابة من حنكها ويسمي التحنيك وصفة العمل في ذلك إذا أحنكت الدابة فأفتح لها من الدرجة الثالثة والرابعة ولا تفتح لها قرب الباب لأن الدم ربما عسر إمساكه فتلف الدابة.
  One may extract the blood from the jaw of a beast and it is called taḥnīk and the operation consists in that you have bound the beast with a chinstrap and now cut it open to the third or fourth degree but don’t open it close the throat as it may be difficult to contain the blood and the beast will succumb.
opportunity, a chance, opening
military tactic, maneuver, an opening to use a strategy
chapter, section, column
group, class, category
(astronomy) appearance of an astronomical body, a juncture, an opening to observe
(figurative) domain, field

Declension

Declension of noun بَاب (bāb)

Singular	basic singular triptote
Singular	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	بَاب bāb	الْبَاب al-bāb	بَاب bāb
Nominative	بَابٌ bābun	الْبَابُ al-bābu	بَابُ bābu
Accusative	بَابًا bāban	الْبَابَ al-bāba	بَابَ bāba
Genitive	بَابٍ bābin	الْبَابِ al-bābi	بَابِ bābi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	بَابَيْن bābayn	الْبَابَيْن al-bābayn	بَابَيْ bābay
Nominative	بَابَانِ bābāni	الْبَابَانِ al-bābāni	بَابَا bābā
Accusative	بَابَيْنِ bābayni	الْبَابَيْنِ al-bābayni	بَابَيْ bābay
Genitive	بَابَيْنِ bābayni	الْبَابَيْنِ al-bābayni	بَابَيْ bābay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
Plural	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَبْوَاب‎; بِيبَان ʔabwāb‎; bībān	الْأَبْوَاب‎; الْبِيبَان al-ʔabwāb‎; al-bībān	أَبْوَاب‎; بِيبَان ʔabwāb‎; bībān
Nominative	أَبْوَابٌ‎; بِيبَانٌ ʔabwābun‎; bībānun	الْأَبْوَابُ‎; الْبِيبَانُ al-ʔabwābu‎; al-bībānu	أَبْوَابُ‎; بِيبَانُ ʔabwābu‎; bībānu
Accusative	أَبْوَابًا‎; بِيبَانًا ʔabwāban‎; bībānan	الْأَبْوَابَ‎; الْبِيبَانَ al-ʔabwāba‎; al-bībāna	أَبْوَابَ‎; بِيبَانَ ʔabwāba‎; bībāna
Genitive	أَبْوَابٍ‎; بِيبَانٍ ʔabwābin‎; bībānin	الْأَبْوَابِ‎; الْبِيبَانِ al-ʔabwābi‎; al-bībāni	أَبْوَابِ‎; بِيبَانِ ʔabwābi‎; bībāni

Derived terms

مِنْ بَابِ أَوْلَى (min bābi ʔawlā)
مَقْبِض الْبَاب (maqbiḍ al-bāb, “doorknob”)
بَابَة (bāba)
بَوَّاب (bawwāb)
بَوَّابَة (bawwāba)
تَبْوِيب (tabwīb)
مُبَوَّب (mubawwab)

Descendants

Maltese: bieb
→ Middle Armenian: պապ (pap), բաբ (bab)
→ Malay: bab
- Indonesian: bab
→ Persian: باب
→ Ottoman Turkish: باب (bab)
- Turkish: bap
→ Turkmen: bap

References

Bauer, Hans (1935) “Etymologica II”, in Zeitschrift für Semitistik und verwandte Gebiete‎^[1] (in German), volume 10, page 165
Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 14
Freytag, Georg (1830) “باب”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[2] (in Latin), volume 1, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 170
Jeffery, Arthur (1938) The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (Gaekwad’s Oriental Series; 79), Baroda: Oriental Institute, page 74
Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884) “باب”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[3], London: W.H. Allen, page 101
Wehr, Hans (1979) “باب”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN
Zimmern, Heinrich (1915) Akkadische Fremdwörter als Beweis für babylonischen Kultureinfluss (in German), Leipzig: A. Edelmann, page 30

Egyptian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic بَاب (bāb).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈbæːb]

Noun

باب • (bāb) m (plural بيبان (bibā́n))

door

Malay

Adjective

باب (plural باب-باب or باب۲, informal 1st possessive بابکو, 2nd possessive بابمو, 3rd possessive بابڽ)

Jawi spelling of bab

Moroccan Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic بَاب (bāb).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /baːb/
Audio: (file)
Audio: (file)

Noun

باب • (bāb) m or f (plural بيبان (bībān) or بواب (bwāb))

door, gate

Persian

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [bɑːβ]

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [bɑːb]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [bɑːb]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [bɔːb̥]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [bɒːb̥]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [bɔb]

Readings
Classical reading^?	bāḇ
Dari reading^?	bāb
Iranian reading^?	bâb
Tajik reading^?	bob

Etymology 1

Adjective

باب • (bâb)

appropriate

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic بَاب (bāb).

Noun


Iranian Persian	باب
Dari	باب
Tajik	боб

باب • (bâb) (plural باب‌ها (bâb-hâ))

door
gate
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 3763:
  چون تو بابی آن مدینه‌‌ی علم را
  چون شعاعی آفتاب حلم را
  čōn tū bāb-ī ān madīna-i 'ilm rā
  čōn šu'ā'ī āftāb-i hilm rā
  Since thou art the gate of the city of Knowledge,
  since thou art the beams of the sun of Clemency
chapter

Proper noun

باب • (bâb)

the Báb

Synonyms

در (dar)

Related terms

بابی (bâbi)

Etymology 3

Noun

باب • (bâb)

(archaic) father

Etymology 4

Borrowed from English Bob.

Proper noun

باب • (bâb)

A transliteration of the English male given name diminutive Bob
― bâb esfanji ― SpongeBob

― bâb dilen ― Bob Dylan

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic بَاب (bāb).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /baːb/, [bæːb]
Audio (al-Lidd): (file)

Noun

باب • (bāb) m (plural بواب (bwāb))

door
gate
Synonym: بوابة (bawwābe)
entrance
Synonym: مدخل (madḵal)