شمال

Arabic

Etymology 1

Diachronically from Proto-Semitic *śimāl-, synchronically from ش م ل‎ (š-m-l). Cognate with Hebrew שְׂמֹאל‎ (səmōl, “left”), Akkadian 𒆏 (šumēlum, “left side”), Aramaic סְמָלָא‎ (səmālā) / ܣܡܠܐ‎ (semmālā, “left side”), Coptic ϣⲙⲟⲩⲗ (šmoul), Ugaritic 𐎌𐎎𐎀𐎍 (šmảl). The north sense derives from the left-hand side facing the sunrise, also attested in Sabaean 𐩠𐩦𐩱𐩣𐩡‎ (hs²ʾml, “to be northward”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃi.maːl/

Noun

شِمَال • (šimāl) f (plural أَشْمُل‎ (ʾašmul) or شَمَائِل‎ (šamāʾil) or شُمُل‎ (šumul))

1. left hand
2. left side
3. bad omen
4. handful of ears

Declension

Declension of noun شِمَال (šimāl)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شِمَال šimāl	الشِّمَال‎ aš-šimāl	شِمَال šimāl
Nominative	شِمَالٌ šimālun	الشِّمَالُ‎ aš-šimālu	شِمَالُ šimālu
Accusative	شِمَالًا‎ šimālan	الشِّمَالَ‎ aš-šimāla	شِمَالَ šimāla
Genitive	شِمَالٍ šimālin	الشِّمَالِ‎ aš-šimāli	شِمَالِ šimāli
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شِمَالَيْن‎ šimālayn	الشِّمَالَيْن‎ aš-šimālayn	شِمَالَيْ‎ šimālay
Nominative	شِمَالَانِ‎ šimālāni	الشِّمَالَانِ‎ aš-šimālāni	شِمَالَا‎ šimālā
Accusative	شِمَالَيْنِ‎ šimālayni	الشِّمَالَيْنِ‎ aš-šimālayni	شِمَالَيْ‎ šimālay
Genitive	شِمَالَيْنِ‎ šimālayni	الشِّمَالَيْنِ‎ aš-šimālayni	شِمَالَيْ‎ šimālay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote‎; basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَشْمُل‎‎; شَمَائِل‎‎; شُمُل‎ ʾašmul‎; šamāʾil‎; šumul	الْأَشْمُل‎‎; الشَّمَائِل‎‎; الشُّمُل‎ al-ʾašmul‎; aš-šamāʾil‎; aš-šumul	أَشْمُل‎‎; شَمَائِل‎‎; شُمُل‎ ʾašmul‎; šamāʾil‎; šumul
Nominative	أَشْمُلٌ‎‎; شَمَائِلُ‎‎; شُمُلٌ‎ ʾašmulun‎; šamāʾilu‎; šumulun	الْأَشْمُلُ‎‎; الشَّمَائِلُ‎‎; الشُّمُلُ‎ al-ʾašmulu‎; aš-šamāʾilu‎; aš-šumulu	أَشْمُلُ‎‎; شَمَائِلُ‎‎; شُمُلُ‎ ʾašmulu‎; šamāʾilu‎; šumulu
Accusative	أَشْمُلًا‎‎; شَمَائِلَ‎‎; شُمُلًا‎ ʾašmulan‎; šamāʾila‎; šumulan	الْأَشْمُلَ‎‎; الشَّمَائِلَ‎‎; الشُّمُلَ‎ al-ʾašmula‎; aš-šamāʾila‎; aš-šumula	أَشْمُلَ‎‎; شَمَائِلَ‎‎; شُمُلَ‎ ʾašmula‎; šamāʾila‎; šumula
Genitive	أَشْمُلٍ‎‎; شَمَائِلَ‎‎; شُمُلٍ‎ ʾašmulin‎; šamāʾila‎; šumulin	الْأَشْمُلِ‎‎; الشَّمَائِلِ‎‎; الشُّمُلِ‎ al-ʾašmuli‎; aš-šamāʾili‎; aš-šumuli	أَشْمُلِ‎‎; شَمَائِلِ‎‎; شُمُلِ‎ ʾašmuli‎; šamāʾili‎; šumuli

Synonyms

• يَسَار‎ (yasār)

Antonyms

• يَمِين‎ (yamīn)

References

• Lane, Edward William (1863), “شمال”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884), “شمال”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[1], London: W.H. Allen
• “Proto-Semitic Root: *ŝimaʔl-; Number 2218” in Georgiy Starostin, Tower of Babel, Copyright 1998-2003 by S. Starostin.

Etymology 2

From the root ش م ل‎ (š-m-l) meaning “to bundle, “to wrap”, “to huddle”, “to be cold” – such senses are influenced by the cold-dry northerly wind necessitating wrapping up with clothes.

Noun

شِمَال • (šimāl) m (plural شَمَائِل‎ (šamāʾil))

1. case, sheath, wrapping

Declension

Declension of noun شِمَال (šimāl)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شِمَال šimāl	الشِّمَال‎ aš-šimāl	شِمَال šimāl
Nominative	شِمَالٌ šimālun	الشِّمَالُ‎ aš-šimālu	شِمَالُ šimālu
Accusative	شِمَالًا‎ šimālan	الشِّمَالَ‎ aš-šimāla	شِمَالَ šimāla
Genitive	شِمَالٍ šimālin	الشِّمَالِ‎ aš-šimāli	شِمَالِ šimāli
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شِمَالَيْن‎ šimālayn	الشِّمَالَيْن‎ aš-šimālayn	شِمَالَيْ‎ šimālay
Nominative	شِمَالَانِ‎ šimālāni	الشِّمَالَانِ‎ aš-šimālāni	شِمَالَا‎ šimālā
Accusative	شِمَالَيْنِ‎ šimālayni	الشِّمَالَيْنِ‎ aš-šimālayni	شِمَالَيْ‎ šimālay
Genitive	شِمَالَيْنِ‎ šimālayni	الشِّمَالَيْنِ‎ aš-šimālayni	شِمَالَيْ‎ šimālay
Plural	basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شَمَائِل‎ šamāʾil	الشَّمَائِل‎ aš-šamāʾil	شَمَائِل‎ šamāʾil
Nominative	شَمَائِلُ‎ šamāʾilu	الشَّمَائِلُ‎ aš-šamāʾilu	شَمَائِلُ‎ šamāʾilu
Accusative	شَمَائِلَ‎ šamāʾila	الشَّمَائِلَ‎ aš-šamāʾila	شَمَائِلَ‎ šamāʾila
Genitive	شَمَائِلَ‎ šamāʾila	الشَّمَائِلِ‎ aš-šamāʾili	شَمَائِلِ‎ šamāʾili

References

• Lane, Edward William (1863), “شمال”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884), “شمال”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[2], London: W.H. Allen

Etymology 3

From the root ش م ل‎ (š-m-l) meaning “to be leftward” – the north direction being the left-hand side facing the sunrise. Additionally it is relatable to the root meaning “to bundle” or “to wrap”, as the cold northern wind necessitated wrapping up with clothes, contrasting with جَنُوب‎ (janūb, “south”) from the root ج ن ب‎ (j-n-b) meaning “changing”, “laying aside” clothes, the warm southern wind allowing to put off clothes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.maːl/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

شَمَال • (šamāl) m

1. north

Declension

Declension of noun شَمَال (šamāl)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شَمَال šamāl	الشَّمَال‎ aš-šamāl	شَمَال šamāl
Nominative	شَمَالٌ šamālun	الشَّمَالُ‎ aš-šamālu	شَمَالُ šamālu
Accusative	شَمَالًا‎ šamālan	الشَّمَالَ‎ aš-šamāla	شَمَالَ šamāla
Genitive	شَمَالٍ šamālin	الشَّمَالِ‎ aš-šamāli	شَمَالِ šamāli

Coordinate terms

• (compass points) اِتِّجَاهَات الْبَوْصَلَةِ‎ (ittijāhāt al-bawṣalati);

شَمَال غَرْبِيّ‎ (šamāl ḡarbiyy)	شَمَال (šamāl)	شَمَال شَرْقِيّ‎ (šamāl šarqiyy)
غَرْب‎ (ḡarb)		شَرْق‎ (šarq)
جَنُوب غَرْبِيّ‎ (janūb ḡarbiyy)	جَنُوب‎ (janūb)	جَنُوب شَرْقِيّ‎ (janūb šarqiyy)

Noun

شَمَال • (šamāl) f (plural شَمَالَات‎ (šamālāt))

1. north wind

Declension

Declension of noun شَمَال (šamāl)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شَمَال šamāl	الشَّمَال‎ aš-šamāl	شَمَال šamāl
Nominative	شَمَالٌ šamālun	الشَّمَالُ‎ aš-šamālu	شَمَالُ šamālu
Accusative	شَمَالًا‎ šamālan	الشَّمَالَ‎ aš-šamāla	شَمَالَ šamāla
Genitive	شَمَالٍ šamālin	الشَّمَالِ‎ aš-šamāli	شَمَالِ šamāli
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شَمَالَيْن‎ šamālayn	الشَّمَالَيْن‎ aš-šamālayn	شَمَالَيْ‎ šamālay
Nominative	شَمَالَانِ‎ šamālāni	الشَّمَالَانِ‎ aš-šamālāni	شَمَالَا‎ šamālā
Accusative	شَمَالَيْنِ‎ šamālayni	الشَّمَالَيْنِ‎ aš-šamālayni	شَمَالَيْ‎ šamālay
Genitive	شَمَالَيْنِ‎ šamālayni	الشَّمَالَيْنِ‎ aš-šamālayni	شَمَالَيْ‎ šamālay
Plural	sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	شَمَالَات‎ šamālāt	الشَّمَالَات‎ aš-šamālāt	شَمَالَات‎ šamālāt
Nominative	شَمَالَاتٌ‎ šamālātun	الشَّمَالَاتُ‎ aš-šamālātu	شَمَالَاتُ‎ šamālātu
Accusative	شَمَالَاتٍ‎ šamālātin	الشَّمَالَاتِ‎ aš-šamālāti	شَمَالَاتِ‎ šamālāti
Genitive	شَمَالَاتٍ‎ šamālātin	الشَّمَالَاتِ‎ aš-šamālāti	شَمَالَاتِ‎ šamālāti

References

• Lane, Edward William (1863), “شمال”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884), “شمال”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[3], London: W.H. Allen
• Wehr, Hans (1979), “شمل”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

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Chagatai

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic شَمَال‎ (šamāl).

Noun

شمال (šemal)

1. wind

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Moroccan Arabic

Root
ش م ل‎
1 term

Etymology 1

From Arabic شَمَال‎ (šamāl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.maːl/

Noun

شمال • (šamāl) m

1. north

Derived terms

• شمالي‎ (šamāli, “northern”)

See also

(compass points)

	شمال
غرب‎		شرق‎
	جنوب‎

Etymology 2

From Arabic شِمَال‎ (šimāl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃmaːl/

Noun

شمال • (šmāl) m

1. left

Derived terms

• شمالي‎ (šmāli, “left-handed”)

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Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic شَمَال‎ (šamāl).

Pronunciation

• (Iranian Persian) IPA^(key): /ʃoˈmɒːl/

Noun

Dari	شمال
Iranian Persian
Tajik	шимол (šimol)

شمال • (šomâl)

1. north
2. Northern Iran

Derived terms

• شمالی‎

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South Levantine Arabic

Root
ش م ل‎

Etymology 1

From Arabic شِمَال‎ (šimāl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃmaːl/, [ʃmæːl]

• Audio (Jerusalem)

  (file)

Noun

شمال • (šmāl) m

1. left

   Antonym: يمين‎ (yamīn)

Etymology 2

From Arabic شَمَال‎ (šamāl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.maːl/, [ʃaˈmæːl]

• Audio (Ramallah)

  (file)

Noun

شمال • (šamāl) m

1. north

Derived terms

• شمالي‎ (šamāli, “northern”)

See also

(compass points)

	شمال (šamāl)
غرب‎ (ḡarb)		شرق‎ (šarq)
	جنوب‎ (janūb)

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Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian شمال‎ (šamāl), itself from Arabic شَمَال‎ (šamāl).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ʃʊ.mɑːl/, /ʃɪ.mɑːl/
• Rhymes: -ɑːl

Noun

شُمال or شِمال • (śumāl or śimāl) m (Hindi spelling शुमाल or शिमाल‎)

1. north

See also

(compass points)

شمال مغربی‎	شمال	شمال مشرقی‎
مغرب‎		مشرق‎
جنوب مغربی‎	جنوب‎	جنوب مشرقی‎

References

• “شمال”, in اُردُو لُغَت (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “شمال”, in Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2023.

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Ushojo

Noun

شمال (šmāl)

1. light spray