قزم

Arabic

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish قازمه (kazma, “pickaxe”), from Ottoman Turkish قازمق (kazmak, “to dig out, to excavate”), ultimately from Proto-Turkic *kaŕ- (“to dig out”). From the common cross-cultural depictions of dwarves working the earth, likely bolstered by the real-life use of smaller individuals in mines to reach inaccessible places.

Noun

قَزَم • (qazam) m (plural أَقْزَام (ʔaqzām))

1. dwarf, midget, pigmy
2. lilliputian
3. little fellow, shrimp, hop-o'-my-thumb, whippersnapper
4. disformed, of poor breeding stock
5. someone of baser lineage, low class

Declension

Declension of noun قَزَم (qazam)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَزَم qazam	الْقَزَم al-qazam	قَزَم qazam
Nominative	قَزَمٌ qazamun	الْقَزَمُ al-qazamu	قَزَمُ qazamu
Accusative	قَزَمًا qazaman	الْقَزَمَ al-qazama	قَزَمَ qazama
Genitive	قَزَمٍ qazamin	الْقَزَمِ al-qazami	قَزَمِ qazami
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَزَمَيْن qazamayn	الْقَزَمَيْن al-qazamayn	قَزَمَيْ qazamay
Nominative	قَزَمَانِ qazamāni	الْقَزَمَانِ al-qazamāni	قَزَمَا qazamā
Accusative	قَزَمَيْنِ qazamayni	الْقَزَمَيْنِ al-qazamayni	قَزَمَيْ qazamay
Genitive	قَزَمَيْنِ qazamayni	الْقَزَمَيْنِ al-qazamayni	قَزَمَيْ qazamay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَقْزَام ʔaqzām	الْأَقْزَام al-ʔaqzām	أَقْزَام ʔaqzām
Nominative	أَقْزَامٌ ʔaqzāmun	الْأَقْزَامُ al-ʔaqzāmu	أَقْزَامُ ʔaqzāmu
Accusative	أَقْزَامًا ʔaqzāman	الْأَقْزَامَ al-ʔaqzāma	أَقْزَامَ ʔaqzāma
Genitive	أَقْزَامٍ ʔaqzāmin	الْأَقْزَامِ al-ʔaqzāmi	أَقْزَامِ ʔaqzāmi

Derived terms

• قُزَيْمِيّ (quzaymiyy, “dwarflike, nano-”)

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Arabic قَزَم (qazam).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qa.zam/, [ˈqa.zam]

• Audio (Ramallah)

  (file)

Noun

قزم • (qazam) m (plural أقزام (ʔaqzām), feminine قزمة (qazame))

1. dwarf, midget