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Thursday, 24 February 2011

How many words are there for 'camel' in
Arabic? أسماء الإبل باللغة العربية

Does
Arabic really have 1000 words for ‘camel’?

هل هناك 1000 كلمة بالعربية
تعني الإبل؟

The widely propagated claim that Arabic has 1000 words to
describe camels has bothered me for some time. Was it one of those slightly
disparaging associations that Europeans tagged the Arabs with because of the
endearment and pride that particularly nomadic Arabs held for camels? or was it
simply and exaggeration; that Arabic, as you might expect has coined many words
for what is in reality a significant historic part of Arab life? My findings are
quite astonishing; a multitude of terminology specifying types of camels by
their natural disposition, characters,tribal associations and the way in which
they drink water!

Here are some examples I have found, there are many more
which you can find through the sources at the bottom of the page

Native
Arabic speakers will be aware of 3 or 4 standard words for camel-

Camels (standard word)- الإبل

Male
camel- الجمال

Female
camel- الناقة

Camel
(standard word) البعير

Then
there are these-

الطبز and دهامج- a two humped camel (Bactrian)

ضائل- a strong male camel

صنخاب- a stout camel

حفض- a baggage camel

And
here are some action words and paraphernalia-

حرذون- riding a camel without a saddle

شَداد- camel riding saddle

جِداجة- camel saddle

سنام- hump

وبر- camels’ (also goats’) hair

Here
are types of camel according to how they drink
water:

الغب
-  A
camel that drinks once every two days

الغب
الطل       - A camel that goes to drink from the watering hole during
the day

الربع         A camel that drinks once every 3 days

الظاهرة- A camel that drinks once every day

الرفة

A camel that drinks at any time

القصريد  - A camel that drinks little water

العرجاء   -A camel that drinks once during the day and once at
night

التندية -A camel that returns to the watering hole to drink once
more

السلوف-A female camel that leads other camels to the watering
hole to drink

الدفون -A female camel in the middle of a herd of
camels

الملواح or الهافة- A female camel that gets thirsty quickly

عيوف-A female camel that smells the water but often
doesn’t drink it

مقامح- A female camel that doesn’t drink to heal her
affliction

رقوب -  A female camel that doesn’t drink from the watering hole
when it’s busy, but waits and observes

ملحاح  A female camel that doesn’t often leave the watering
hole

ميراد A female camel that rushes to get to the watering
hole

الهيام- Thirsty camels

Here
are other camel names according to character/ physical
disposition-

الغادر       A male stallion camel that has completed the
period of becoming ready to be bred, as demonstrated by his swelled
belly

الهياج   A male stallion that is ready to breed, as
demonstrated by his lean belly (called قافل)

الهامل  An
unbridled/ stray camel that no owner claims

الحايل A
non-pregnant female camel

المسيّر (المجسّر) A
female camel ready to be bred

المعشّر A female camel in the beginning stages of
pregnancy

اللقحة  A female camel that has passed 4 months of
gestation

الخلفة A female camel with
a new born under six months old

العشرا A
female camel with a fowl over six months old

الخلوج A female camel whose fowl has died prematurely and
yearns for it continually

الخفوت A
female camel whose fowl died a while ago and she has forgotten about
it

المضيّرة A
female camel who produces milk for a fowl that is not her
own

المسوح A female camel that can be made to produce milk by
rubbing its udders in the absence of her own fowl

النحوس A female
camel that does not allow itself to be milked

الجضور A female camel that produces a lot of froth when
milked

الرموح Either
a female camel that bolts its leg when being milked; or a male camel that bolts
its leg

whenever its approached

الجفول A camel that is frightened by
anything

الشرود A camel that loves to escape and is difficult to
catch

الأكله A camel that devours everything that approaches
it

الخبوط A camel that stomps its front leg on the
ground

الرابخ A camel that is obese due to abundance of fodder or
grass

الثاوي A
camel that is too weak to stand up

الطفوح A
female camel that walks in front of other camels on its
own

القوداء  A female camel that always leads the other
camels

المعطاء A female camel with a long non-meaty neck with little
hair

الهارب  A
female camel that walks ahead of the other camels by a great distance so that it
appears to be fleeing

الفاهية  A female camel that is superior to all others in all
things

العليا A female camel that is taller than the
male

الوجناء A female camel that is docile for riding
purposes

العوصاء A female riding camel that is very
strong

Camel
names by colour

أدم  (fem. أدماء) A completely white
camel

العيس  (fem. العيساء) A white camel with blond / fair
complexions

الأشعل A white camel with different coloured
tail

Names
of groups and numbers of camels

الذود-from 3-10 camels

الزيمة- from 2-15 camels

الرسل- approx 10 camels, and said to be between 15 and
25

الصرمة- between 10-30 camels

الصدعة – a
herd of 60 camels

العكرة- herd of up to 70, said to be between 50-100
camels

الجول- a herd of 30-40 camels

هند وهنيدة- 100 camels

القرج- 150 camels, also has been said to be 500-1000
camels

ليلى- a herd of 300 camels
الحوم- said to be any herd numbering above 1000
camels

Camel
facts-

They
never forget where they originally come from or where reared; they can easily
find their way back to the same place

A
young camel is able to find its way back the last place it fed on its mother’s
milk or its owners house when estranged from the herd

Camels
have an amazing ability to search of place of water or rainfall and grass land
due to their extraordinary sense of smell

Camels
can differentiate between sounds in precise detail and can recognize its
owner’s voice

When
walking, the camel lifts both its front and back right legs at the same time
and then the left side afterwards to maintain balance- this feat is not
performed by any other animal

Camels
can swim

some camels can also drive
cars

Sources- http://www.3nzh.com/vb/t43205.html

More info available here
http://www.spana-syria.org/Atlas/Camel/WebPage1/1.htm

Posted by Arabglot at 21:22

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