سوس
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سوس¹
- /suːs/
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Aramaic שׁוּשָׁא / ܫܽܘܫܳܐ (šūšā, “licorice”), from Akkadian 𒄑𒊺𒆕𒀀 (šūšum, “licorice”).
noun سُوس · sūs · السُّوس · سُوسٌ
-
licorice
يعتبر نبات السوس الدمشقي من أفضل الأنواع في العالم، ويسمى الشراب الذي يقطر يدويا من جذوره شراب عرق السوس وهو مفضل لدى الدمشقيين.
Similar: عِرْقْسُوس, نَبَات اَلسُّوس
سوس²
- /suːs/
- /sa.wi.sa/
Where it comes from
Typically declared as inherited from Proto-Semitic *sūs- (“moth; insect especially one that bites or chews up materials”), from Proto-Afroasiatic *suʔw- (“a kind of insect”), cognates with Akkadian 𒌨𒈨 (sāsum, “moth; biting insect”), Jewish Babylonian Aramaic ססא (sāsā), Hebrew סָס (sās), Classical Syriac ܣܣܐ (sāsā), and often also Ge'ez ፃፄ (ṣ́aṣ́e, “moth, worm”), ጻጹት (ṣaṣut, “gnat; red ant”), akin to Amharic ጭጫት (č̣əč̣at), ጨጫት (č̣äč̣at), ጬጫ (č̣eč̣a), ጭጫን (č̣əč̣an), ጬጫን (č̣eč̣an, “ant or a type of ant”), Tigrinya ሺሾ (šišo, “colony of ants or termites; large black ant with painful bite”), Tigre ሻሽንቴ (šašənte, “ants”).
Aramaic borrowing into Arabic is at least possible if one espouses a phonologic value /ɔː/ for ā in ancient Ḥijāzi dialects of Arabic, that later merged into /uː/ in the standard, as assumed for قَيُّوم (qayyūm) and جَار (jār). The proposed Proto-Semitic shape, whether it be *sūs-, or *sās-, two identical consonants connected by a long vowel forming the noun’s stem, strains credibility, and the same authors imagine legitimate ancestry of نُون (nūn, unknown meaning) and تُوت (tūt, “mulberry”). In comparison, the moth term also appears loaned in Ancient Greek σής (sḗs) and Old Armenian ցեց (cʻecʻ).
noun سُوس · sūs · سُوسَة · سِيسَان · السُّوس
- maggot, moth-worm, woodworm, curculio, weevil
- mite
- rot, decay الإجاص قال غ وهو عبقر إذا أشرف وقدم فلا يتعرض عليه بالحديد فإن دعت ضرورة لقطع أعلاه فينظر شجرته فإن ظهر فيها السوس فتحامى بالقطع ولا تقرب بالحديد بوجه وتنقى ما دام أملس الساق والأغصان محدثا.
- often used when referring to bacteria gnawing the teeth قال باسم سمير، استشاري الأسنان، أن البكتيريا النافعة المتواجدة في الفم، تعمل على تكسير مكونات الطعام وبالتالى الإسراع من هضمه، لكن إن زادت عن حدها تحولت إلى سوس يأكل في الأسنان.
verb سَوِسَ · sawisa · يَسْوَسُ · سَوَس · أَسْوَس
- to be gnawed, to be eaten away, to be rotten (especially by moth-worms or weevils)
سوس³
- /saw.wa.sa/
verb سَوَّسَ · sawwasa · يُسَوِّسُ · تَسْوِيس · مُسَوِّس
- to give someone regimen over, to let govern
In English
- licorice plant
Talk about this word "سوس." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B3. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. سوس. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B3 "سوس." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B3.Cite this
@misc{micwyn_2026,
title = {سوس},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B3},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
