شمال
العربية · Thesaurus
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شمال¹
- /ʃi.maːl/
Where it comes from
From Proto-Semitic *śimaʔl-. Cognate with Hebrew שְׂמֹאל (s'mól, “left”), Akkadian 𒆏 (šumēlum, “left side”), Aramaic סְמָלָא (səmālā) / ܣܡܠܐ (semmālā, “left side”), Ugaritic 𐎌𐎎𐎀𐎍 (šmảl). The north sense derives from the left-hand side facing the sunrise, also attested in Sabaean 𐩠𐩦𐩱𐩣𐩡 (hs²ʾml, “to be northward”).
شمال²
Where it comes from
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 · شَمَائِل · الشِّمَال
- case, sheath, wrapping
شمال³
- /ʃa.maːl/
Where it comes from
From the root ش م ل (š m l) meaning “to be leftward” – the north direction being the left-hand side facing the sunrise; constrast with اَلْيَمَن (al-yaman), originally denoting one's right-hand side, before developing the sense of "the south". 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.
noun شَمَال · šamāl · الشَّمَال · شَمَالٌ
- north
noun شَمَال · šamāl · شَمَالَات · الشَّمَال
- north wind
Thesaurus
In English
Talk about this word "شمال." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. شمال. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84 "شمال." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84.Cite this
@misc{micwyn_2026,
title = {شمال},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ar/%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
