Arabic word sheet
عِلْمٌ
knowledge
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ع ل م
Meaning and usage
Knowledge
The fact of knowing something with certainty, and all that one knows. Said of a person’s learning as well as of what he or she knows about a given fact.
طَلَبَ سَامِي الْعِلْمَ فِي مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ.
Sami sought knowledge in a faraway city.
A science, a field of study
In later usage, an organised branch of knowledge that is studied and taught.
تَدْرُسُ لَيْلَى عِلْمَ الْفَلَكِ فِي الْجَامِعَةِ.
Layla studies astronomy at the university.
Plural
عُلُومٌ
Word family
What the root means ع ل م
The root carries the idea of knowing, of perceiving a thing as it is, and also that of the mark by which something is recognised. From it come “knowledge” and “one who knows”.
scholar, one who knows
عَالِمٌ
Synonyms
acquaintance, knowledge
مَعْرِفَةٌ
It is rather knowing someone or something through having met or recognised it, whereas the headword is sure and wide knowledge.
Opposites
ignorance
جَهْلٌ