Arabic word sheet
اِسْتَمَعَ
To listen, to give ear
- Type
- verb
- Root
- س م ع
Meaning and usage
To listen, to give ear
To turn one’s attention on purpose to someone speaking or to a sound, in order to hear it well.
اِسْتَمَعَ الطُّلَّابُ إِلَى الْمُعَلِّمِ.
The students listened to the teacher.
Word family
What the root means س م ع
The basic verb means to hear: to take in a sound or words by the ear, whether one means to or not. The headword adds intent, lending an ear; the sense of hearing, listening, the ear, making someone hear and straining to hear grow from the same idea.
to hear
hearing
hearing, listening
سَمَاعٌ
to make (someone) hear
to strain to hear, to listen in
تَسَمَّعَ
ear
مِسْمَعٌ
Synonyms
to lend an ear
أَصْغَى
It stresses the gesture of inclining the ear towards the speaker, hence a more careful attention.
to listen in silence
أَنْصَتَ
It adds the idea of falling silent in order to listen: one keeps quiet, whereas the headword says nothing about silence.