Arabic word sheet
خَلَا
To pass, to go by
- Type
- verb
- Root
- خ ل و
Meaning and usage
To pass, to go by
To go away, to belong to the past from now on. Said of time, of an era, or of people and generations who are gone.
ذَكَرَ الْجَدُّ السِّنِينَ الَّتِي خَلَتْ.
The grandfather recalled the years gone by.
To be empty
To have no one and nothing inside. Said of a place, a house or a container.
خَلَتِ الْقَاعَةُ بَعْدَ الدَّرْسِ.
The hall emptied after the lesson.
To be alone, to withdraw
To be without company, or to stay in private with someone, away from others. Said of a person who withdraws or speaks to someone one to one.
خَلَا الْمُدِيرُ بِالْمُوَظَّفِ فِي مَكْتَبِهِ.
The manager met alone with the employee in his office.
To be free of
Not to have something, to be clear of it; said mostly of a flaw, a mistake or a lack.
خَلَا الدَّفْتَرُ مِنَ الْأَخْطَاءِ.
The notebook was free of mistakes.
Word family
What the root means خ ل و
The root carries the idea of emptiness: a place with no one and nothing in it. From it come being alone, being free of something, letting go, and also going away, passing.
empty, vacant
خَالٍ
emptiness, empty space
خَلَاءٌ
seclusion, privacy
خَلْوَةٌ
to be alone, to become empty
أَخْلَى
to let go, to release
خَلَّى
carefree
خَلِيٌّ
Synonyms
to pass, to go away
مَضَى
It is the common verb for what passes or goes away; the headword is more literary in this use and hints at the place left empty.
to be empty, to be free
فَرَغَ
It is said mostly of a container that has been emptied or of a person who has finished a task, whereas the headword is said rather of a place where no one is left.
Opposites
to fill up
اِمْتَلَأَ