Arabic word sheet
نَعَمٌ
Livestock, herds
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ن ع م
Meaning and usage
Livestock, herds
The animals kept and taken out to pasture: camels, cattle, sheep and goats, taken together or kind by kind. The word names the herd as its owner's property.
رَعَى الرَّاعِي النَّعَمَ فِي الْوَادِي.
The herdsman grazed the livestock in the valley.
Camels in particular
Used on its own, the word often means camels only, the herd above all others for the early Arabs.
سَاقَ الْبَدَوِيُّ النَّعَمَ إِلَى الْبِئْرِ.
The Bedouin drove the camels to the well.
Plural
أَنْعَامٌ
Word family
What the root means ن ع م
The root carries the idea of a life that is easy, plentiful and pleasant, and with it softness to the touch. From it come comfort, favour, what is soft and pampering; the dictionary files livestock under the same root, counted as wealth that grazes.
favour, ease of life
نِعْمَةٌ
comfort, easy life
نَعِيمٌ
to live in ease
نَعِمَ
soft, smooth
نَاعِمٌ
softness
نُعُومَةٌ
to pamper, to give an easy life
نَعَّمَ
Synonyms
livestock
مَاشِيَةٌ
It is the everyday word for any livestock, with no leaning towards one kind, whereas the headword is the classical term and leans towards camels.
camels
إِبِلٌ
Means camels only: it matches the headword just in its narrower use, when the herd spoken of is made up of camels.