Arabic word sheet
نَصِيبٌ
a share, a portion
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ن ص ب
Meaning and usage
Share, portion
What falls to someone when a thing is divided among several: his share of a property, a meal, an inheritance, a task.
أَخَذَ كُلُّ وَلَدٍ نَصِيبَهُ مِنَ الْحَلْوَى.
Each child took his share of the sweets.
Lot, luck modern usage
What chance holds in store for someone, the luck that comes his way: a win, a meeting, a prize. Common in today’s usage.
كَانَتِ الْجَائِزَةُ مِنْ نَصِيبِ سَلْمَى.
The prize went to Salma.
Plural
أَنْصِبَةٌ / أَنْصِبَاءُ
Word family
What the root means ن ص ب
The root’s first idea is setting a thing up, standing it upright and fixing it in its place. A share is what is set for someone; from the same root come “to set up”, “to stand upright”, “what is planted as a marker”, and also “to toil” and “weariness”.
to set up, to erect
نَصَبَ
to stand upright
اِنْتَصَبَ
set up, erected
مَنْصُوبٌ
a thing set up as a marker
نُصُبٌ
to be tired, to toil
نَصِبَ
weariness, toil
نَصَبٌ
Synonyms
share, good fortune
حَظٌّ
It names the share that falls to someone and is used above all for luck and good fortune, without the idea of a settled division.
share, quota
حِصَّةٌ
It names each person’s measured part in a division among partners or heirs, and is not used for luck.