Arabic word sheet
طِينٌ
Clay
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ط ي ن
Meaning and usage
Clay
Earth mixed with water that is kneaded and shaped: the material of the potter, the brickmaker, and of whoever coats a wall or a roof. Also said, more broadly, of the earth of a piece of ground.
بَنَى الْفَلَّاحُ جِدَارًا بِالطِّينِ وَالْحِجَارَةِ.
The farmer built a wall with clay and stones.
Mud
Sodden earth that sticks to feet and wheels, on a path or in a field after rain.
تَلَطَّخَ حِذَاءُ سَامِي بِالطِّينِ بَعْدَ الْمَطَرِ.
Sami’s shoes got covered in mud after the rain.
Plural
أَطْيَانٌ
Word family
What the root means ط ي ن
The whole root turns on the material itself: its basic verb means to coat a roof or a wall with this wet earth, or to seal a writing with it. From it come “to coat with clay” and “a lump of clay”.
to coat with clay
طَانَ
to plaster with clay
طَيَّنَ
a lump of clay
طِينَةٌ
Synonyms
mud, mire
وَحَلٌ
It matches only the sense of mud: it is the thin mire one sinks into, never the material one shapes.