How to say "the present" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningthe present
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
الْحَاضِر
al-ḥāḍirאל-חאצ'ר
الحاضر
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
הווה
hoveهُوڤِي
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ح-ض-رHebrew root
ח-צ-רKlein compares ḥāḍir, 'present, settled, attending' (root ح-ض-ر, regular ח↔ح, צ↔ض), with Hebrew חצר, 'courtyard, settled place'. The bonus is still alive in Arabic: the feminine حَاضِرَة, ḥāḍira, doesn't just mean 'present (f.)' — it also means 'city, metropolis', the settled place par excellence.
Related Hebrew word:חצרkhatserخَاتْسِر
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In a phrase
فِي الْوَقْت الْحَاضِر
fī l-waqt al-ḥāḍirפי אל-וקת אל-חאצ'רat present, currently
Feminine
حَاضِرَة
ḥāḍiraחאצ'רה