How to say "Bedouin" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningBedouin
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
بَدَوِيّ
badawīבדוי
بدوي
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
בדואי
bedu'iبِدُوئِي
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
ب-د-وIsraeli Hebrew בדואי is simply this Arabic word borrowed whole. The root ب-د-و means 'to become visible, be out in the open' (compare بدا 'to appear') — a Bedouin is, at root, someone of the open desert, as opposed to al-ḥaḍar, the settled townsfolk.
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In a phrase
قَبِيلَة بَدَوِيَّة
qabīla badawiyyaקבילה בדויהa Bedouin tribe
Plural
بَدْو
badwבדוcollective plural — 'the Bedouin' as a group, the base word from which badawī is derived (singulative)
Feminine
بَدَوِيَّة
badawiyyaבדויה