How to say "autonomy, self-rule" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningautonomy, self-rule
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ḥukm dhātiyyחכם ד'אתי
حكم ذاتي
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
otonomyaأُوتُونُومْيَا
How the two words are related
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ح-ك-مHebrew root
ח-כ-םSame ח-כ-ם root as חכם — and behind Arabic's own حكومة ḥukūma 'government' and محكمة maḥkama 'court' elsewhere in this list — ḥukm is just 'rule, governance', unadorned. Add ذاتي, 'of the self' (from ذات, 'essence'), and ḥukm dhātiyy is self-rule: autonomy.
Related Hebrew word:חכםkhakhamخَاخَام
Learn it
In a phrase
an autonomous region
The root family
ح-ك-مח-כ-ם· judgment, wisdom
One root, two career paths: Hebrew took wisdom (חכם, חכמה), Arabic took power — ḥukm is a ruling, ḥukūma the government, maḥkama the court. But the older shared sense survives untouched in Arabic ḥakīm "sage" and ḥikma "wisdom", which sit letter-perfect beside חכם and חכמה.
- حُكُومَة ḥukūmagovernment
- حَكَمَ ḥakamahe ruled, judgedחָכַםhe grew wise — ruling vs. knowing
- حُكْم ḥukmruling, judgment, verdict
- حِكْمَة ḥikmawisdomחָכְמָהwisdom — the same word
- حَكِيم ḥakīmwise man, sage (colloquially: doctor)חָכָםwise; a sage
- مَحْكَمَة maḥkamacourt of law