How to say "palm (of the hand)" in Arabic
CognateMeaningpalm (of the hand)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
كَفّ
kaffכף
كف
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
כף
kafكَاف
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ك-ف-فHebrew root
כ-פ-פKaff = כף, unchanged — both trace to the root k-f-f/כ-פ-פ, 'to bend, curve' (Hebrew כפף, 'to bend'; נכפף, 'be bowed'). A kaff/כף is 'the bent thing': it names the letter Kaf itself (traditionally shaped like a cupped palm), and both languages stretch it to any concave scoop — a spoon, the sole of a foot, the palm of a hand.
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In a phrase
كَفّ الْيَد
kaff al-yadכף אל-ידthe palm of the hand
Plural
أَكُفّ
akuffאכףbroken plural aCuCC — a rarer pattern for geminate CaCC nouns