How to say "elbow" in Arabic
CognateMeaningelbow
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مِرْفَق
mirfaqמרפק
مرفق
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מרפק
marpekمَارْپِك
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ر-ف-قHebrew root
ר-פ-קNot just the root but the whole mold matches: Arabic's mifʿal-pattern mirfaq and Hebrew's miCCāC-pattern מרפק are built the same way on ر-ف-ق/ר-פ-ק, 'to lean on gently, be kind to' — the elbow as 'the thing you rest on'. رفيق rafīq, 'companion', is the same root leaning the other way.
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
كُوع
kūʿכועCairo's elbow is kūʿ.
In a phrase
اِتَّكَأَ عَلَى مِرْفَقِهِ
ittakaʾa ʿalā mirfaqihiאתכא עלא מרפקהHe leaned on his elbow.
Plural
مَرَافِق
marāfiqמראפקbroken plural maCāCiC — like مكتب→مكاتب