How to say "coat" in Arabic
CognateMeaningcoat
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
miʿṭafמעטף
معطف
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
me'ilمِئِيل
How the two words are related
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ع-ط-فHebrew root
ע-ט-ףA miʿṭaf is 'the thing you wrap around yourself', a miCCaC instrument noun from ع-ط-ف 'to wrap, drape' — the same root as Hebrew עטף 'to wrap' and מעטפה 'envelope' (ע ↔ ع, ט ↔ ط, פ ↔ ف, all regular). An Arabic coat and a Hebrew envelope are both professional wrappers.
Related Hebrew word:מעטפהma'atafaمَأَتَافَا
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
Cairo's coat is a balṭo, from French paletot.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
Darija's coat is a kebbūṭ, from French capote.
In a phrase
He put on the coat in winter.
Plural
broken plural maCāCiC — like مَكْتَب→مَكَاتِب