How to say "flat rooftop, surface" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningflat rooftop, surface
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
سَطْح
saṭḥסטח
سطح
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
שטח
shetakhشِتَاخ
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
س-ط-حHebrew root
ש-ט-חس-ط-ح is Hebrew ש-ט-ח letter for letter — the regular ש↔س shift, as in سلام/שלום — both meaning a flat expanse. Arabic narrowed it to the specific flat rooftop everyone climbs up to on a summer evening; Hebrew kept the broader sense, שטח 'area, terrain, territory'.
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In a phrase
صَعِدْنَا إِلَى السَّطْح
ṣaʿidnā ilā s-saṭḥצעדנא אלא א-סטחWe went up to the roof.
Plural
سُطُوح
suṭūḥסטוחbroken plural CuCūC — like سَقْف→سُقُوف