How to say "almsgiving (zakat)" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningalmsgiving (zakat)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
زَكَاة
zakāhזכאה
زكاة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
צדקה דתית
tsedaka datitتْسِدَاكَا دَاتِيت
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ز-ك-وHebrew root
ז-כ-הArabic's root here is final-weak, ز-ك-و — its regular Hebrew match is the also final-weak ז-כ-ה, the root behind זכות ('merit, right') and זכאי ('entitled'), not the geminate זך ('pure, clear'), which is a separate (if plausibly related) Hebrew root. Zakat is literally the 'purifying, meriting' share of wealth given to the poor — the same logic behind זכאי.
Related Hebrew word:זכות / זכאיzkhut / zakaiزْخُوت / زَاكَاي
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In a phrase
دَفَعَ الزَّكَاة
dafaʿa az-zakāhדפע א-זכאהhe paid the zakat