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خوب

Root entry · 1 derived lemma

This root primarily deals with concepts of barrenness, scarcity, and misfortune, particularly related to land and sustenance. It encompasses ideas of unproductive land, famine, and dire need.

Derived headwords

الخوبةnoun
  1. 1.
    Barren landclassical

    Land that has not received rain, situated between two areas that have been rained upon.

  2. 2.
    Bad placeclassical

    A place of hardship or difficulty, lacking in pasture or sustenance.

  3. 3.
    Famineclassical

    A period of severe scarcity of food.

Parallel reading

الخوبة: الأرض التي لم تمطر بين أرضين ممطورتين.
Al-khūbah: The land that has not rained between two lands that have rained.
نزلنا بخوبة من الأرض
We descended upon a barren/bad patch of land.
أي بموضع سوء لا رعي بها.
Meaning, in a bad place with no pasture.
إذا قلت أصابتنا خوبة، بالخاء المعجمة، فمعناه المجاعة
If you say 'a khūbah afflicted us,' with the emphasized khāʼ, it means famine.
وإذا قلت أصابتنا حوبة، بالحاء غير معجمة، فمعناه الحاجة.
And if you say 'a ḥūbah afflicted us,' with the non-emphasized ḥāʼ, it means need.