إياك
Arabic
Etymology
From ك + إيا (the second person singular bound object pronoun); an innovation first attested in Old Arabic. Derived from ء ي ء (ʾ-y-ʾ) originally a vocative word used to call to someone, to direct their attention.[1]
In Arabic, typically the verb conjugation implies the subject and the object of the sentence follows the verb, attaching to its end. Pronouns outside of the subject of the sentence cannot stand alone and more than one pronoun cannot be carried by one word.
In a sentence where there is more than one object pronoun, the second will need a new word to carry it; إيا acts as an escort without imparting any additional meanings to the sentence.
Pronunciation 1
- IPA(key): /ʔij.jaː.ka/
Pronoun
إِيَّاكَ • (ʾiyyāka) m
- you (second person masculine singular object pronoun)
- beware!
- إِيَّاكَ وَٱلْأَسَدَ
- ʾiyyāka wal-ʾasada
- Beware of the lion!
Pronunciation 2
- IPA(key): /ʔij.jaː.ki/
Pronoun
إِيَّاكِ • (ʾiyyāki) f
- you (second person feminine singular object pronoun)
- beware!
- إِيَّاكِ وَٱلْأَسَدَ
- ʾiyyāki wal-ʾasada
- Beware of the lion!
See also
Arabic personal pronouns
| Isolated nominative pronouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | dual | plural | ||
| 1st person | أَنَا (ʾanā) | نَحْنُ (naḥnu) | ||
| 2nd person | m | أَنْتَ (ʾanta) | أَنْتُمَا (ʾantumā) | أَنْتُمْ (ʾantum) |
| f | أَنْتِ (ʾanti) | أَنْتُنَّ (ʾantunna) | ||
| 3rd person | m | هُوَ (huwa) | هُمَا (humā) | هُمْ (hum) |
| f | هِيَ (hiya) | هُنَّ (hunna) | ||
| Isolated accusative pronouns | ||||
| singular | dual | plural | ||
| 1st person | إِيَّايَ (ʾiyyāya) | إِيَّانَا (ʾiyyānā) | ||
| 2nd person | m | إِيَّاكَ (ʾiyyāka) | إِيَّاكُمَا (ʾiyyākumā) | إِيَّاكُم (ʾiyyākum) |
| f | إِيَّاكِ (ʾiyyāki) | إِيَّاكُنَّ (ʾiyyākunna) | ||
| 3rd person | m | إِيَّاهُ (ʾiyyāhu) | إِيَّاهُمَا (ʾiyyāhumā) | إِيَّاهُمْ (ʾiyyāhum) |
| f | إِيَّاهَا (ʾiyyāhā) | إِيَّاهُنَّ (ʾiyyāhunna) | ||
| Enclitic accusative and genitive pronouns | ||||
| singular | dual | plural | ||
| 1st person | ـنِي (-nī), ـي (-ī), ـيَ (-ya)* | ـنَا (-nā) | ||
| 2nd person | m | ـكَ (-ka) | ـكُمَا (-kumā) | ـكُم (-kum) |
| f | ـكِ (-ki) | ـكُنَّ (-kunna) | ||
| 3rd person | m | ـهُ (-hu), ـهِ (-hi)** | ـهُمَا (-humā), ـهِمَا (-himā)** | ـهُم (-hum), ـهِم (-him)** |
| f | ـهَا (-hā) | ـهُنَّ (-hunna), ـهِنَّ (-hinna)** | ||
| * Specifically, ـنِي (-nī, “me”) is attached to verbs, but ـي (-ī) or ـيَ (-ya, “my”) is attached to nouns. In the latter case, ـيَ (-ya) is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a long vowel or diphthong (e.g. in the sound masculine plural and the dual), while ـي (-ī) is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a short vowel, in which case that vowel is elided (e.g. in the sound feminine plural, as well as the singular and broken plural of most nouns). Furthermore, -ū of the masculine sound plural is assimilated to -ī before ـيَ (-ya) (presumably, -aw of masculine defective -an plurals is similarly assimilated to -ay). Prepositions use ـِي (-ī) or ـيَ (-ya), even though in this case it has the meaning of “me” rather than “my”. The sisters of inna can use either form (e.g. إِنَّنِي (ʾinnanī) or إِنِّي (ʾinnī)), but the longer form (e.g. إِنَّنِي (ʾinnanī)) is usually preferred. ** ـهِـ (-hi-) occurs after -i, -ī, or -ay, and ـهُـ (-hu-) elsewhere (after -a, -ā, -u, -ū, -aw). | ||||
References
- “ايا” in Edward William Lane (1863), Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate, pages 135-136, meaning to beckon, o, hi there, advance to me, attention grabbing word used on one who is distant or not paying attention.