عطارد
Arabic
Etymology
Ultimately unknown, without known Semitic cognates:
- Natively coined from the root ط ر د (ṭ-r-d) meaning, "to chase or chase away", "to race or race after", "to cause something to pick up speed", "to outstrip", "follow swiftly"; related to the planet having the shortest orbital period and its eccentric periods of velocity, an association found cross-culturally via observation. The atypical /ع/ occurs occasionally in some Arabic dialects in replacement of /أ/ due to the pharyngeal-aspect of a nearby emphatic consonant, namely /ط/.
- A variation of ع ط د (ʕ-ṭ-d) meaning "to be extreme" in many senses including "to go at a very quick pace", "to be most hasty", "a very quick rate of going". Alternatively, potentially a synthesis of both roots, as such blends are a known source of etymology for some quadriliteral roots.
Additional Theories and Connections
- A relation to Old Persian 𐎫𐎡𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 (t-i-r-d-a-t /*tīra-dāta/, “Given by Mercury; Tiridates”), the front portion being cognate to Persian تیر (tir, “arrow”), from Middle Persian [script needed] (tyl /tīr/, “arrow; also with the meaning Mercury, perhaps from swift moving, projectile”). There is perhaps a layer of phono-semantic matching as the root ط ر د (ṭ-r-d), with giving chase, also features terms dealing with hunting spears and arrows as well.
- As a distortion of Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”), part of ὑδράργῠρος (hudrárguros, literally “liquid silver”), as the planet and the metal have been in association since antiquity.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʕu.tˤaː.rid/
(file)
Proper noun
عُطَارِد • (ʕuṭārid) m
- (astronomy) Mercury (planet)
Declension
Declension of noun عُطَارِد (ʕuṭārid)
| Singular | basic singular diptote | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Definite | Construct | |
| Informal | — | عُطَارِد ʕuṭārid | — |
| Nominative | — | عُطَارِدُ ʕuṭāridu | — |
| Accusative | — | عُطَارِدَ ʕuṭārida | — |
| Genitive | — | عُطَارِدَ ʕuṭārida | — |
Synonyms
- الكُتْبَي (al-kutbay), الكاتِب (al-kātib, “the scribe, the record-keeper, the accountant, the clerk, the cleric, the librarian”)
- أَنْبَي (ʔanbay, “the caller, the informer, the announcer; the announcer of the account, informer of what really happened”)
- مُنْعِم (munʕim, “the one that has been favored, the agreeable one”), contrasted with other planets as being neutral
- السَعْدَانِ (as-saʕdāni, “the two good fortunes”), paired with Venus, contrasted with Mars and Saturn
See also
- (planets of the Solar System) كَوَاكِب الْمَجْمُوعَة الشَّمْسِيَّة (kawākib al-majmūʿa aš-šamsiyya); عُطَارِد (ʕuṭārid), الزُّهَرَة (az-zuhara), الْأَرْض (al-ʔarḍ), الْمِرِّيخ (al-mirrīḵ), الْمُشْتَرِي (al-muštarī), زُحَل (zuḥal), أُورَانُوس (ʾuranōs), نِبْتُون (nebtūn)
Further reading
- Freytag, Georg (1835), “عطارد”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 176