ماء

ماء

Arabic

Etymology 1

مَاء

From Proto-Semitic *māy-, from Proto-Afroasiatic *maʔ-, reanalyzed in the plural as if from root م و ه‎ (m-w-h), whence the verbal derivative مَاهَ‎ (māha), which is alternatively conjugated as deriving from م ي ه‎ (m-y-h).

Cognate with Hebrew מים‎ (máyim).

Alternative forms

• مَاه‎ (māh), مَا‎ (mā), مَي‎ (may)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːʔ/
• (with nunation)

  (file)

Noun

مَاء • (māʾ) m (dual مَاءَان‎ (māʾān) or مَاوَان‎ (māwān) or مَايَان‎ (māyān), plural مِيَاه‎ (miyāh) or أَمْوَاه‎ (ʾamwāh) or أَمْوَاء‎ (ʾamwāʾ))

1. (usually uncountable) water
2. liquid, fluid
   1. the liquefied or molten form of a metal (usually gold, silver, or copper)
   2. (dated, sometimes euphemistic, of humans or animals) conceptive fluid; ejaculation

      Synonym: مَنِيّ‎ (maniyy)

      • 7th century CE, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

        ‏قَالَ: اللَّٰهُمَّ ٱشْهَدْ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَأَنْشُدُكُمْ بِاللهِ ٱلَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ، ٱلَّذِي أَنْزَلَ ٱلتَّوْرَاةَ عَلَى مُوسَى، هَلْ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ مَاءَ ٱلرَّجُلِِ أَبْيَضُ غَلِيظٌ، وَأَنَّ مَاءَ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ أَصْفَرُ رَقِيقٌ، فَأَيُّهُمَا عَلَا كَانَ لَهُ ٱلْوَلَدُ وَٱلشَّبَهُ بِإِذْنِ اللهِ؟ إِنْ عَلَا مَاءُ ٱلرَّجُلِ عَلَى مَاءِ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ كَانَ ذَكَرًا بِإِذْنِ اللهِ، وَإِنْ عَلَا مَاءُ ٱلْمَرْأةِ عَلَى مَاءِ ٱلرَّجُلِ كَانَ أُنْثَى بِإِذْنِ اللهِ؟، قَالُوا: ٱللَّٰهُمَّ نَعَمْ‎

        qāla: allāhumma šhad ʿalayhim, faʾanšudukum bi-l-lāhi llaḏī lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa, llaḏī ʾanzala t-tawrāta ʿalā mūsā, hal taʿlamūna ʾanna māʾa r-rajulii ʾabyaḍu ḡalīẓun, waʾanna māʾa l-marʾati ʾaṣfaru raqīqun, faʾayyuhumā ʿalā kāna lahu l-waladu waš-šabahu biʾiḏni llāhi? ʾin ʿalā māʾu r-rajuli ʿalā māʾi l-marʾati kāna ḏakaran biʾiḏni llāhi, waʾin ʿalā māʾu l-marʾati ʿalā māʾi r-rajuli kāna ʾunṯā biʾiḏni llāhi?, qālū: llāhumma naʿam

        [Then] he [the Prophet] said, "O Allah, bear witness to what they say! By Allah, who is the only god and who revealed the Torah to Moses, do you not know that the fluid of men is white and thick and that of women is yellow and thin? The gender and the looks of the offspring are determined by [literally "belong to"] whichever of them rises [or predominates]: if the fluid of the man rises above [or overpowers] the woman's, the child becomes a male if Allah wills it, and if the fluid of the woman rises above [or overpowers] the man's, the child becomes a female if Allah wills it. [Do you not already know this?]" [Thus,] they [the Jews] said, "By Allah, yes."

Usage notes

• All the alternative forms are either chiefly poetic or dialectal. The dual forms are also almost never used. Conversely, the plural form مِيَاه‎ (miyāh) is fairly common.
• In the sense "ejaculation", the word, as well as مَنِيّ‎ (maniyy), may be used freely to refer to humans and animals. Medieval Arabic sources typically do not lexically distinguish between male and female ejaculation as both are conceived as determining factors in conception in a manner analogous to, albeit different from, Aristotle's inheritance model. Modern sources, however, typically emphasize a distinction between the two, thus limiting the use of مَنِيّ‎ (maniyy) to male ejaculation.

Declension

Declension of noun مَاء (māʾ)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَاء māʾ	الْمَاء‎ al-māʾ	مَاء māʾ
Nominative	مَاءٌ māʾun	الْمَاءُ‎ al-māʾu	مَاءُ māʾu
Accusative	مَاءً māʾan	الْمَاءَ‎ al-māʾa	مَاءَ māʾa
Genitive	مَاءٍ māʾin	الْمَاءِ‎ al-māʾi	مَاءِ māʾi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَاءَيْن‎‎; مَاوَيْن‎‎; مَايَيْن‎ māʾayn‎; māwayn‎; māyayn	الْمَاءَيْن‎‎; الْمَاوَيْن‎‎; الْمَايَيْن‎ al-māʾayn‎; al-māwayn‎; al-māyayn	مَاءَيْ‎‎; مَاوَيْ‎‎; مَايَيْ‎ māʾay‎; māway‎; māyay
Nominative	مَاءَانِ‎‎; مَاوَانِ‎‎; مَايَانِ‎ māʾāni‎; māwāni‎; māyāni	الْمَاءَانِ‎‎; الْمَاوَانِ‎‎; الْمَايَانِ‎ al-māʾāni‎; al-māwāni‎; al-māyāni	مَاءَا‎‎; مَاوَا‎‎; مَايَا‎ māʾā‎; māwā‎; māyā
Accusative	مَاءَيْنِ‎‎; مَاوَيْنِ‎‎; مَايَيْنِ‎ māʾayni‎; māwayni‎; māyayni	الْمَاءَيْنِ‎‎; الْمَاوَيْنِ‎‎; الْمَايَيْنِ‎ al-māʾayni‎; al-māwayni‎; al-māyayni	مَاءَيْ‎‎; مَاوَيْ‎‎; مَايَيْ‎ māʾay‎; māway‎; māyay
Genitive	مَاءَيْنِ‎‎; مَاوَيْنِ‎‎; مَايَيْنِ‎ māʾayni‎; māwayni‎; māyayni	الْمَاءَيْنِ‎‎; الْمَاوَيْنِ‎‎; الْمَايَيْنِ‎ al-māʾayni‎; al-māwayni‎; al-māyayni	مَاءَيْ‎‎; مَاوَيْ‎‎; مَايَيْ‎ māʾay‎; māway‎; māyay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مِيَاه‎‎; أَمْوَاه‎ miyāh‎; ʾamwāh	الْمِيَاه‎‎; الْأَمْوَاه‎ al-miyāh‎; al-ʾamwāh	مِيَاه‎‎; أَمْوَاه‎ miyāh‎; ʾamwāh
Nominative	مِيَاهٌ‎‎; أَمْوَاهٌ‎ miyāhun‎; ʾamwāhun	الْمِيَاهُ‎‎; الْأَمْوَاهُ‎ al-miyāhu‎; al-ʾamwāhu	مِيَاهُ‎‎; أَمْوَاهُ‎ miyāhu‎; ʾamwāhu
Accusative	مِيَاهًا‎‎; أَمْوَاهًا‎ miyāhan‎; ʾamwāhan	الْمِيَاهَ‎‎; الْأَمْوَاهَ‎ al-miyāha‎; al-ʾamwāha	مِيَاهَ‎‎; أَمْوَاهَ‎ miyāha‎; ʾamwāha
Genitive	مِيَاهٍ‎‎; أَمْوَاهٍ‎ miyāhin‎; ʾamwāhin	الْمِيَاهِ‎‎; الْأَمْوَاهِ‎ al-miyāhi‎; al-ʾamwāhi	مِيَاهِ‎‎; أَمْوَاهِ‎ miyāhi‎; ʾamwāhi

Derived terms

• مَاء وَرْد‎ (māʾ ward)
• مَاوِيّ‎ (māwiyy, “aquatic”)
• مَائِيّ‎ (māʾiyy, “aquatic”)

Related terms

• مُوَيْه‎ (muwayh, “little water”)
• مَاءَة‎ (māʾa), مَاهَة‎ (māha), مَاة‎ (māh)

Descendants

• Algerian Arabic: ما‎ (mā)
• Andalusian Arabic: ما‎ (mā)
• Baharna Arabic: مي‎ (me)
• Chadian Arabic: المي‎ (almi)
• Egyptian Arabic: مية‎ (máyya)
• Gulf Arabic: ماي‎ (māy)
• Hassaniya: ما‎ (ma)
• Hijazi Arabic: موية‎ (mōya)
• Iraqi Arabic: ماي‎ (māy)
• Libyan Arabic: مي‎ (me)
• Maltese: ilma
• Moroccan Arabic: ما‎ (mā)
• North Levantine Arabic: مَي‎ (may)
• South Levantine Arabic: مي‎ (ṃayy)
• Sudanese Arabic: موية‎ (mōya)

References

• Wehr, Hans (1979), “موه”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

Etymology 2

Root
م و ء‎ (m-w-ʾ)

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maː.ʔa/

Verb

مَاءَ • (māʾa) I, non-past يَمُوءُ‎‎ (yamūʾu)

1. to meow

Conjugation

Conjugation of

مَاءَ

(form-I hollow, verbal nouns مُوَاء or مَوْء)

verbal nouns الْمَصَادِر						مُوَاء‎ or مَوْء‎ muwāʾ or mawʾ
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل						مَاءٍ māʾin
active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
		singular الْمُفْرَد				dual الْمُثَنَّى			plural الْجَمْع
		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	مُؤْتُ‎ muʾtu	مُؤْتَ‎ muʾta	مَاءَ māʾa		مُؤْتُمَا‎ muʾtumā	مَاءَا‎ māʾā		مُؤْنَا‎ muʾnā	مُؤْتُمْ‎ muʾtum	مَائُوا‎ or مَاؤُوا‎ māʾū
	f		مُؤْتِ‎ muʾti	مَاءَتْ‎ māʾat			مَاءَتَا‎ māʾatā			مُؤْتُنَّ‎ muʾtunna	مُؤْنَ‎ muʾna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أَمُوءُ‎ ʾamūʾu	تَمُوءُ‎ tamūʾu	يَمُوءُ‎ yamūʾu		تَمُوءَانِ‎ tamūʾāni	يَمُوءَانِ‎ yamūʾāni		نَمُوءُ‎ namūʾu	تَمُوئُونَ‎ or تَمُوءُونَ‎ tamūʾūna	يَمُوئُونَ‎ or يَمُوءُونَ‎ yamūʾūna
	f		تَمُوئِينَ‎ tamūʾīna	تَمُوءُ‎ tamūʾu			تَمُوءَانِ‎ tamūʾāni			تَمُؤْنَ‎ tamuʾna	يَمُؤْنَ‎ yamuʾna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أَمُوءَ‎ ʾamūʾa	تَمُوءَ‎ tamūʾa	يَمُوءَ‎ yamūʾa		تَمُوءَا‎ tamūʾā	يَمُوءَا‎ yamūʾā		نَمُوءَ‎ namūʾa	تَمُوئُوا‎ or تَمُوءُوا‎ tamūʾū	يَمُوئُوا‎ or يَمُوءُوا‎ yamūʾū
	f		تَمُوئِي‎ tamūʾī	تَمُوءَ‎ tamūʾa			تَمُوءَا‎ tamūʾā			تَمُؤْنَ‎ tamuʾna	يَمُؤْنَ‎ yamuʾna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أَمُؤْ‎ ʾamuʾ	تَمُؤْ‎ tamuʾ	يَمُؤْ‎ yamuʾ		تَمُوءَا‎ tamūʾā	يَمُوءَا‎ yamūʾā		نَمُؤْ‎ namuʾ	تَمُوئُوا‎ or تَمُوءُوا‎ tamūʾū	يَمُوئُوا‎ or يَمُوءُوا‎ yamūʾū
	f		تَمُوئِي‎ tamūʾī	تَمُؤْ‎ tamuʾ			تَمُوءَا‎ tamūʾā			تَمُؤْنَ‎ tamuʾna	يَمُؤْنَ‎ yamuʾna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		مُؤْ‎ muʾ			مُوءَا‎ mūʾā				مُوئُوا‎ or مُوءُوا‎ mūʾū
	f		مُوئِي‎ mūʾī							مُؤْنَ‎ muʾna

---

Sindhi

Noun

ماء (māu) f (Devanagari माउ‎)

1. mother

---

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مَاء‎ (māʾ).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /mɑː(ʔ)/

Noun

ماء • (māʾ) m (Hindi spelling मा)

1. water, juice, liquid

   Synonym: پانی‎ (pānī)

References

• “ماء”, in اُردُو لُغَت (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “ماء”, in Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2023.