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שش

How to say "shoe sole" in Arabic

Shifted meaning

Meaningshoe sole

Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic

نَعْل

naʿlנעל

نعل

Hebrew · Modern Hebrew

סוליה

sulyaسُولْيَا

How the two words are related

Shifted meaning

Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.

Arabic root

ن-ع-ل

Hebrew root

נ-ע-ל

Naʿl is letter-for-letter Hebrew נעל, and both started as the sandal: Biblical נעל is the sandal itself (a sandal seals a land deal in Ruth 4), and Classical Arabic naʿl is the sandal too — Moses is told to take off his naʿlayn in the Quran. Then the two words went to different places: Modern Hebrew broadened נעל to cover any shoe, while Arabic naʿl slid down to the bottom: today it's the sole you resole at the cobbler, or naʿl al-ḥiṣān, a horseshoe.

Related Hebrew word:נעלna'alنَاءَال

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In a phrase

نَعْل الْحِذَاء
naʿl al-ḥidhāʾנעל אל-חד'אא

the sole of the shoe

Plural

نِعَال
niʿālנעאל

broken plural CiCāC

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