How to say "shoe sole" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningshoe 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-لHebrew root
נ-ע-לNaʿl 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'אאthe sole of the shoe
Plural
نِعَال
niʿālנעאלbroken plural CiCāC