الشام

Arabic

Alternative forms

• شام (šām)

Etymology

From the root ش ء م (š-ʔ-m), a variant of ش م ل (š-m-l); contrasted with اليَمَن (al-yaman) from *yamīn- (“right-hand side; southward”). Cognate with Hebrew שְׂמֹאל (s'mól, “left”), Akkadian 𒆏 (GÚB, šumēlu, “left side”), Aramaic סְמָלָא /‎ ܣܡܠܐ (semālā, “left side”), Ugaritic 𐎌𐎎𐎀𐎍 (šmảl). The northern sense derives from the left-hand side oriented with the sunrise, also attested in Old South Arabian 𐩦𐩱𐩣 (s²ʔm, “North”).

Proper noun

الشَّام • (aš-šām) m

1. the city of Damascus
2. the region of Greater Syria, the Levant

Declension

Declension of noun الشَّام (aš-šām)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	—	الشَّام aš-šām	—
Nominative	—	الشَّامُ aš-šāmu	—
Accusative	—	الشَّامَ aš-šāma	—
Genitive	—	الشَّامِ aš-šāmi	—

Synonyms

• (Damascus): دِمَشْق (dimašq)
• (Greater Syria): بِلَاد الشَّام (bilād aš-šām)