حرباء

Arabic

حِرْبَاء

Etymology

• From حَرْبَة (ḥarba, “dart, javelin; weapon in a general sense”) from the root ح ر ب (ḥ-r-b); likely a reference to the projectile-like tongue of a chameleon. Cognate with Akkadian 𒁇𒁯𒁯𒉡 (/⁠ḫurbabillu⁠/, “chameleon”) and Eblaite 𒄯𒁀𒌝 (ḫur.ba.um, “chameleon”).
• Deriving from the root ح ر ب (ḥ-r-b) in the sense of "becoming enraged or to grow agitated", as the changing of color is used idiomatically to denote changes in states or moods in Semitic Languages.
• Alternatively, philologist Georg Freytag lists it as from a Persian خربا (xorbâ) (> خوربان (xwarbân, “sun-keeper”)), giving the meaning “guardian of the sun”; perhaps related to Persian آفتاب‌پرست (âftâb-parast, “chameleon”, literally “sun-worshiper”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ħir.baːʔ/

Noun

حِرْبَاء • (ḥirbāʔ) m (plural حَرَابِيّ (ḥarābiyy))

1. chameleon

Declension

Declension of noun حِرْبَاء (ḥirbāʔ)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حِرْبَاء ḥirbāʔ	الْحِرْبَاء al-ḥirbāʔ	حِرْبَاء ḥirbāʔ
Nominative	حِرْبَاءٌ ḥirbāʔun	الْحِرْبَاءُ al-ḥirbāʔu	حِرْبَاءُ ḥirbāʔu
Accusative	حِرْبَاءً ḥirbāʔan	الْحِرْبَاءَ al-ḥirbāʔa	حِرْبَاءَ ḥirbāʔa
Genitive	حِرْبَاءٍ ḥirbāʔin	الْحِرْبَاءِ al-ḥirbāʔi	حِرْبَاءِ ḥirbāʔi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حِرْبَاءَيْن ḥirbāʔayn	الْحِرْبَاءَيْن al-ḥirbāʔayn	حِرْبَاءَيْ ḥirbāʔay
Nominative	حِرْبَاءَانِ ḥirbāʔāni	الْحِرْبَاءَانِ al-ḥirbāʔāni	حِرْبَاءَا ḥirbāʔā
Accusative	حِرْبَاءَيْنِ ḥirbāʔayni	الْحِرْبَاءَيْنِ al-ḥirbāʔayni	حِرْبَاءَيْ ḥirbāʔay
Genitive	حِرْبَاءَيْنِ ḥirbāʔayni	الْحِرْبَاءَيْنِ al-ḥirbāʔayni	حِرْبَاءَيْ ḥirbāʔay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	حَرَابِي ḥarābī	الْحَرَابِي al-ḥarābī	حَرَابِي ḥarābī
Nominative	حَرَابِيٌّ ḥarābiyyun	الْحَرَابِيُّ al-ḥarābiyyu	حَرَابِيُّ ḥarābiyyu
Accusative	حَرَابِيًّا ḥarābiyyan	الْحَرَابِيَّ al-ḥarābiyya	حَرَابِيَّ ḥarābiyya
Genitive	حَرَابِيٍّ ḥarābiyyin	الْحَرَابِيِّ al-ḥarābiyyi	حَرَابِيِّ ḥarābiyyi

Synonyms

• جَمَل اليَهُود (jamal al-yahūd, literally “Jewish camel”)

References

• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “خربا”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press
• Freytag, Georg (1830) “حرباء”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[1] (in Latin), volume 1, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 361
• Kazimirski, Albin de Biberstein (1860) “حرباء”, in Dictionnaire arabe-français contenant toutes les racines de la langue arabe, leurs dérivés, tant dans l’idiome vulgaire que dans l’idiome littéral, ainsi que les dialectes d’Alger et de Maroc‎^[2] (in French), volume 1, Paris: Maisonneuve et C^ie, page 403
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “حرباء”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[3], London: Williams & Norgate, pages 540–541
• Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (2000) A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, page 121
• Leonid Kogan (2006), Animal Names: 4.3. Lizards in Babel und Bibel 3: Annual of Ancient Near Eastern, Old Testament, and Semitic Studies, Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns in conjunction with the Russian State University for Humanities, page 298, note 177