خرشنة

Arabic

خَرْشَنَة

Etymology

From the root خ ر ش (ḵ-r-š) dealing with "scratching", "scrapping", "peeling", "to snatch or claw at." Uncertain reference to perhaps its slender beak, the distinguishing characteristic from the wider-billed gulls; from a common practice of forming a nest by scratching a groove in sand; a forked-shaped tail; or simply from its swooping down and snatching small fish.

Perhaps semantically related to שחף (shákhaf, “seagull; unidentified non-kosher aquatic bird”), also with an etymology meaning to peel, generally suggested to reference an "emaciated or slender figure".

Noun

خَرْشَنَة • (ḵaršana) f (plural خَرْشَنَات (ḵaršanāt))

1. tern, Sterna
2. (when in plural also) Charadriiformes

Declension

Declension of noun خَرْشَنَة (ḵaršana)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	خَرْشَنَة ḵaršana	الْخَرْشَنَة al-ḵaršana	خَرْشَنَة ḵaršanat
Nominative	خَرْشَنَةٌ ḵaršanatun	الْخَرْشَنَةُ al-ḵaršanatu	خَرْشَنَةُ ḵaršanatu
Accusative	خَرْشَنَةً ḵaršanatan	الْخَرْشَنَةَ al-ḵaršanata	خَرْشَنَةَ ḵaršanata
Genitive	خَرْشَنَةٍ ḵaršanatin	الْخَرْشَنَةِ al-ḵaršanati	خَرْشَنَةِ ḵaršanati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	خَرْشَنَتَيْن ḵaršanatayn	الْخَرْشَنَتَيْن al-ḵaršanatayn	خَرْشَنَتَيْ ḵaršanatay
Nominative	خَرْشَنَتَانِ ḵaršanatāni	الْخَرْشَنَتَانِ al-ḵaršanatāni	خَرْشَنَتَا ḵaršanatā
Accusative	خَرْشَنَتَيْنِ ḵaršanatayni	الْخَرْشَنَتَيْنِ al-ḵaršanatayni	خَرْشَنَتَيْ ḵaršanatay
Genitive	خَرْشَنَتَيْنِ ḵaršanatayni	الْخَرْشَنَتَيْنِ al-ḵaršanatayni	خَرْشَنَتَيْ ḵaršanatay
Plural	sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	خَرْشَنَات ḵaršanāt	الْخَرْشَنَات al-ḵaršanāt	خَرْشَنَات ḵaršanāt
Nominative	خَرْشَنَاتٌ ḵaršanātun	الْخَرْشَنَاتُ al-ḵaršanātu	خَرْشَنَاتُ ḵaršanātu
Accusative	خَرْشَنَاتٍ ḵaršanātin	الْخَرْشَنَاتِ al-ḵaršanāti	خَرْشَنَاتِ ḵaršanāti
Genitive	خَرْشَنَاتٍ ḵaršanātin	الْخَرْشَنَاتِ al-ḵaršanāti	خَرْشَنَاتِ ḵaršanāti

References

• Wehr, Hans with Kropfitsch, Lorenz (1985) “خرشنة”, in Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart‎^[1] (in German), 5th edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, published 2011, →ISBN, page 329