طعام

Arabic

Etymology

From the root ط ع م‎ (ṭ-ʕ-m). Cognate with Hebrew טַעַם‎ (ṭāʿām).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tˤa.ʕaːm/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

طَعَام • (ṭaʕām) m (plural أَطْعِمَة‎ (ʔaṭʕima))

1. (countable, uncountable) food
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:259:

     ‏قَالَ بَل لَّبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عَامٍ فَٱنْظُرْ إِلَى طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ‎

     qāla bal llabiṯta miʔata ʕāmin fa-nẓur ʔilā ṭaʕāmika wa-šarābika lam yatasannah

     He said, “Rather, you have remained one hundred years. Look at your food and your drink; it has not changed with time.”

   • a. 1135, Ibn ʿAbdūn, “Un document sur la vie urbaine et les corps de métiers à Séville au début du XII^e siècle: Le traité d’Ibn ʿAbdūn publié avec une introduction et un glossaire”, in Évariste Lévi-Provençal, editor, Journal asiatique‎^[1], number 2, published 1934, page 243 (٥١) 12:

   1. prepared meal
      • a. 1135, Ibn ʿAbdūn, “Un document sur la vie urbaine et les corps de métiers à Séville au début du XII^e siècle: Le traité d’Ibn ʿAbdūn publié avec une introduction et un glossaire”, in Évariste Lévi-Provençal, editor, Journal asiatique‎^[2], number 2, published 1934, page 235 (٤٣) 12:

2. (verbal noun) feeding
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 89:18:

     ‏وَلَا تَحَاضُّونَ عَلَى طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ‎

     wa-lā taḥāḍḍūna ʕalā ṭaʕāmi l-miskīni

     And ye urge not on feeding the poor.

3. (countable, uncountable, formerly Ḥijāz, al-Andalus, now South Tunisia) wheat
   • a. 1135, Ibn ʿAbdūn, “Un document sur la vie urbaine et les corps de métiers à Séville au début du XII^e siècle: Le traité d’Ibn ʿAbdūn publié avec une introduction et un glossaire”, in Évariste Lévi-Provençal, editor, Journal asiatique‎^[3], number 2, published 1934, page 229 (٣٧) 2:

   • a. 1135, Ibn ʿAbdūn, “Un document sur la vie urbaine et les corps de métiers à Séville au début du XII^e siècle: Le traité d’Ibn ʿAbdūn publié avec une introduction et un glossaire”, in Évariste Lévi-Provençal, editor, Journal asiatique‎^[4], number 2, published 1934, page 242 (٥٠) 15:

   • c. 1200, يحيى بن محمد بن أحمد بن العوام [Yaḥyā ibn muḥammad ibn ʾaḥmad ibn al-ʿawwām], edited by José Antonio Banqueri, كتاب الفلاحة‎, volume 1, Madrid: Imprenta Real, published 1802^IA, Cap. 16, page 680:

     ‏وقيل إن نضح بقدر جرة من ماء الزيتون قدر مائة جرة من الطعام لم يفسد ولم تصبه آفة وإن نضح عليه ماء الأفسنتين بقي ولم يفسد.‎‎

     It is said that when a jar of wheat is dampened with a jar of amurca it does not suffer decay nor damage, and if it is dampened with absinthe water, it stays and does not rot.

   Synonyms: قَمْح‎ (qamḥ), حِنْطَة‎ (ḥinṭa), بُرّ‎ (burr), غَلَّة‎ (ḡalla)

4. (countable, uncountable, Ḥaḍramawt) grain, cereal

Declension

Declension of noun طَعَام (ṭaʕām)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	طَعَام ṭaʕām	الطَّعَام‎ aṭ-ṭaʕām	طَعَام ṭaʕām
Nominative	طَعَامٌ ṭaʕāmun	الطَّعَامُ‎ aṭ-ṭaʕāmu	طَعَامُ ṭaʕāmu
Accusative	طَعَامًا‎ ṭaʕāman	الطَّعَامَ‎ aṭ-ṭaʕāma	طَعَامَ ṭaʕāma
Genitive	طَعَامٍ ṭaʕāmin	الطَّعَامِ‎ aṭ-ṭaʕāmi	طَعَامِ ṭaʕāmi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	طَعَامَيْن‎ ṭaʕāmayn	الطَّعَامَيْن‎ aṭ-ṭaʕāmayn	طَعَامَيْ‎ ṭaʕāmay
Nominative	طَعَامَانِ‎ ṭaʕāmāni	الطَّعَامَانِ‎ aṭ-ṭaʕāmāni	طَعَامَا‎ ṭaʕāmā
Accusative	طَعَامَيْنِ‎ ṭaʕāmayni	الطَّعَامَيْنِ‎ aṭ-ṭaʕāmayni	طَعَامَيْ‎ ṭaʕāmay
Genitive	طَعَامَيْنِ‎ ṭaʕāmayni	الطَّعَامَيْنِ‎ aṭ-ṭaʕāmayni	طَعَامَيْ‎ ṭaʕāmay
Plural	broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَطْعِمَة‎ ʔaṭʕima	الْأَطْعِمَة‎ al-ʔaṭʕima	أَطْعِمَة‎ ʔaṭʕimat
Nominative	أَطْعِمَةٌ‎ ʔaṭʕimatun	الْأَطْعِمَةُ‎ al-ʔaṭʕimatu	أَطْعِمَةُ‎ ʔaṭʕimatu
Accusative	أَطْعِمَةً‎ ʔaṭʕimatan	الْأَطْعِمَةَ‎ al-ʔaṭʕimata	أَطْعِمَةَ‎ ʔaṭʕimata
Genitive	أَطْعِمَةٍ‎ ʔaṭʕimatin	الْأَطْعِمَةِ‎ al-ʔaṭʕimati	أَطْعِمَةِ‎ ʔaṭʕimati

Descendants

• Algerian Arabic: طعام‎ (ṭʕām, “couscous”)
• Azerbaijani: taam
• Maltese: tgħam (“wheat”)
• Moroccan Arabic: طعام‎ (ṭʕām, “couscous”)
• Ottoman Turkish: طعام‎
  • Turkish: taam
• Uzbek: taom

Moroccan Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic طَعَام‎ (ṭaʕām, “wheat, grain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tˤʕaːm/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

طعام • (ṭʿām) m

1. couscous

   Synonyms: سكسو‎ (saksu, suksu), كسكسو‎ (ksaksu, ksuksu)

Urdu

Etymology

From Arabic طَعَام‎ (ṭaʕām).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /t̪ə.(ʔ)ɑːm/

Noun

طَعام • (ta'ām) m (Hindi spelling तआम)

1. food, victuals

References

• “طعام”, in اُردُو لُغَت (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “طعام”, in Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English] (in English), Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2023.