عامة

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Arabic

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Root
ع م م (ʕ m m)
15 terms

Etymology

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Derived from the feminine form of active participle of the verb عَمَّ (ʕamma). See Hebrew עם (ʕam, people, nation) for comparison.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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عَامَّة (ʕāmmaf (plural عَوَامّ (ʕawāmm))

  1. (uncountable, construct) the major or most general part (of), the majority or generality (of); most (of), most
    Synonyms: أَكْثَر (ʔakṯar, the majority (of)), جُلّ (jull, most of), أَغْلَب (ʔaḡlab, the more overwhelming part (of)), مُعْظَم (muʕẓam, the greater part (of))
    تِلْكَ إِرَادَةُ عَامَّةِ ٱلشَّعْبِ
    tilka ʔirādatu ʕāmmati š-šaʕbi
    This is the will of the majority of the people!
    عَامَّةُ ٱلنَّاسِ يُرِيدُونَ هٰذَا
    ʕāmmatu n-nāsi yurīdūna hāḏā
    Most people want that.
    1. (collective, definite or construct, derogatory) the people who have not gone through moral, theological, and/or philosophical instruction and training or who are oblivious to mysterious, esoteric, or occult knowledge; the laity; the common unlearned people, the populace, the hoi polloi, the multitude
      Antonyms: خَاصَّة (ḵāṣṣa, the few; the clergy; the elite), فَلَاسِفَة (falāsifa, the philosophers), عُلَمَاء (ʕulamāʔ, the theologians; the clergy; the sages), مُثَقَّفُون (muṯaqqafūn, the educated and cultured; the intellegentsia)
      دَعْكَ مِنَ اَلْعَامَّةِdaʕka mina l-ʕāmmatiIgnore the many.
      رَاَيْتُ عَامَّةَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَخَوَاصَّهُمْ
      raaytu ʕāmmata n-nāsi waḵawāṣṣahum
      I saw the commoners and the intellectuals
      عَوَامّ الشَّعْبِʕawāmm aš-šaʕbithe [unlearned] laymen of the people
    2. (collective, definite or construct, derogatory) the people or sects thought to be like the laity in their simple-mindedness, ignorance, or numerousness; simpletons
      اَلْعَامَّة مِنَ الْمُتَفَلْسِفَة
      al-ʕāmma(t) mina l-mutafalsifa
      the simpletons among the would-be philosophers
  2. (countable, rare) a raft

Declension

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Derived terms

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Adverb

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عَامَّةً (ʕāmmatan)

  1. generally
    Synonym: عُمُومًا (ʕumūman)
    Antonym: خَاصَّةً (ḵāṣṣatan, especially)
  2. altogether, entirely
    Synonym: جَمِيعًا (jamīʕan, together; all)

Usage notes

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In its numerating sense, the word simply denotes "the general, widespread majority" (as opposed to those who are simply numerically fewer) or, more specifically, "the public". However, the pejorative uses are so predominant that it is sometimes hard to distinguish whether the reference to the higher numbers implies disparagement or not. Blunter demeaning often pivots on lack of knowledge, be it moral, religious, and theological, philosophical, or secular (that is, non-religious), hence their being visualized as a class of multitudes that is respectively contrasted with the اَلْخَاصَة (al-ḵāṣa, the theologically and/or philosophically erudite; the occultists); with اَلْفَلَاسِفَة (al-falāsifa, the philosophers); and, more recently, with اَلْمُثَقَّفُون (al-muṯaqqafūn, the intelligentsia). By analogy, the word is very commonly found in sectarian polemics, where it centralizes the purported affectation of knowledge of the ideological rivals.

Adjective

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عَامَّة (ʕāmmaf

  1. feminine singular of عَامّ (ʕāmm)

References

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