قوس قزح

Arabic

Etymology

Literally, “bow of Quzah”, named after Quzah, a pre-Islamic Arab god of weather.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qaws qu.zaħ/

Noun

قَوْس قُزَح • (qaws quzaḥ) m (plural أَقْوَاس قُزَح (ʔaqwās quzaḥ))

1. rainbow

Declension

Declension of noun قَوْس قُزَح (qaws quzaḥ)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	—	قَوْس قُزَح qaws quzaḥ	—
nominative	—	قَوْسُ قُزَحَ qawsu quzaḥa	—
accusative	—	قَوْسَ قُزَحَ qawsa quzaḥa	—
genitive	—	قَوْسِ قُزَحَ qawsi quzaḥa	—
dual	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	—	قَوْسَيْ قُزَح qawsay quzaḥ	—
nominative	—	قَوْسَا قُزَحَ qawsā quzaḥa	—
accusative	—	قَوْسَيْ قُزَحَ qawsay quzaḥa	—
genitive	—	قَوْسَيْ قُزَحَ qawsay quzaḥa	—
plural	basic broken plural triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	—	أَقْوَاس قُزَح ʔaqwās quzaḥ	—
nominative	—	أَقْوَاسُ قُزَحَ ʔaqwāsu quzaḥa	—
accusative	—	أَقْوَاسَ قُزَحَ ʔaqwāsa quzaḥa	—
genitive	—	أَقْوَاسِ قُزَحَ ʔaqwāsi quzaḥa	—

Descendants

• → Gulf Arabic: قز قزح (quzquzaḥ) (learned)
• → Hijazi Arabic: قوس قزح (gōs guzaḥ) (learned)
• → Persian: قوس و قزح (qows o qazah)
  • → Azerbaijani: qövsi-qüzeh
• → Urdu: قوس قزح

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Arabic قَوْس قُزَح (qaws quzaḥ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡoːs ɡu.zaħ/
  • IPA^(key): [qo̞ːs qʊzaħ] (common pronunciation)

Noun

قوس قزح • (gōs guzaḥ) m (plural أقواس قزح (ʔagwās guzaḥ))

1. rainbow

Moroccan Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic قَوْس قُزَح (qaws quzaḥ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qaws qu.zaħ/, /quːs qu.zaħ/

Noun

قوس قزح • (qaws quzaḥ, qūs quzaḥ) m (plural قواس قزح (qwās quzaḥ))

1. rainbow

   Synonyms: قوس النبي (qaws en-nbī, qūs en-nbī), حزام لالة فاطمة الزهرا (ḥzām lālla fāṭima z-zuhra), عروسة السما (ʕrūsit es-smā), عروسة الشتا (ʕrūsit eš-štā)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian قوس قزح (qaws-i-quzah), from Arabic قَوْس قُزَح (qaws quzaḥ).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /qɔːs‿eː‿qʊ.zəɦ/, [qɔːs‿eː‿qʊ.zɑː]

Noun

قَوسِ قُزَح • (qaus-e-quzah) f (Hindi spelling क़ौस-ए-क़ुज़ह)

1. rainbow

Further reading

• “قوس+قزح”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.