ولاد

North Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَوْلاد (ʔawlād).

Noun

ولاد • (wlād)

1. children; boys; sons
   1. plural of ولد (walad, “boy”)
   2. plural of ابن (ibin, “son”)

Usage notes

• In the singular there is a distinction between “boy” and “son”, which is lost in the plural. Compare بنت (bint), بنات (banāt), which mean both “girl[s]” and “daughter[s]”.
• ولاد (wlād) is also used generically in both cases, thus meaning “children” both in the sense of “underage people” and “offspring”. In order to explicitly specify the masculine صبيان (ṣibyān, ṣubyān) may be used.

See also

• شب (šabb)
• صبيه (ṣabīye)
• طفل (ṭifil, ṭufil)