تنين

See also: بنين and ثنين

Arabic

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Aramaic תַּנִּינָא / ܬܲܢܝܼܢܵܐ (tannīnā, “sea serpent, monster”), from Akkadian 𒆗𒉌𒈾 (danninu, “netherworld; source of earthquakes; the inaccessible land where the dead remain”), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *dnn/*tnn (“to be mighty, to be strong; to be fortified, to be long lasting, to stay at a place; to rumble, to earthquake, to shake with a booming noise”). Doublet of دَنْدَن (dandan, “mythical monsterous fish that can swallow everything else in the sea, the biggest fish in the sea”); possibly related as well to Egyptian dnwn (/⁠denwen⁠/, “giant serpent whose body was made of fire defeated by the spirit of the dead pharaoh; symbolic of drought, chaos, and destructive natural forces”) attested in the Pyramid Texts of uncertain origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tin.niːn/

Noun

تِنِّين • (tinnīn) m (plural تَنَانِين (tanānīn))

1. eel, whale, any scaled animal (obsolete)
2. sea monster
3. dragon
4. (astronomy) (normally اَلتِّنِّين (at-tinnīn)) Draco
5. (weather) waterspout

Declension

Declension of noun تِنِّين (tinnīn)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	تِنِّين tinnīn	التِّنِّين at-tinnīn	تِنِّين tinnīn
Nominative	تِنِّينٌ tinnīnun	التِّنِّينُ at-tinnīnu	تِنِّينُ tinnīnu
Accusative	تِنِّينًا tinnīnan	التِّنِّينَ at-tinnīna	تِنِّينَ tinnīna
Genitive	تِنِّينٍ tinnīnin	التِّنِّينِ at-tinnīni	تِنِّينِ tinnīni
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	تِنِّينَيْن tinnīnayn	التِّنِّينَيْن at-tinnīnayn	تِنِّينَيْ tinnīnay
Nominative	تِنِّينَانِ tinnīnāni	التِّنِّينَانِ at-tinnīnāni	تِنِّينَا tinnīnā
Accusative	تِنِّينَيْنِ tinnīnayni	التِّنِّينَيْنِ at-tinnīnayni	تِنِّينَيْ tinnīnay
Genitive	تِنِّينَيْنِ tinnīnayni	التِّنِّينَيْنِ at-tinnīnayni	تِنِّينَيْ tinnīnay
Plural	basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	تَنَانِين tanānīn	التَّنَانِين at-tanānīn	تَنَانِين tanānīn
Nominative	تَنَانِينُ tanānīnu	التَّنَانِينُ at-tanānīnu	تَنَانِينُ tanānīnu
Accusative	تَنَانِينَ tanānīna	التَّنَانِينَ at-tanānīna	تَنَانِينَ tanānīna
Genitive	تَنَانِينَ tanānīna	التَّنَانِينِ at-tanānīni	تَنَانِينِ tanānīni

Descendants

• >? Sicilian: biḍḍina

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tan.niːn/

Noun

تَنِّين • (tannīn) m

1. tannin, tannic acid

Declension

Declension of noun تَنِّين (tannīn)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	تَنِّين tannīn	التَّنِّين at-tannīn	تَنِّين tannīn
Nominative	تَنِّينٌ tannīnun	التَّنِّينُ at-tannīnu	تَنِّينُ tannīnu
Accusative	تَنِّينًا tannīnan	التَّنِّينَ at-tannīna	تَنِّينَ tannīna
Genitive	تَنِّينٍ tannīnin	التَّنِّينِ at-tannīni	تَنِّينِ tannīni

References

• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 123

Moroccan Arabic

Moroccan Arabic numbers ^(edit)

	20
←  1	2	3  →
Cardinal: تنين, زوج, جوج     Ordinal: زاوج, جاوج, تاني     Fractional: نص

Etymology

From Arabic اِثْنَيْن (iṯnayn).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tniːn/, /tnajn/

• Audio

  (file)

Numeral

تنِين or تنَيْن • (tnīn or tnayn) m

1. two

   Synonyms: جوج (jūj), زوج (zūj)

South Levantine Arabic

Root
ت ن ي
6 terms

South Levantine Arabic numbers ^(edit)

	20
←  1	٢ 2	3  →
Cardinal: تنين     Ordinal: تاني     Fractional: نص

Etymology

From Arabic اِثْنَيْن (iṯnayn).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tneːn/, [tneːn]

• Audio (Amman)

  (file)

Numeral

تنين • (tnēn) m (feminine تنتين (tintēn))

1. two

Usage notes

• When referring to two instances of a noun, it is preferred to use the dual form of the noun (with the suffix ـين (-ēn)) instead of the numeral.
• تنين (tnēn) can also be used as an adjective following the noun.

Adjective

تنين • (tnēn) (feminine تنتين (tintēn))

1. two, both

   Synonym: (dual suffix) ـين (-ēn)

Derived terms

• تنينات (tnēnāt, “both of”)