صنم

Arabic

Root
ص ن م (ṣ-n-m)

Etymology

Cognate with Akkadian 𒀩 (ṣalmum) and Biblical Hebrew צֶלֶם (ṣɛ́lɛm), with dissimilation of /l/ to /n/.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sˤa.nam/

Verb

صَنَمَ • (ṣanama) I, non-past يَصْنِمُ‎ (yaṣnimu)

1. to shape, to form

   Synonym: صَوَّرَ (ṣawwara)

Noun

صَنَم • (ṣanam) m (plural أَصْنَام (ʔaṣnām))

1. idol

Declension

Declension of noun صَنَم (ṣanam)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صَنَم ṣanam	الصَّنَم aṣ-ṣanam	صَنَم ṣanam
Nominative	صَنَمٌ ṣanamun	الصَّنَمُ aṣ-ṣanamu	صَنَمُ ṣanamu
Accusative	صَنَمًا ṣanaman	الصَّنَمَ aṣ-ṣanama	صَنَمَ ṣanama
Genitive	صَنَمٍ ṣanamin	الصَّنَمِ aṣ-ṣanami	صَنَمِ ṣanami
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	صَنَمَيْن ṣanamayn	الصَّنَمَيْن aṣ-ṣanamayn	صَنَمَيْ ṣanamay
Nominative	صَنَمَانِ ṣanamāni	الصَّنَمَانِ aṣ-ṣanamāni	صَنَمَا ṣanamā
Accusative	صَنَمَيْنِ ṣanamayni	الصَّنَمَيْنِ aṣ-ṣanamayni	صَنَمَيْ ṣanamay
Genitive	صَنَمَيْنِ ṣanamayni	الصَّنَمَيْنِ aṣ-ṣanamayni	صَنَمَيْ ṣanamay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَصْنَام ʔaṣnām	الْأَصْنَام al-ʔaṣnām	أَصْنَام ʔaṣnām
Nominative	أَصْنَامٌ ʔaṣnāmun	الْأَصْنَامُ al-ʔaṣnāmu	أَصْنَامُ ʔaṣnāmu
Accusative	أَصْنَامًا ʔaṣnāman	الْأَصْنَامَ al-ʔaṣnāma	أَصْنَامَ ʔaṣnāma
Genitive	أَصْنَامٍ ʔaṣnāmin	الْأَصْنَامِ al-ʔaṣnāmi	أَصْنَامِ ʔaṣnāmi

Descendants

• → Persian: صَنَم (sanam)
  • → Hindustani:

    Hindi: सनम (sanam)

    Urdu: صنم (sanam)

  • → Punjabi: ਸਨਮ (sanam)
• → Somali: sanam
• → Swahili: sanamu

References

• Haywood, J.A., Nahmad, H.M. (1965) “صنم”, in A new Arabic grammar, 2^nd edition, London: Lund Humphries, →ISBN
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “صنم”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[1], London: Williams & Norgate

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic صَنَم (ṣanam).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [sa.ˈnam]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.nǽm]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.nǽm]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [sä.nǽm]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [sä.nǽm]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [sæ.nǽm]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.nǽm]

Readings
Classical reading?	sanam
Dari reading?	sanam
Iranian reading?	sanam
Tajik reading?	sanam

Noun

صَنَم • (sanam) (plural اَصنام (asnâm))

1. idol

   Synonym: بت (bot)

2. (figurative) lover, sweetheart

Descendants

• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: सनम (sanam)

  Urdu: صنم (sanam)

• → Punjabi: ਸਨਮ (sanam)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian صَنَم (sanam), from Arabic صَنَم (ṣanam).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /sə.nəm/
• Rhymes: -əm

Noun

صَنَم • (sanam) m (Hindi spelling सनम)

1. (figurative) sweetheart, love

   Synonym: جان (jān)

2. (literal or figurative) idol

   Synonyms: بُت (but), مورت (mūrat)

Declension

Declension of صنم
	singular	plural
direct	صَنَم (sanam)	صَنَم (sanam)
oblique	صَنَم (sanam)	صَنَموں (sanamō̃)
vocative	صَنَم (sanam)	صَنَمو (sanamō)

Derived terms

• صنم فروش (sanam-faroś, “idol seller”)

References

• “صنم”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “صنم”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.