عام

Arabic

Etymology 1

Root
ع و م (ʕ-w-m)

Since this word competes with سَنَة (sana), عَام (ʕām) is suggested to be loaned from Old South Arabian 𐩲𐩣 (ʿm /⁠*ʿām⁠/, “year”). Compare Ge'ez ዓም (ʿam, “year”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕaːm/

Noun

عَام • (ʕām) m (plural أَعْوَام (ʔaʕwām))

1. year

   Synonyms: سَنَة (sana), حَوْل (ḥawl)

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 29:14-15:

     وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَلَبِثَ فِيهِمْ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ عَامًا فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱلطُّوفَانُ وَهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ فَأَنْجَيْنَاهُ وَأَصْحَابَ ٱلسَّفِينَةِ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا آيَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

     wa-laqad ʔarsalnā nūḥan ʔilā qawmihi fa-labiṯa fīhim ʔalfa sanatin ʔillā ḵamsīna ʕāman fa-ʔaḵaḏahumu ṭ-ṭūfānu wahum ẓālimūna fa-ʔanjaynāhu wa-ʔaṣḥāba s-safīnati wa-jaʕalnāhā ʔāyatan li-l-ʕālamīna

     And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them nine hundred and fifty years, and the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers. But We saved him and the companions of the ship, and We made it a sign for the worlds.

2. a period of twelve lunar months; lunar year

Declension

Declension of noun عَام (ʕām)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	عَام ʕām	الْعَام al-ʕām	عَام ʕām
Nominative	عَامٌ ʕāmun	الْعَامُ al-ʕāmu	عَامُ ʕāmu
Accusative	عَامًا ʕāman	الْعَامَ al-ʕāma	عَامَ ʕāma
Genitive	عَامٍ ʕāmin	الْعَامِ al-ʕāmi	عَامِ ʕāmi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	عَامَيْن ʕāmayn	الْعَامَيْن al-ʕāmayn	عَامَيْ ʕāmay
Nominative	عَامَانِ ʕāmāni	الْعَامَانِ al-ʕāmāni	عَامَا ʕāmā
Accusative	عَامَيْنِ ʕāmayni	الْعَامَيْنِ al-ʕāmayni	عَامَيْ ʕāmay
Genitive	عَامَيْنِ ʕāmayni	الْعَامَيْنِ al-ʕāmayni	عَامَيْ ʕāmay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَعْوَام ʔaʕwām	الْأَعْوَام al-ʔaʕwām	أَعْوَام ʔaʕwām
Nominative	أَعْوَامٌ ʔaʕwāmun	الْأَعْوَامُ al-ʔaʕwāmu	أَعْوَامُ ʔaʕwāmu
Accusative	أَعْوَامًا ʔaʕwāman	الْأَعْوَامَ al-ʔaʕwāma	أَعْوَامَ ʔaʕwāma
Genitive	أَعْوَامٍ ʔaʕwāmin	الْأَعْوَامِ al-ʔaʕwāmi	أَعْوَامِ ʔaʕwāmi

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: am
• → Persian: عام ('âm)

Etymology 2

Root
ع م م (ʕ-m-m)

Derived from the active participle of عَمَّ (ʕamma, “to be general, to be common, to prevail”). Contamination from Parthian 𐫍𐫀𐫖 (hʾm /⁠hām-⁠/, “same”) or its Middle Iranian analogues such as engendering Old Armenian համ- (ham-, “same, homo-; whole, pan-”) is considered.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕaːmm/

Adjective

عَامّ • (ʕāmm) (feminine عَامَّة (ʕāmma), elative أَعَمّ (ʔaʕamm))

1. public
2. prevalent, universal
3. general
   • 2019 April 9, “نسبة التصويت 62%..العرب يسجلون نسبة منخفضة [Voter turnout is 62%... Arabs register a lower turnout.]”, in Maan News‎^[1]:

     بلغت نسبة التصويت العامة في إسرائيل حتى الساعة الثامنة 62% وهي اقل 2.6% عن عام 2015.

     Voter turnout for the general population of Israel as of 8:00 reached 62%, which is 2.6% less than in the year 2015.

4. common, ordinary

Declension

Declension of adjective عَامّ (ʕāmm)

Singular	Masculine		Feminine
	basic singular triptote		singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Informal	عَامّ ʕāmm	الْعَامّ al-ʕāmm	عَامَّة ʕāmma	الْعَامَّة al-ʕāmma
Nominative	عَامٌّ ʕāmmun	الْعَامُّ al-ʕāmmu	عَامَّةٌ ʕāmmatun	الْعَامَّةُ al-ʕāmmatu
Accusative	عَامًّا ʕāmman	الْعَامَّ al-ʕāmma	عَامَّةً ʕāmmatan	الْعَامَّةَ al-ʕāmmata
Genitive	عَامٍّ ʕāmmin	الْعَامِّ al-ʕāmmi	عَامَّةٍ ʕāmmatin	الْعَامَّةِ al-ʕāmmati
Dual	Masculine		Feminine
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Informal	عَامَّيْن ʕāmmayn	الْعَامَّيْن al-ʕāmmayn	عَامَّتَيْن ʕāmmatayn	الْعَامَّتَيْن al-ʕāmmatayn
Nominative	عَامَّانِ ʕāmmāni	الْعَامَّانِ al-ʕāmmāni	عَامَّتَانِ ʕāmmatāni	الْعَامَّتَانِ al-ʕāmmatāni
Accusative	عَامَّيْنِ ʕāmmayni	الْعَامَّيْنِ al-ʕāmmayni	عَامَّتَيْنِ ʕāmmatayni	الْعَامَّتَيْنِ al-ʕāmmatayni
Genitive	عَامَّيْنِ ʕāmmayni	الْعَامَّيْنِ al-ʕāmmayni	عَامَّتَيْنِ ʕāmmatayni	الْعَامَّتَيْنِ al-ʕāmmatayni
Plural	Masculine		Feminine
	plural unknown		sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Informal	? ?	? ?	عَامَّات ʕāmmāt	الْعَامَّات al-ʕāmmāt
Nominative	? ?	? ?	عَامَّاتٌ ʕāmmātun	الْعَامَّاتُ al-ʕāmmātu
Accusative	? ?	? ?	عَامَّاتٍ ʕāmmātin	الْعَامَّاتِ al-ʕāmmāti
Genitive	? ?	? ?	عَامَّاتٍ ʕāmmātin	الْعَامَّاتِ al-ʕāmmāti

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: amm
• → Persian: عامّ ('âmm)

Etymology 3

Root
ع و م (ʕ-w-m)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕaː.ma/

Verb

عَامَ • (ʕāma) I, non-past يَعُومُ‎ (yaʕūmu)

1. to float

   Synonym: طَفَا (ṭafā)

2. to swim

   Synonym: سَبَحَ (sabaḥa)

Conjugation

Conjugation of

عَامَ

(form-I hollow, verbal noun عَوْم)

verbal noun الْمَصْدَر						عَوْم ʕawm
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل						عَائِم ʕāʔim
active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
		singular الْمُفْرَد				dual الْمُثَنَّى			plural الْجَمْع
		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	عُمْتُ ʕumtu	عُمْتَ ʕumta	عَامَ ʕāma		عُمْتُمَا ʕumtumā	عَامَا ʕāmā		عُمْنَا ʕumnā	عُمْتُمْ ʕumtum	عَامُوا ʕāmū
	f		عُمْتِ ʕumti	عَامَتْ ʕāmat			عَامَتَا ʕāmatā			عُمْتُنَّ ʕumtunna	عُمْنَ ʕumna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أَعُومُ ʔaʕūmu	تَعُومُ taʕūmu	يَعُومُ yaʕūmu		تَعُومَانِ taʕūmāni	يَعُومَانِ yaʕūmāni		نَعُومُ naʕūmu	تَعُومُونَ taʕūmūna	يَعُومُونَ yaʕūmūna
	f		تَعُومِينَ taʕūmīna	تَعُومُ taʕūmu			تَعُومَانِ taʕūmāni			تَعُمْنَ taʕumna	يَعُمْنَ yaʕumna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أَعُومَ ʔaʕūma	تَعُومَ taʕūma	يَعُومَ yaʕūma		تَعُومَا taʕūmā	يَعُومَا yaʕūmā		نَعُومَ naʕūma	تَعُومُوا taʕūmū	يَعُومُوا yaʕūmū
	f		تَعُومِي taʕūmī	تَعُومَ taʕūma			تَعُومَا taʕūmā			تَعُمْنَ taʕumna	يَعُمْنَ yaʕumna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أَعُمْ ʔaʕum	تَعُمْ taʕum	يَعُمْ yaʕum		تَعُومَا taʕūmā	يَعُومَا yaʕūmā		نَعُمْ naʕum	تَعُومُوا taʕūmū	يَعُومُوا yaʕūmū
	f		تَعُومِي taʕūmī	تَعُمْ taʕum			تَعُومَا taʕūmā			تَعُمْنَ taʕumna	يَعُمْنَ yaʕumna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		عُمْ ʕum			عُومَا ʕūmā				عُومُوا ʕūmū
	f		عُومِي ʕūmī							عُمْنَ ʕumna

References

• Lane, Edward William (1863) “عوم”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[2], London: Williams & Norgate, page 2202b
• Shapira, Dan D. Y. (2009) “Irano-Arabica: contamination and popular etymology. Notes on the Persian and Arabic lexicons (with references to Aramaic, Hebrew and Turkic)”, in Христианский Восток – Новая Серия, volume 5 (XI), Moscow: Издательство Российской Академии Наук и Государственного Эрмитажа, page 174, claims contamination from a Parthian **hām (“winter; year”), a word he seemingly made up, since no descendant of Proto-Iranian *jimáh (“winter”) could come close.
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “عم, عوم”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, pages 751, 771
• Weninger, Stefan (2009) “Der Jemen als lexikalisches Ausstrahlungszentrum in der Antike”, in Philologisches und Historisches zwischen Anatolien und Sokotra. Analecta Semitica in memoriam Alexander Sima‎^[3] (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrasowitz, →ISBN, page 399 Nr. 1

Moroccan Arabic

Etymology 1

Root
ع و م
2 terms

From Arabic عَام (ʕām).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕaːm/

Noun

عام • (ʕām) m (dual عامين (ʕāmayn), plural أعوام (ʔaʕwām))

1. year

   Synonym: سنة (sana)

Etymology 2

Root
ع و م
2 terms

From Arabic عَامَ (ʕāma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕaːm/

Verb

عام • (ʕām) I (non-past يعوم (yʕūm))

1. (intransitive) to swim

Conjugation

Conjugation of عام
		singular				plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
past	m	عمت (ʕumt)	عمتي (ʕumti)	عام (ʕām)		عمنا (ʕumna)	عمتوا (ʕumtu)	عاموا (ʕāmu)
	f			عامت (ʕāmet)
non-past	m	نعوم (nʕūm)	تعوم (tʕūm)	يعوم (yʕūm)		نعوموا (nʕūmu)	تعوموا (tʕūmu)	يعوموا (yʕūmu)
	f		تعومي (tʕūmi)	تعوم (tʕūm)
imperative	m		عوم (ʕūm)				عوموا (ʕūmu)
	f		عومي (ʕūmi)

Etymology 3

Root
ع م م
1 term

From Arabic عَامّ (ʕāmm).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕaːmː/

Adjective

عام • (ʕāmm) (feminine عامة (ʕāmma), masculine plural عامين (ʕāmmīn), feminine plural عامات (ʕāmmāt), elative أعم (ʔaʕamm))

1. public
2. prevalent, universal
3. general
4. common, ordinary

Persian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic عَام (ʕām).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːm]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːm]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːm]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːm]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔɔːm]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɒːm]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɔm]

Readings
Classical reading?	ām
Dari reading?	ām
Iranian reading?	âm
Tajik reading?	om

Noun

عام • ('âm) (plural اعوام (a'vâm))

1. year

   Synonyms: سال (sâl), سنه (sane)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic عَامّ (ʕāmm).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːmm]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːmm]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːmm]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔɑːmm]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔɔːmm]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɒːmm]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʔɔmm]

Readings
Classical reading?	āmm
Dari reading?	āmm
Iranian reading?	âmm
Tajik reading?	omm

Adjective

عامّ • ('âmm)

1. common
2. general

Further reading

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “عام”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian عامّ ('āmm), Arabic عَامّ (ʕāmm).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ɑːm/
  • (phonetic) IPA^(key): [ʕä̃ːm]
• Rhymes: -ɑːm
• Homophone: آم (ām)

Adjective

عام • ('ām) (Hindi spelling आम)

1. common
2. ordinary
3. general
4. universal

Derived terms

• عام طَور پَر ('ām taur par, “generally”)

Further reading

• “عام”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “عام”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “عام”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.