الشام

Arabic

Alternative forms

• شام (šām)

Etymology

From the root ش ء م (š ʔ m), a variant of ش م ل (š m l); contrasted with اليَمَن (al-yaman) from *yamīn- (“right-hand side; southward”). Cognate with Hebrew שְׂמֹאל (s'mól, “left”), Akkadian 𒆏 (šumēlum, “left side”), Aramaic סְמָלָא / ܣܡܠܐ (semālā, “left side”), Ugaritic 𐎌𐎎𐎀𐎍 (šmảl). The northern sense derives from the left-hand side oriented with the sunrise, also attested in Old South Arabian 𐩦𐩱𐩣 (s²ʾm, “North”).

The “Greater Syria, the Levant” sense is an ellipsis of بِلَاد الشَّام (bilād aš-šām).

Proper noun

الشَّام • (aš-šām) f

1. Damascus (the capital city of Syria; an ancient settlement, the ancient capital of various polities, most notably the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 744 CE and Aram-Damascus, existing from the 12th to 8th centuries BCE)

   Synonym: دِمَشْق (dimašq)

   الشَّام القَدِيمَة ― aš-šām al-qadīma ― Old Damascus

Declension

Declension of noun الشَّام (aš-šām)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	—	الشَّام aš-šām	—
nominative	—	الشَّامُ aš-šāmu	—
accusative	—	الشَّامَ aš-šāma	—
genitive	—	الشَّامِ aš-šāmi	—

Proper noun

الشَّام • (aš-šām) m

1. Levant (a cultural region of Western Asia consisting of the eastern Mediterranean countries, i.e. Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus)

   Synonym: بِلَاد الشَّام (bilād aš-šām)

Declension

Declension of noun الشَّام (aš-šām)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	—	الشَّام aš-šām	—
nominative	—	الشَّامُ aš-šāmu	—
accusative	—	الشَّامَ aš-šāma	—
genitive	—	الشَّامِ aš-šāmi	—

Descendants

• → English: Sham
• → Hausa: Shâm
• → Indonesian: Syam
• → Malay: Syam
• → Persian: شام
  • → Gujarati: શામ (śām)
  • → Hindi: शाम (śām)
  • → Ottoman Turkish: شام
    • → Abkhaz: Шьам (Šam), Шьамтәыла (Šamtʷʼəla)
    • → Ladino: Sham
    • → Turkish: Şam
  • → Punjabi: شام (śām)
  • → Urdu: شام (śām)

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic الشَّام (aš-šām).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃʃaːm/, [(ɪ)ʃˈʃæːm]

• Audio (Ramallah):

  (file)

Proper noun

الشام • (iš-šām) f

1. Damascus (the capital city of Syria; an ancient settlement, the ancient capital of various polities, most notably the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 744 CE and Aram-Damascus, existing from the 12th to 8th centuries BCE)

   Synonym: (formal) دمشق (dimašq)

Derived terms

• بلاد الشام (blād iš-šām, “Syria; Levant”)
• شامي (šāmi, “Damascene; Levantine”)