فلاح

Arabic

فَلَّاح

Etymology

From the root ف ل ح‎ (f-l-ḥ). The sense of "farmer" is assumed to be borrowed from Aramaic פלחא‎ / ܦܠܚܐ‎ (pallāḥā, “worker; peasant”), owing to the dominant economy of Arabic speakers being nomadic when in contrast Aramaic speakers practised agriculture. This assumed, فَلَحَ‎ (falaḥa, “to furrow, to plow; to slit, to cleave”) would be denominal.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fal.laːħ/

Noun

فَلَّاح • (fallāḥ) m (plural فَلَّاحُون‎ (fallāḥūn), feminine فَلَّاحَة‎ (fallāḥa))

(countable) a farmer, a peasant
‏هٰؤُلَاءِ الْفَلَّاحُونَ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْقَرْيَةِ الْمِصْرِيَّةِ الْكَبِيرَةِ.‎‎
hāʔulāʔi al-fallāḥūna min tilka l-qaryati l-miṣriyyati l-kabīrati.
These farmers are from that big Egyptian village.

Synonyms: مُزَارِع‎ (muzāriʕ, “a farmer”), زَرَّاع‎ (zarrāʕ, “planter, sower”), حَرَّاث‎ (ḥarrāṯ, “tiller, plower, cultivator”), (archaic) أَكَّار‎ (ʔakkār, “furrower”), (obsolete) كَافِر‎ (kāfir, “a husbandman, a farmer, a peasant”)

Declension

Declension of noun فَلَّاح (fallāḥ)

Singular	Masculine			Feminine
	basic singular triptote			singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	فَلَّاح fallāḥ	الْفَلَّاح‎ al-fallāḥ	فَلَّاح fallāḥ	فَلَّاحَة‎ fallāḥa	الْفَلَّاحَة‎ al-fallāḥa	فَلَّاحَة‎ fallāḥat
Nominative	فَلَّاحٌ fallāḥun	الْفَلَّاحُ‎ al-fallāḥu	فَلَّاحُ fallāḥu	فَلَّاحَةٌ‎ fallāḥatun	الْفَلَّاحَةُ‎ al-fallāḥatu	فَلَّاحَةُ‎ fallāḥatu
Accusative	فَلَّاحًا‎ fallāḥan	الْفَلَّاحَ‎ al-fallāḥa	فَلَّاحَ fallāḥa	فَلَّاحَةً‎ fallāḥatan	الْفَلَّاحَةَ‎ al-fallāḥata	فَلَّاحَةَ‎ fallāḥata
Genitive	فَلَّاحٍ fallāḥin	الْفَلَّاحِ‎ al-fallāḥi	فَلَّاحِ fallāḥi	فَلَّاحَةٍ‎ fallāḥatin	الْفَلَّاحَةِ‎ al-fallāḥati	فَلَّاحَةِ‎ fallāḥati
Dual	Masculine			Feminine
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	فَلَّاحَيْن‎ fallāḥayn	الْفَلَّاحَيْن‎ al-fallāḥayn	فَلَّاحَيْ‎ fallāḥay	فَلَّاحَتَيْن‎ fallāḥatayn	الْفَلَّاحَتَيْن‎ al-fallāḥatayn	فَلَّاحَتَيْ‎ fallāḥatay
Nominative	فَلَّاحَانِ‎ fallāḥāni	الْفَلَّاحَانِ‎ al-fallāḥāni	فَلَّاحَا‎ fallāḥā	فَلَّاحَتَانِ‎ fallāḥatāni	الْفَلَّاحَتَانِ‎ al-fallāḥatāni	فَلَّاحَتَا‎ fallāḥatā
Accusative	فَلَّاحَيْنِ‎ fallāḥayni	الْفَلَّاحَيْنِ‎ al-fallāḥayni	فَلَّاحَيْ‎ fallāḥay	فَلَّاحَتَيْنِ‎ fallāḥatayni	الْفَلَّاحَتَيْنِ‎ al-fallāḥatayni	فَلَّاحَتَيْ‎ fallāḥatay
Genitive	فَلَّاحَيْنِ‎ fallāḥayni	الْفَلَّاحَيْنِ‎ al-fallāḥayni	فَلَّاحَيْ‎ fallāḥay	فَلَّاحَتَيْنِ‎ fallāḥatayni	الْفَلَّاحَتَيْنِ‎ al-fallāḥatayni	فَلَّاحَتَيْ‎ fallāḥatay
Plural	Masculine			Feminine
	sound masculine plural			sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	فَلَّاحِين‎ fallāḥīn	الْفَلَّاحِين‎ al-fallāḥīn	فَلَّاحِي‎ fallāḥī	فَلَّاحَات‎ fallāḥāt	الْفَلَّاحَات‎ al-fallāḥāt	فَلَّاحَات‎ fallāḥāt
Nominative	فَلَّاحُونَ‎ fallāḥūna	الْفَلَّاحُونَ‎ al-fallāḥūna	فَلَّاحُو‎ fallāḥū	فَلَّاحَاتٌ‎ fallāḥātun	الْفَلَّاحَاتُ‎ al-fallāḥātu	فَلَّاحَاتُ‎ fallāḥātu
Accusative	فَلَّاحِينَ‎ fallāḥīna	الْفَلَّاحِينَ‎ al-fallāḥīna	فَلَّاحِي‎ fallāḥī	فَلَّاحَاتٍ‎ fallāḥātin	الْفَلَّاحَاتِ‎ al-fallāḥāti	فَلَّاحَاتِ‎ fallāḥāti
Genitive	فَلَّاحِينَ‎ fallāḥīna	الْفَلَّاحِينَ‎ al-fallāḥīna	فَلَّاحِي‎ fallāḥī	فَلَّاحَاتٍ‎ fallāḥātin	الْفَلَّاحَاتِ‎ al-fallāḥāti	فَلَّاحَاتِ‎ fallāḥāti

Descendants

→ English: fellah
→ French: fellah
→ German: Fellache
Kurdish
→ Northern Kurdish: file, fele, fileh, fillah, fille

→ Central Kurdish: فەلە‎ (fele)
→ Russian: фелла́х (felláx)
→ Swahili: falahi
→ Ottoman Turkish: فلاح‎
- Turkish: felah, fellah
- → Aromanian: fileah
- → Bulgarian: фела́х (feláh)
- → Serbo-Croatian:
  - Cyrillic script: фѐла̄х
  - Latin script: fèlāh

Noun

فَلَاح • (falāḥ) m

(uncountable) success
Antonym: خَيْبَة‎ (ḵayba)

Declension

Declension of noun فَلَاح (falāḥ)

Singular	basic singular triptote
Singular	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	فَلَاح falāḥ	الْفَلَاح‎ al-falāḥ	فَلَاح falāḥ
Nominative	فَلَاحٌ falāḥun	الْفَلَاحُ‎ al-falāḥu	فَلَاحُ falāḥu
Accusative	فَلَاحًا‎ falāḥan	الْفَلَاحَ‎ al-falāḥa	فَلَاحَ falāḥa
Genitive	فَلَاحٍ falāḥin	الْفَلَاحِ‎ al-falāḥi	فَلَاحِ falāḥi

References

Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 126
Lane, Edward William (1863), “فلاح”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate, page 2439
Wehr, Hans (1979), “فلح”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, page 850
Поленаковиќ, Харалампие (2007), “663. FILEAH”, in Зузана Тополињска, Петар Атанасов, editors, Турските елементи во ароманскиот, put into Macedonian from the author’s Serbo-Croatian Turski elementi u aromunskom dijalektu (1939, unpublished) by Веселинка Лаброска, Скопје: Македонска академија на науките и уметностите, →ISBN, page 122

Egyptian Arabic

Noun

فلاح • (fallāḥ) m (plural فلّاحين‎, feminine فلّاحة‎)

(countable) a farmer
1. (countable, Cairene, derogatory, offensive, slang) a rustic, a peasant, a provincial
2. (countable, Cairene, derogatory or humorous, slang) an ignorant, a peasant

Usage notes

The word is typically used by Egyptian urbanites to refer to migrants who have come from the countryside to the cities (such as Cairo and Alexandria), particularly those who are seen as exhibiting or normalizing socially disapproved-of behavior. However, it has also come to be used jocularly to signify "ignorance" in general, especially that which is envisioned as stereotypically rustic.

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