Hayat: it’s a word you can solemnly swear by, weave sweet nothings with, speak of eternity, mortality and purpose or celebrate an accomplishment.
The Arabic word for life, as you’ll find, is brimming with it.
In religion, hayat al dounia is life on this world, in contrast to hayat al akhira or hayat al abadiyya, which refers to the afterlife or eternal life.
Mustawa al Hayat is standard of living. Hayat asriyya is modern life. Hayat ijtimaiyya is social life. Hayat aailiyya is family life. Hayat il aamma is public life.
Hayat tasharrod is a life of homelessness. Hayat al khashina is a hard knock life.
Awda bihayat refers to a killing. Ala qaid al hayat is someone still alive. Al hayat ghaliya is a term that means life is precious.
Bayn al hayat wal mowt can be said of someone hanging on by a thread. Masaalat hayat aw mowt, meanwhile, is a matter of life and death.
Aadat ilayhi/ilayha al hayat can describe someone who’s been revitalised and has a new taste for life.
Sharik/Sharikat al hayat is a life partner.
Hayat can also be used as a term of endearment as hayati.
It can also be used to make a promise or vow. Wahyat Allah is swearing by God the veracity of your statement.
Wahyati is weighing your life as a measure of your honesty. Wahyat ouladi does the same but with your children’s lives. Wahyat ummi or wahyat bayyi does the same for your mother’s or father’s.
Really, you can put anyone’s life on the line, and it’ll ring just as potently.
Speaking of parents and children, Lebanese poet Gibran Khalil Gibran has a famous line that uses the word hayat, while doling out some precious parental advice.
Awladukum laysou lakum awladakum abnaa al hayat almushtaqa ila nafsiha, which translates to, “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.”
Abdel Halim Hafiz also has a popular song that makes use of hayat. Wahyat Albi (By My Heart) is recognised by most students who attended an Arabic school in the region as the song was commonly blasted during graduation ceremonies and is recognised as an anthem of celebration.
Scroll through the gallery below to see The National's pick of Arabic words of the week
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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
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