Winter has many rich symbolic meanings across cultures.
In the West, the coldest season of the year is often used as a metaphor to express the dark periods in someone’s life, such as endings or death. It can also be a time to be introspective or sometimes to describe the beginning of a rebirth.
These ideas are also present in the East, and particularly in the Arab world's interpretation of the winter months. This week’s Arabic Word of the Week, shetaa (the Arabic word for winter), carries with it symbolic meanings relating to the passing of time, ideas of endurance, perseverance, rest and other more hopeful themes.
Shetaa is a noun derived from the Arabic word shetoo. Consisting of the three Arabic letters sheen, tah and wow, shetoo is a verb that refers to the action of scattering or dispersing. From this word, shetaa is formed to have several interconnected meanings. The first is winter or the rainy season, the second is cold and the third is rain.
Several other Arabic words are also derived from shetoo.
Shatara, which means to rain heavily, has been adapted in the colloquial Lebanese dialect as shetee – to refer to the action of raining. Other words derived from shetoo include shataan, which means a difference or distinction between two or several things, and shatim, to verbally insult or abuse someone.
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Hob is the Arabic word for love, but can be used in many contexts -
The Arabic word helu translates, in English, to sweet -
Nashef is the Arabic word for dry, but has many connotations, depending on the context in which you use it -
The Arabic word hurriyeh translates to freedom in English -
The Arabic word tayeb can mean delicious or good, depending on the context -
The Arabic word mustaqbal is best expressed as future in English -
Waqaa, the Arabic word for fall, can signify a loss of power, stature, health or grace -
Hudood means borders in English -
The Arabic word rooh translates to spirit or soul in English -
The Arabic word ain means eye in English -
Waraq, the Arabic word of the week means paper in English -
Bahr, the Arabic for sea, has a poetic lilt -
Kareem means generous in English -
Bab means door in English -
Eid means holiday or festival -
Najm means star for the night sky and cosmos, but also has plenty of other meanings, including ambition or fame -
Alwan, the Arabic word for colours, has many shades of meaning -
Akel can refer to home-cooked meals, embezzlement, fire and rust -
Jamal is the Arabic word for beauty, be it literal or figurative -
Herfe translates to profession or craft -
Tabiaa translates to nature and can frame landscapes and portraits -
Sehha is the Arabic word for health -
Ijaza is Arabic for holiday and shines in summer but is not stress-free -
Aamal is the Arabic word for work -
Al dahr translates to time -
Qalb is a word for heart, with poetic roots -
Lugha in Arabic translates to language in English -
Insaan means human being -
Na'eeman is an idiomatic expression used when someone has had a shower or bath, a haircut or had their beard trimmed -
The Arabic word for life touches on eternity, death and accomplishment -
Qamar is the Arabic for moon -
The Arabic word for strength or power is quwwa -
Burj is Arabic for tower -
The Arabic word for sun is shams -
Sabr in English can translate to patience -
Hayba is the Arabic word for prestige -
The Arabic term al shay'e translates as 'the thing' in English -
The Arabic word for road is tareeq -
The Arabic word for read has mystical and scholarly connotations -
Istikan is the Arabic word for a type of tea cup -
The Arabic word hanan means affection in English -
The Arabic word atlal means ruins in English -
Kura is the Arabic word for ball, in all its forms -
Janaah in Arabic means wing in English -
The Arabic word sana translates to year in English -
Qasida is the Arabic for poem, not poetry -
Ameer, the Arabic word for prince, which influenced another English title -
Nakhla translates to palm tree in English -
Al samt is the Arabic for silence -
Kalimaat translates to words in English -
Markaz is Arabic for centre -
Beshara is the Arabic word for good news -
Bayt is the Arabic for house or home -
Fann is the Arabic word for art, and can be either a verb or an adjective -
Isim, which means name, is made up of three letters, alif, seen and meem -
Dunya is the Arabic word for world -
Nazaafah translates to cleanliness in English -
Many traditions revolve around drinking coffee, including weddings, funerals and business meetings -
Fajr is the Arabic word for dawn -
Maghrib is the Arabic word for sunset -
The Arabic language is filled with idioms, quotes and colloquial quips involving the mirror -
Raei is the Arabic word for opinion -
Wa'ed is a multifaceted word for 'promise', as well as a female name -
Qussa is the Arabic word for story -
Sadaaka is the Arabic word for friendship -
Akhbaar is the Arabic word for news -
Rasem is made up of the three Arabic letters Rah, Seen and Meem. While it can simply mean a drawing or a sketch it’s also a malleable word whose definition can change depending on context and dialect – particularly between colloquial and classical Arabic. -
As well as finishing a task, khatem denotes a deeper sense of finality -
Commonly translated to blessed, mubarak is used as a popular greeting on auspicious days -
The Arabic word for lighthouse is also a term that has become closely associated with Islam -
Siyaam, the Arabic word for fasting is also connected to silence -
Tawbah, the Arabic word for repentance, is also connected to Ramadan -
Safar, the Arabic Word for travel can also refer to sunny days, a brighter-blazing fire or exile. The National
It’s worth noting that while all these words are derived from the same root word and have different meanings, they are also connected through the idea of a harsh energy or action or a distinct contrast. The winter season is not only a difficult one in most places around the world, it is perhaps the most extreme of the seasons: one in which a particular form – water, snow, ice – of an element falls on to the Earth.
Interestingly, shetaa is one of those classic Arabic words that are used colloquially across dialects to mean winter specifically.
And while shetaa can carry stark symbolism, there are several idioms in Arabic that speak of the blessings of winter. From the idea that a “harsh winter promises a beautiful spring” to “winter makes the soul contemplate and reflect”, it is often viewed as a time when an individual is tested in terms of their patience and faith.
There are also many Arabic dishes traditionally seen as winter meals. These include lentil soup and mansaf, a Jordanian dish in which lamb is cooked in milk and yogurt and then put over warm bread or rice.
One of the most popular songs by Lebanese songstress Fairouz is titled Habbaitak Be El Saif (I Loved You in Summer) released in 1970.
Despite the title, the song also refers to winter in its lyrics as a difficult period of longing. The song is a first-person narration of a young girl waiting for her love to return during the summer and then winter, only for him never to return, leaving her alone in the rain.
There is also the 1981 Egyptian film, Laylat Shetaa Dafe'a (A Warm Winter’s Night), starring comedian Adel Emam and actress Yousra. It is an Arabic reimagining of the 1934 film It Happened One Night starring Clark Gable. In the film Yousra plays Sarah, a spoilt daughter of a rich construction mogul, in a strange predicament.
On a warm winter night, she meets a young journalist named Mamdouh on a bus and tells him a story. She is in love with a young man but her father has taken her to on a trip to Aswan in the south of Egypt, where he plans for her to marry someone he has chosen instead.
Sarah runs away and her father offers the public a reward for her safe return. Mamdouh, upon realising who her father is, decides to help her in the hopes that it will turn out to be a good story for him to sell. However, neither of them anticipate the feelings they will develop for each other as they run away from Sarah’s father and into the unknown.
