أدب

Probably back-formed singular from آدَاب (ʔādāb), a plural of the verbal noun دَأْب (daʔb), “persistence, perseverance”. (For the plural type, compare آبَار (ʔābār, “wells”), آثَار (ʔāṯār, “revenges, retaliations”), آرَاء (ʔārāʔ, “views, opinions”).

Various influences from Iranian at least for semantics are often claimed, surely inspired by some general idea of Abbasid cultural supremacy, and present Iranian patriotism hurt by the pervasiveness of Arabic-origin words in the Persian tongue.

• IPA^(key): /ʔa.dab/

أَدَب • (ʔadab) m (plural آدَاب (ʔādāb))

1. discipline
2. courtesy
3. civility
4. literature, belles-lettres
   • 10th century, Al-Mutanabbi:

     أَنَا الَّذِي نَظَرَ الْأَعْمَى إِلَى أَدَبِي / وَأَسْمَعَتْ كَلِمَاتِي مَنْ بِهِ صَمَمُ

     ʔanā llaḏī naẓara l-ʔaʕmā ʔilā ʔadabī / waʔasmaʕat kalimātī man bihi ṣamamu

     I am the one whose literature can be seen (even) by the blind / And whose words are heard (even) by the deaf.

5. politeness
6. decency
7. culture

• Asbaghi, Asya (1988) Persische Lehnwörter im Arabischen‎^[1] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, pages 6–7
• Guth, Stephan (2010) “Politness, Höflichkeit, ʾadab. A Comparative Conceptual-Cultural Perspective”, in Lutz Edzard, Stephan Guth, editors, Verbal Festivity in Arabic and Other Semitic Languages Proceedings of the Workshop at the Universitätsclub Bonn on January 16, 2009 (Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes; 72), Wiesbaden: Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft · Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, pages 25–27 from 9–30

• IPA^(key): /ʔad.da.ba/

أَدَّبَ • (ʔaddaba) II (non-past يُؤَدِّبُ (yuʔaddibu), verbal noun تَأْدِيب (taʔdīb))

1. to educate
2. to correct, discipline, chastise

أدب (form I)

1. أَدِبُّ (ʔadibbu) /ʔa.dib.bu/: first-person singular non-past active indicative of دَبَّ (dabba)
2. أَدِبَّ (ʔadibba) /ʔa.dib.ba/: first-person singular non-past active subjunctive/jussive of دَبَّ (dabba)
3. أَدِبِّ (ʔadibbi) /ʔa.dib.bi/: first-person singular non-past active jussive of دَبَّ (dabba)