تنبل

See also: بنتل

Arabic

FWOTD – 22 February 2024

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Classical Persian (tanbal).

Adjective

تَنْبَل • (tanbal) (masculine plural تَنَابِلَة (tanābila))

lazy

Declension

Declension of adjective **تَنْبَل** (tanbal)
singular	masculine		feminine
	basic singular triptote		singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	تَنْبَل tanbal	التَّنْبَل at-tanbal	تَنْبَلَة tanbala	التَّنْبَلَة at-tanbala
nominative	تَنْبَلٌ tanbalun	التَّنْبَلُ at-tanbalu	تَنْبَلَةٌ tanbalatun	التَّنْبَلَةُ at-tanbalatu
accusative	تَنْبَلًا tanbalan	التَّنْبَلَ at-tanbala	تَنْبَلَةً tanbalatan	التَّنْبَلَةَ at-tanbalata
genitive	تَنْبَلٍ tanbalin	التَّنْبَلِ at-tanbali	تَنْبَلَةٍ tanbalatin	التَّنْبَلَةِ at-tanbalati
dual	masculine		feminine
dual	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	تَنْبَلَيْن tanbalayn	التَّنْبَلَيْن at-tanbalayn	تَنْبَلَتَيْن tanbalatayn	التَّنْبَلَتَيْن at-tanbalatayn
nominative	تَنْبَلَانِ tanbalāni	التَّنْبَلَانِ at-tanbalāni	تَنْبَلَتَانِ tanbalatāni	التَّنْبَلَتَانِ at-tanbalatāni
accusative	تَنْبَلَيْنِ tanbalayni	التَّنْبَلَيْنِ at-tanbalayni	تَنْبَلَتَيْنِ tanbalatayni	التَّنْبَلَتَيْنِ at-tanbalatayni
genitive	تَنْبَلَيْنِ tanbalayni	التَّنْبَلَيْنِ at-tanbalayni	تَنْبَلَتَيْنِ tanbalatayni	التَّنْبَلَتَيْنِ at-tanbalatayni
plural	masculine		feminine
	broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a)		broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a)
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	تَنَابِلَة tanābila	التَّنَابِلَة at-tanābila	تَنَابِلَة tanābila	التَّنَابِلَة at-tanābila
nominative	تَنَابِلَةٌ tanābilatun	التَّنَابِلَةُ at-tanābilatu	تَنَابِلَةٌ tanābilatun	التَّنَابِلَةُ at-tanābilatu
accusative	تَنَابِلَةً tanābilatan	التَّنَابِلَةَ at-tanābilata	تَنَابِلَةً tanābilatan	التَّنَابِلَةَ at-tanābilata
genitive	تَنَابِلَةٍ tanābilatin	التَّنَابِلَةِ at-tanābilati	تَنَابِلَةٍ tanābilatin	التَّنَابِلَةِ at-tanābilati

Verb

تَنْبَلَ • (tanbala) Iq (non-past يُتَنْبِلُ (yutanbilu), verbal noun تَنْبَلَة (tanbala))

to be or become lazy or sluggish

Conjugation

Conjugation of **تَنْبَلَ** (Iq, sound, full passive, verbal noun *تَنْبَلَة*)

verbal noun الْمَصْدَر					تَنْبَلَة tanbala
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل					مُتَنْبِل mutanbil
passive participle اِسْم الْمَفْعُول					مُتَنْبَل mutanbal
active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
		singular الْمُفْرَد			dual الْمُثَنَّى		plural الْجَمْع
		1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	تَنْبَلْتُ tanbaltu	تَنْبَلْتَ tanbalta	تَنْبَلَ tanbala	تَنْبَلْتُمَا tanbaltumā	تَنْبَلَا tanbalā	تَنْبَلْنَا tanbalnā	تَنْبَلْتُمْ tanbaltum	تَنْبَلُوا tanbalū
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	f	تَنْبَلْتُ tanbaltu	تَنْبَلْتِ tanbalti	تَنْبَلَتْ tanbalat	تَنْبَلْتُمَا tanbaltumā	تَنْبَلَتَا tanbalatā	تَنْبَلْنَا tanbalnā	تَنْبَلْتُنَّ tanbaltunna	تَنْبَلْنَ tanbalna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أُتَنْبِلُ ʔutanbilu	تُتَنْبِلُ tutanbilu	يُتَنْبِلُ yutanbilu	تُتَنْبِلَانِ tutanbilāni	يُتَنْبِلَانِ yutanbilāni	نُتَنْبِلُ nutanbilu	تُتَنْبِلُونَ tutanbilūna	يُتَنْبِلُونَ yutanbilūna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	f	أُتَنْبِلُ ʔutanbilu	تُتَنْبِلِينَ tutanbilīna	تُتَنْبِلُ tutanbilu	تُتَنْبِلَانِ tutanbilāni	تُتَنْبِلَانِ tutanbilāni	نُتَنْبِلُ nutanbilu	تُتَنْبِلْنَ tutanbilna	يُتَنْبِلْنَ yutanbilna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أُتَنْبِلَ ʔutanbila	تُتَنْبِلَ tutanbila	يُتَنْبِلَ yutanbila	تُتَنْبِلَا tutanbilā	يُتَنْبِلَا yutanbilā	نُتَنْبِلَ nutanbila	تُتَنْبِلُوا tutanbilū	يُتَنْبِلُوا yutanbilū
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	f	أُتَنْبِلَ ʔutanbila	تُتَنْبِلِي tutanbilī	تُتَنْبِلَ tutanbila	تُتَنْبِلَا tutanbilā	تُتَنْبِلَا tutanbilā	نُتَنْبِلَ nutanbila	تُتَنْبِلْنَ tutanbilna	يُتَنْبِلْنَ yutanbilna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أُتَنْبِلْ ʔutanbil	تُتَنْبِلْ tutanbil	يُتَنْبِلْ yutanbil	تُتَنْبِلَا tutanbilā	يُتَنْبِلَا yutanbilā	نُتَنْبِلْ nutanbil	تُتَنْبِلُوا tutanbilū	يُتَنْبِلُوا yutanbilū
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	f	أُتَنْبِلْ ʔutanbil	تُتَنْبِلِي tutanbilī	تُتَنْبِلْ tutanbil	تُتَنْبِلَا tutanbilā	تُتَنْبِلَا tutanbilā	نُتَنْبِلْ nutanbil	تُتَنْبِلْنَ tutanbilna	يُتَنْبِلْنَ yutanbilna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		تَنْبِلْ tanbil		تَنْبِلَا tanbilā			تَنْبِلُوا tanbilū
imperative الْأَمْر	f		تَنْبِلِي tanbilī		تَنْبِلَا tanbilā			تَنْبِلْنَ tanbilna

passive voice الْفِعْل الْمَجْهُول
		singular الْمُفْرَد			dual الْمُثَنَّى		plural الْجَمْع
		1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	تُنْبِلْتُ tunbiltu	تُنْبِلْتَ tunbilta	تُنْبِلَ tunbila	تُنْبِلْتُمَا tunbiltumā	تُنْبِلَا tunbilā	تُنْبِلْنَا tunbilnā	تُنْبِلْتُمْ tunbiltum	تُنْبِلُوا tunbilū
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	f	تُنْبِلْتُ tunbiltu	تُنْبِلْتِ tunbilti	تُنْبِلَتْ tunbilat	تُنْبِلْتُمَا tunbiltumā	تُنْبِلَتَا tunbilatā	تُنْبِلْنَا tunbilnā	تُنْبِلْتُنَّ tunbiltunna	تُنْبِلْنَ tunbilna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أُتَنْبَلُ ʔutanbalu	تُتَنْبَلُ tutanbalu	يُتَنْبَلُ yutanbalu	تُتَنْبَلَانِ tutanbalāni	يُتَنْبَلَانِ yutanbalāni	نُتَنْبَلُ nutanbalu	تُتَنْبَلُونَ tutanbalūna	يُتَنْبَلُونَ yutanbalūna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	f	أُتَنْبَلُ ʔutanbalu	تُتَنْبَلِينَ tutanbalīna	تُتَنْبَلُ tutanbalu	تُتَنْبَلَانِ tutanbalāni	تُتَنْبَلَانِ tutanbalāni	نُتَنْبَلُ nutanbalu	تُتَنْبَلْنَ tutanbalna	يُتَنْبَلْنَ yutanbalna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أُتَنْبَلَ ʔutanbala	تُتَنْبَلَ tutanbala	يُتَنْبَلَ yutanbala	تُتَنْبَلَا tutanbalā	يُتَنْبَلَا yutanbalā	نُتَنْبَلَ nutanbala	تُتَنْبَلُوا tutanbalū	يُتَنْبَلُوا yutanbalū
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	f	أُتَنْبَلَ ʔutanbala	تُتَنْبَلِي tutanbalī	تُتَنْبَلَ tutanbala	تُتَنْبَلَا tutanbalā	تُتَنْبَلَا tutanbalā	نُتَنْبَلَ nutanbala	تُتَنْبَلْنَ tutanbalna	يُتَنْبَلْنَ yutanbalna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أُتَنْبَلْ ʔutanbal	تُتَنْبَلْ tutanbal	يُتَنْبَلْ yutanbal	تُتَنْبَلَا tutanbalā	يُتَنْبَلَا yutanbalā	نُتَنْبَلْ nutanbal	تُتَنْبَلُوا tutanbalū	يُتَنْبَلُوا yutanbalū
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	f	أُتَنْبَلْ ʔutanbal	تُتَنْبَلِي tutanbalī	تُتَنْبَلْ tutanbal	تُتَنْبَلَا tutanbalā	تُتَنْبَلَا tutanbalā	نُتَنْبَلْ nutanbal	تُتَنْبَلْنَ tutanbalna	يُتَنْبَلْنَ yutanbalna

Etymology 2

Root
ن ب ل (n b l)
4 terms

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ta.nab.ba.la/

Verb

تَنَبَّلَ • (tanabbala) V (non-past يَتَنَبَّلُ (yatanabbalu), verbal noun تَنَبُّل (tanabbul))

to be noble, to be of high rank or talent, to excel
- a. 525, Aš-Šanfara, أقيموا بني أمي صدور مطيكم (first line)‎^[2]:
  وَلَيْلَةِ نَحْسٍ يَصْطَلِيَ القَوْسَ رَبُّهَا … وَأَقْطُعَهُ ٱللَّاتِي بِهَا يَتَنَبَّلُ
  دَعَسْتُ عَلَى غَطَشٍ وَبَغْشٍ وَصُحْبَتِي … سُعَارٌ وَإِرْزِيزٌ وَوَجْرٌ وَأَفْكُلُ
  wa-laylati naḥsin yaṣṭaliya l-qawsa rabbu-hā … wa-ʔaqṭuʕa-hū l-lātī bi-hā yatanabbalu
  daʕastu ʕalā ḡaṭašin wabaḡšin wa-ṣuḥbatī … suʕārun wa-ʔirzīzun wa-wajrun wa-ʔafkulu
  And the ill-fated night when the master warmed up his bow, … and his arrowtips, in the handling of which he had trow
  I trod upon darkness and rain-shower and my following … was the heat of night and snowy hail and timid gulps and shivering

Conjugation

Conjugation of **تَنَبَّلَ** (V, sound, no passive, verbal noun **تَنَبُّل**)

verbal noun الْمَصْدَر					تَنَبُّل tanabbul
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل					مُتَنَبِّل mutanabbil
active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
		singular الْمُفْرَد			dual الْمُثَنَّى		plural الْجَمْع
		1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	تَنَبَّلْتُ tanabbaltu	تَنَبَّلْتَ tanabbalta	تَنَبَّلَ tanabbala	تَنَبَّلْتُمَا tanabbaltumā	تَنَبَّلَا tanabbalā	تَنَبَّلْنَا tanabbalnā	تَنَبَّلْتُمْ tanabbaltum	تَنَبَّلُوا tanabbalū
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	f	تَنَبَّلْتُ tanabbaltu	تَنَبَّلْتِ tanabbalti	تَنَبَّلَتْ tanabbalat	تَنَبَّلْتُمَا tanabbaltumā	تَنَبَّلَتَا tanabbalatā	تَنَبَّلْنَا tanabbalnā	تَنَبَّلْتُنَّ tanabbaltunna	تَنَبَّلْنَ tanabbalna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أَتَنَبَّلُ ʔatanabbalu	تَتَنَبَّلُ tatanabbalu	يَتَنَبَّلُ yatanabbalu	تَتَنَبَّلَانِ tatanabbalāni	يَتَنَبَّلَانِ yatanabbalāni	نَتَنَبَّلُ natanabbalu	تَتَنَبَّلُونَ tatanabbalūna	يَتَنَبَّلُونَ yatanabbalūna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	f	أَتَنَبَّلُ ʔatanabbalu	تَتَنَبَّلِينَ tatanabbalīna	تَتَنَبَّلُ tatanabbalu	تَتَنَبَّلَانِ tatanabbalāni	تَتَنَبَّلَانِ tatanabbalāni	نَتَنَبَّلُ natanabbalu	تَتَنَبَّلْنَ tatanabbalna	يَتَنَبَّلْنَ yatanabbalna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أَتَنَبَّلَ ʔatanabbala	تَتَنَبَّلَ tatanabbala	يَتَنَبَّلَ yatanabbala	تَتَنَبَّلَا tatanabbalā	يَتَنَبَّلَا yatanabbalā	نَتَنَبَّلَ natanabbala	تَتَنَبَّلُوا tatanabbalū	يَتَنَبَّلُوا yatanabbalū
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	f	أَتَنَبَّلَ ʔatanabbala	تَتَنَبَّلِي tatanabbalī	تَتَنَبَّلَ tatanabbala	تَتَنَبَّلَا tatanabbalā	تَتَنَبَّلَا tatanabbalā	نَتَنَبَّلَ natanabbala	تَتَنَبَّلْنَ tatanabbalna	يَتَنَبَّلْنَ yatanabbalna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أَتَنَبَّلْ ʔatanabbal	تَتَنَبَّلْ tatanabbal	يَتَنَبَّلْ yatanabbal	تَتَنَبَّلَا tatanabbalā	يَتَنَبَّلَا yatanabbalā	نَتَنَبَّلْ natanabbal	تَتَنَبَّلُوا tatanabbalū	يَتَنَبَّلُوا yatanabbalū
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	f	أَتَنَبَّلْ ʔatanabbal	تَتَنَبَّلِي tatanabbalī	تَتَنَبَّلْ tatanabbal	تَتَنَبَّلَا tatanabbalā	تَتَنَبَّلَا tatanabbalā	نَتَنَبَّلْ natanabbal	تَتَنَبَّلْنَ tatanabbalna	يَتَنَبَّلْنَ yatanabbalna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		تَنَبَّلْ tanabbal		تَنَبَّلَا tanabbalā			تَنَبَّلُوا tanabbalū
imperative الْأَمْر	f		تَنَبَّلِي tanabbalī		تَنَبَّلَا tanabbalā			تَنَبَّلْنَ tanabbalna

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian (tanbal, “lazy, sluggish”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [tɛm.ˈbɛl]
(dialectal) IPA^(key): [dɛm.ˈbɛl]

Adjective

تنبل • (tembel)

idle, lazy, indolent, slothful, sluggish, averse to work, labor or employment
Synonyms: اوشنكن (üşengen), كاهل (kâhil), هایلاز (haylaz)

Derived terms

تنبل ات (tembel et, “sluggard”)
تنبلخانه (tembelhâne, “leper-house”)
تنبللشمك (tembelleşmek, “to become idle”)
تنبللك (tembellik, “laziness, idleness”)
تنبللنمك (tembellenmek, “to become idle”)

Descendants

Turkish: tembel
→ Albanian: dembel
→ Armenian: թէմպէլ (tʻēmpēl)
→ Bulgarian: дембе́л (dembél)
→ Greek: τεμπέλης (tempélis)
→ Hebrew: טֶמְבֶּל (témbel)
→ Laz: თემბელი (tembeli)
→ Macedonian: дембел (dembel)
→ Romanian: tembel
→ Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic script: дѐмбел

Latin script: dèmbel

Persian

Etymology 1

According to Asatrian, sound-symbolic like Ossetian тымбыл (tymbyl, “round”) and Armenian թմբլիկ (tʻmblik, “plump”).^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /tan.ˈbal/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.bǽl]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.bǽl]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.bǽl̥]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰæm.bǽl̥]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.bǽl]

Readings
Classical reading^?	tanbal
Dari reading^?	tanbal
Iranian reading^?	tanbal
Tajik reading^?	tanbal

Adjective

تنبل • (tanbal) (comparative تنبل‌تَر, superlative تنبل‌تَرین)

Inflection

Predicative forms of **تنبل** (tanbal)
	singular	plural
1^st person (“I am, we are”)	تنبلم (tanbalam)	تنبلیم (tanbalim)
2^nd person (“you are”)	تنبلی (tanbali)	تنبلید، تنبلین^△ (tanbalid, tanbalin^△)
3^rd person (“he/she/it is, they are”)	تنبل است، تنبله^△ (tanbal ast, tanbale^△)	تنبلند، تنبلن^△ (tanbaland, tanbalan^△)

^△ Colloquial.

Descendants

→ Arabic: تَنْبَل (tanbal)
→ Armenian: թամբալ (tʻambal)
→ Azerbaijani: tənbəl
→ Gulf Arabic: تمبل (tambal)
→ Dargwa: тамбал (tambal)
→ Kaitag: тамбал (tambal)
→ Ottoman Turkish: تنبل (tembel)
- Turkish: tembel
- → Albanian: dembel
- → Armenian: թէմպէլ (tʻēmpēl)
- → Bulgarian: дембе́л (dembél)
- → Greek: τεμπέλης (tempélis)
- → Hebrew: טֶמְבֶּל (témbel)
- → Laz: თემბელი (tembeli)
- → Macedonian: дембел (dembel)
- → Romanian: tembel
- → Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic script: дѐмбел
  Latin script: dèmbel
→ Tabasaran: темпел (tempel)
→ Uyghur: تەنبەل (tenbel)
→ Uzbek: tanbal

References

^ Asatrian, Garnik (2011) A Comparative Vocabulary of Central Iranian Dialects‎^[1] (in Persian), Tehran: Safir Ardehal Publications, pages 760–761
^ Asatrjan, Garnik (2019) “Образования с суффиксальным элементом -l- в новоиранском [Formations with the suffixal element -l- in New Iranian]”, in Caucaso-Caspica IV: Research Papers from the Institute of Oriental Studies, RAU (in Russian), Yerevan: Russian-Armenian University, page 180 of 175–189

Etymology 2

Perhaps a corruption of Arabic تَنَبُّل (tanabbul). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /tam.ˈbul/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.bʊ́l]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.bʊ́l]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.búl̥]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰæm.ból̥]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰäm.búl]

Readings
Classical reading^?	tambul
Dari reading^?	tambul
Iranian reading^?	tambol
Tajik reading^?	tambul

Noun

تنبل • (tambol)

(obsolete) trick, stratagem
- 1010, Ferdowsi, شاهنامه [Shahnameh]:
  پشوتن چنین گفت کز پیل و شیر
  به تنبل فزونست مرد دلیر
  Pišōtan čunīn guft k-az pīl u šēr⁠
  ba tambul fuzūn ast mard-i dalēr
  Pišōtan said: "The brave man has more tricks than the elephant and the lion."
  (romanization in Classical Persian)

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Persian (tanbal).

Adjective

تنبل • (tanbal) (common plural تنابل (tanābel))

lazy
Synonym: كسلان (kaslān)

تنبل

Arabic

Etymology 1

Adjective

Declension

Verb

Conjugation

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Persian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Adjective

Inflection

Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

Adjective

See also