ختيار

• إختيار (ʔiḵtyār)

Inherited from Arabic اِخْتِيَار (iḵtiyār, “selection, choice”), the only surviving native verbal noun of form VIII. The Arabic form was underlyingly ٱخْتِيَار /xti.jaːr/, which, upon the loss of short medial /i/ in open syllables, would have left behind an untenable syllable خْتْيَار *[xt.jaːr] that was resolved to خِتْـ /xit-/ by epenthesis.

Semantically, the word may have formed similarly to مختار (miḵtār, muḵtār, “mayor, mukhtar”) in originally referring to an elected, chosen village leader before broadening in meaning to encompass all men of venerable age.

Cognate to Turkish ihtiyar, which was either loaned before the word's shape had started to approach its modern vernacular form or was restored to its Standard Arabic form intentionally during loaning.

• IPA^(key): /xit.ˈjaːr/

ختيار • (ḵityār) m (plural ختياريّة (ḵityāriyye) or ختايرة (ḵatāyra), feminine خِتْيَارَة (ḵityāra))

1. old man
2. (playing cards) king

Compare Turkish ihtiyar.

• IPA^(key): /xit.jaːr/, [xɪtˈjɑːrˤ]

• Audio (Birzeit):

  (file)

ختيار • (ḵityār) m (plural ختياريّة (ḵityāriyye) or ختايرة (ḵatāyra))

1. old man, elderly man