فتى
Arabic
Etymology
From Proto-West Semitic *pataw- (“to seduce, to beguile”), the young not only so called because they are easily persuaded, as illustrated by Semitic-borrowed Old Armenian տղայ (tłay) and երախայ (eraxay), which refer to the child and the simpleton at the same time, but in particular referring to the sexual prurience of adult-state humans, as that verb primarily bore a literal as well as a saucy meaning “to penetrate, to jook”—hence Tigre ፈታ (fäta) and Ge'ez ፈተወ (fätäwä), Tigrinya ፈተወ (fätäwä) mean “to love”, as in being attracted by the sex.
For similar semantic direction and range, see also م ن ي (m n y) / م ن و (m n w) meaning in the base stem “to tempt; to afflict, to make suffer”, form II “to rouse desire or hope in”, form V “to desire”, well known, and finally specifically in Akkadian 𒈨𒉡𒌝 (menûm, “to love”), but also in Arabic مَنِيّ (maniyy, “what is discharged in ejaculation”). A parallel case for a particular age of man having been named in accordance with such reflections is غُلَام (ḡulām, “boy”) conversely engendering the verb غَلِمَ (ḡalima, “to be in rut”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fa.tan/
Noun
فَتًى • (fatan) m (dual فَتَيَان (fatayān) or فَتَوَان (fatawān), plural فِتْيَان (fityān) or فِتْيَة (fitya) or فُتُوّ (futuww) or فُتِيّ (futiyy), feminine فَتَاة (fatāh))
- male adolescent, youth, juvenile
- male servant
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 18:62:
- فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَا قَالَ لِفَتَاهُ آتِنَا غَدَاءَنَا لَقَدْ لَقِينَا مِن سَفَرِنَا هٰذَا نَصَبًا
- fa-lammā jāwazā qāla li-fatāhu ʔātinā ḡadāʔanā laqad laqīnā min safarinā hāḏā naṣaban
- So when they had passed beyond it, he said to his boy, "Bring us our morning meal. We have certainly suffered in this, our journey, much fatigue."
Declension
| singular | singular in ـًى (-an) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | construct | |
| informal | فَتَى fatā |
الْفَتَى al-fatā |
فَتَى fatā |
| nominative | فَتًى fatan |
الْفَتَى al-fatā |
فَتَى fatā |
| accusative | فَتًى fatan |
الْفَتَى al-fatā |
فَتَى fatā |
| genitive | فَتًى fatan |
الْفَتَى al-fatā |
فَتَى fatā |
| dual | indefinite | definite | construct |
| informal | فَتَيَيْن; فَتَوَيْن fatayayn; fatawayn |
الْفَتَيَيْن; الْفَتَوَيْن al-fatayayn; al-fatawayn |
فَتَيَيْ; فَتَوَيْ fatayay; fataway |
| nominative | فَتَيَانِ; فَتَوَانِ fatayāni; fatawāni |
الْفَتَيَانِ; الْفَتَوَانِ al-fatayāni; al-fatawāni |
فَتَيَا; فَتَوَا fatayā; fatawā |
| accusative | فَتَيَيْنِ; فَتَوَيْنِ fatayayni; fatawayni |
الْفَتَيَيْنِ; الْفَتَوَيْنِ al-fatayayni; al-fatawayni |
فَتَيَيْ; فَتَوَيْ fatayay; fataway |
| genitive | فَتَيَيْنِ; فَتَوَيْنِ fatayayni; fatawayni |
الْفَتَيَيْنِ; الْفَتَوَيْنِ al-fatayayni; al-fatawayni |
فَتَيَيْ; فَتَوَيْ fatayay; fataway |
| plural | basic broken plural triptote; broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a) | ||
| indefinite | definite | construct | |
| informal | فِتْيَان; فِتْيَة; فُتُوّ; فُتِي fityān; fitya; futuww; futī |
الْفِتْيَان; الْفِتْيَة; الْفُتُوّ; الْفُتِي al-fityān; al-fitya; al-futuww; al-futī |
فِتْيَان; فِتْيَة; فُتُوّ; فُتِي fityān; fityat; futuww; futī |
| nominative | فِتْيَانٌ; فِتْيَةٌ; فُتُوٌّ; فُتِيٌّ fityānun; fityatun; futuwwun; futiyyun |
الْفِتْيَانُ; الْفِتْيَةُ; الْفُتُوُّ; الْفُتِيُّ al-fityānu; al-fityatu; al-futuwwu; al-futiyyu |
فِتْيَانُ; فِتْيَةُ; فُتُوُّ; فُتِيُّ fityānu; fityatu; futuwwu; futiyyu |
| accusative | فِتْيَانًا; فِتْيَةً; فُتُوًّا; فُتِيًّا fityānan; fityatan; futuwwan; futiyyan |
الْفِتْيَانَ; الْفِتْيَةَ; الْفُتُوَّ; الْفُتِيَّ al-fityāna; al-fityata; al-futuwwa; al-futiyya |
فِتْيَانَ; فِتْيَةَ; فُتُوَّ; فُتِيَّ fityāna; fityata; futuwwa; futiyya |
| genitive | فِتْيَانٍ; فِتْيَةٍ; فُتُوٍّ; فُتِيٍّ fityānin; fityatin; futuwwin; futiyyin |
الْفِتْيَانِ; الْفِتْيَةِ; الْفُتُوِّ; الْفُتِيِّ al-fityāni; al-fityati; al-futuwwi; al-futiyyi |
فِتْيَانِ; فِتْيَةِ; فُتُوِّ; فُتِيِّ fityāni; fityati; futuwwi; futiyyi |
Derived terms
References
- Wehr, Hans (1979) “فتو”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN