متى

Arabic

Etymology 1

Compare مَا (, what?) and مَن (man, who?). Cognate to Hebrew מתי (matai).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ma.taː/

Adverb

مَتَى • (matā)

  1. when (at what time?)
  2. whenever
    • a. 965, Al-Mutanabbi, “أَجابَ دَمعي وَما الداعي سِوى طَلَلِ” (chapter 182), in The Works of 'Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī, volume 3, Dār Al-Ma‘rifah, published 1978, page 75:
      مَتَى تَزُرْ قْوْمَ مَنْ تَهْوَى زِيَارَتَهَا / لَا يُتْحِفُوكَ بِغَيْرِ الْبِيضِ وَٱلْأَسَلِ
      matā tazur qwma man tahwā ziyāratahā / lā yutḥifūka biḡayri l-bīḍi wal-ʔasali
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Synonyms
Descendants
  • Egyptian Arabic: امتى (emta)
  • Maltese: meta
  • Moroccan Arabic: امتى (imta)
  • North Levantine Arabic: ايمتى (ʔēmta)
  • South Levantine Arabic: ايمتى (ʔēmta), ونتى (wenta)

Preposition

مَتَى • (matā)

  1. (obsolete, rare, dialectal) from
    • Abu Dhu'ayb Al-Hudhali
      شَرِبْنَ بِمَاءِ ٱلْبَحْرِ ثُمَّ تَرَفَّعَتْ مَتَى لُجَجٍ خُضْرٍ لَهُنَّ نَئِيجُ
      šaribna bimāʔi l-baḥri ṯumma taraffaʕat matā lujajin ḵuḍrin lahunna naʔīju
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Etymology 2

From Hebrew מתי (mattai).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mat.taː/

Proper noun

مَتَّى • (mattām

  1. (Christianity) Matthew, one of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus and one of the Four Evangelists
  2. (Christianity) Matthew, the first of the four canonical gospels
Declension
Declension of noun مَتَّى (mattā)
singular singular invariable
indefinite definite construct
informal مَتَّى
mattā
nominative مَتَّى
mattā
accusative مَتَّى
mattā
genitive مَتَّى
mattā

Chadian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic مَتَى (matā).

Adverb

متى • (mata)

  1. when?

References

  • Heath, Judith, Mahadi, Mahamat Zene (2021) Lexique Arabe Tchadien-Français[1] (in French), 11th edition, N'Djamena, Chad: SIL Chad, page 99

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic مَتَى (matā).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mi.ta/, [mɪ.ta]

Adverb

مِتى • (mita)

  1. when (at what time?)
  2. whenever