cahil

Northern Kurdish

Alternative forms

  • cahêl, cihêlin the sense of “young”
  • cahîlin the sense of “ignorant”

Etymology

From Arabic جَاهِل (jāhil, ignorant), derived from the active participle of جَهِلَ (jahila, to be ignorant), derived from the root ج ه ل (j h l).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /d͡ʒɑːˈhɪl/

Adjective

cahil (comparative cahiltir, superlative herî cahil or tewrî cahil, Arabic spelling جاهل)

  1. young, immature
    Synonyms: ciwan, naşî, xort
    Antonyms: kal, mezin, pîr, sere
  2. inexperienced, naive
    Synonyms: naşî, nestêl, nezan, xam
  3. illiterate, ignorant, uneducated
    Synonym: nexwendî

Derived terms

  • cahilî

References

  • Chyet, Michael L. (2020) “cahil”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 1), volume 1, London: Transnational Press, page 101

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish جاهل (ignorant, stupid), from Arabic جَاهِل (jāhil).

Adjective

cahil

  1. ignorant, uneducated