nakba

Borrowed from Arabic نَكْبَة (nakba, “disaster, catastrophe”); see further at Nakba.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnɑːkbə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnɑkbə/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nak‧ba

nakba (plural nakbas)

1. In Arab contexts: a catastrophe; a grave setback.
   • 1998, David Caute, Fatima's scarf, page 280:

     Our President is admitting that the war has been a nakba, a setback. 'I take full personal responsibility.' 'But not for long,' murmurs Mahmoud, in whose company I am watching this ultra-dramatic moment.

   • 2000, Arab American Voices, page 45:

     A second nakba happened after the 1967 Six Day War, when Israel captured Arab land that belonged to Jordan and Egypt; another 325,000 Palestinians left their homes.

   • 2010, Raimond Gaita, Gaza: Morality, Law & Politics, →ISBN, page 99:

     But for now, there is no prophet amongst the politicians, and the only prophecies to be heard are of nakbas and holocausts.

nakba

1. Alternative letter-case form of Nakba.
   • 1992, Philip Mattar, “An Overview and Assessment”, in The Mufti of Jerusalem: Al-Hajj Amin al-Husayni and the Palestinian National Movement, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 140:

     That al-Husayni [Amin al-Husseini]'s political career has not received balanced and impartial treatment is, of course, not remarkable in view of the passion his name has always inspired. Some Arab biographers have lauded him and his cause, seeking to absolve him of any responsibility for the 1948 nakba, while Jewish nationalists vilify him and discredit his movement.

   • 2007, Sumantra Bose, Contested Lands: Israel–Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus, and Sri Lanka, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, [ttps://archive.org/details/contestedlandsis0000bose/page/262/mode/1up page 262]:

     Indeed, violence broke out in the occupied territories in mid-May 2000 as Palestinians observed the anniversary of the 1948 nakba—these disturbances paled in comparison to the second intifada, which erupted in the autumn.

   • 2008, Nissim Rejwan, “The Difference Israel has Made”, in Arabs in the Mirror: Images and Self-Images from Pre-Islamic to Modern Times, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 149:

     Ever since the 1948 nakba, Arab thinkers and intellectuals have been studying the causes of their condition and recommending ways for changing or improving it.

• Kanab

• IPA^(key): /nak.ba/

nakba f (plural nakbas)

1. catastrophe

nakba f

1. Nakba