‘Alama’: Arabic word for sign points to knowledge

The quote: "Writing is a sign of human existence in this world," is attributed to Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz.

Although the significance of writing is the focus, the act itself only becomes significant when framed as a sign of something important. This week’s Arabic word of the week, alama, which means sign, is a word that often elevates objects, places and ideas to provide greater understanding or knowledge.

Alama, which is used across Arabic dialects, comes from the verb alaama, which means placing a sign on something or to be better than someone at something. It's derived from the three Arabic letters Ain, Lam and Meem. The plural of alama is alamat and alaam.

Alama is a noun and has several meanings depending on context.

The first and perhaps the most common refers to any kind of indicator or set-up on a road that directs or leads someone to a specific location or destination. It is a sign that gives someone much-needed knowledge.

Alama also refers to the border between two nations. The word alam, which comes from alama, is the physical object that represents this border. It can be a fence, wall, sign or flag. In fact, the word alam is mostly used to reference a flag.

In a medical context, alama refers to the symptoms of any condition. It’s the signs or evidence that someone is physically or mentally unwell.

Alama can also be used to describe a set of characteristics, features, descriptions or signs that are specific to an object, place or idea. For example, the unique shape and colour of a banana are distinct markers that it is a banana. Or, when a couple are holding hands or being very affectionate with one another, this is a sign or an alama that they are in love.

Alama can also mean a physical sign or gesture that one does with their hand such as a peace sign or the three-finger salute created by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, which represents W for Win, V for Victory and L for Love.

Alama also refers to the evidence or sign that something once existed from an archaeological perspective. It is another way to refer to ruins.

Alama musajila, which translates to recorded sign, refers to commercial logos that are written by their owners such as logos for brands.

In Arabic grammar, variations of alama are used to describe different marks or signs. For example, alamat istifham is a question mark and alamat ta’agoub is an exclamation mark.

When pronounced differently, while still using the three core letters of the word, aaalama is someone who has more in-depth and rich knowledge in a specific field. We also have the word aleema, which is a verb that means to know, realise, feel or understand. It is the act of gaining knowledge.

While alama and aleema are not directly related to each other linguistically, they are related in their meaning when it comes to the concept of knowledge. While aleema is gaining knowledge, alama is the sign through which to gain knowledge.