‘Nada’: Arabic word for morning dew seeps into kindness and generosity

The Lebanese-American writer and poet Khalil Gibran said in his seminal work The Prophet: "In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things, the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."

Published in 1923, in the section dedicated to friendship, Gibran uses the concept of dew as an element to describe an important detail and a metaphor for morning and freshness.

The latest Arabic word of the week, nada, has various meanings, one of which is commonly known as morning dew. The origin of nada is the verb nadiay, which refers to the action of something becoming damp or wet. This can include sweating, condensation or becoming wet from external sources such as the rain or shower.

Derived from the three Arabic letters Noon, Dal and Yaa’a, the official definition of nada is water which condenses and then turns into mist or fog in the night sky and then comes down to Earth as small droplets often seen on leaves, plants and blades of grass. While technically nada can mean all dew drops, it’s usually referred to the dew drops seen in the morning as that is when they are most common.

Aside from this meaning used across dialogues in the Arab world, nada also has several other meanings. Nada can also mean rain or a drizzle, which is not surprising given the origins of the word. But it can also refer to the characteristics of kindness and generosity. While there is linguistic proof to this connection, we can conclude the idea that water is a generous element considered to be the source of all life.

Nada can also mean a group of people coming together in one space. In fact, the word for a day club or a country club is nadee, which is derived from nada. Nadee is also used to refer to the various clubs or societies of people with shared interests or identities who meet to discuss matters on those topics. For example, a society or club of lawyers or a club of sports players.

Again, while there is no direct evidence of how this meaning relates to the idea of morning dew, the only correlation can be that often, morning dew drops are formed in groups that appear to be congregating. Nada is also a female name that means both the morning dew and someone of a giving nature.

Qatr Al Nada is the name in Arabic for the folk character Snow White. Except in Arabic, her name means the drop of morning dew. It’s unclear why the Arabic version of Snow White was given this name. However, there is an important figure in Islamic history that she may be connected to.

Qatr Al Nada, also known as Asma bint Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun, was the daughter of the Tulunid ruler Khumarawayh. The Tulunid Dynasty was of Turkic origin and ruled over parts of Egypt and Syria from 868 to 905. Al Nada played an important role as a political pawn in the marriage alliance between the Tulunid Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over what is now Iraq.

Al Nada was renowned for her wit, elegance, intelligence and charm and brought with her a massive dowry of one million gold dinars. She died young and was buried in the caliphal palace in Baghdad.

Her name and story are synonymous with femininity, wit and beauty, which is referenced through the idea of nada. The renowned Syrian poet and writer Nizar Qabani used this reference to his advantage in his poem, also called Qatr Al Nada. “You have seeped into the pores of my skin like a dew drop,” reads one line of the poem that mentions the word and concept of nada.

While not about the historical figure herself, or about Snow White, the poem describes the narrator’s love and obsession with a woman.