In 1935, Lebanese poet Bechara El Khoury wrote the poem Youth and Beauty in homage to Jamila Al Khalil, the first Lebanese beauty queen crowned.
“Envious of you, the flower killed itself, spraying its blood across your cheeks,” one of the lines of the poem says, connecting the beauty of nature to Al Khalil.
The poem was then turned into a song by the renowned Egyptian composer, singer, and actor Mohamed Abdel Wahab, in 1939. It was featured in his film Youm Saeed (Happy Day) in 1940.
Beneath the shock of its imagery, the line in particular is powerful because of the concept of the flower, renowned for its beauty, being envious of a human being.
This week’s word of the week, warda, which colloquially means a single flower, is the subject of many works of art or is used as a motif in literature.
Whether it’s their variety in colour and shape, their healing properties, their intoxicating scents or the fact that they bloom for only a short while, flowers have become a symbol of love and appreciation.
The word warda is a noun made up of the four Arabic letters, waw, rah, dal and tah.
It’s derived from the word warouda, a verb which signifies when something turns red. While usually referring to flowers turning red, it can also be used in other contexts in classical Arabic, as when someone blushes.
While warda means a single flower, it can also refer to a rose specifically and sometimes a design resembling roses. There is another word that also means flower in Arabic, zahra.
While zahra is considered a more botanical word, referring to the species of plant known as flowers, warda and zahra are used interchangeably to mean flowers or roses in most colloquial dialects.
Warda can also mean when something or someone arrives or is mentioned in a conversation or record. While there is no official confirmation as to how warda can mean both those things, one can make an assumption based on another Arabic word derived from the same origin.
Warrada refers to something that blooms – a plant, tree or flower. With that in mind, warda can refer to a flower or someone arriving or appearing, since flowers “arrive” when they bloom.
Wourood or ward is the plural of warda. Interestingly, warda is also the feminine version of the word flower and ward, which also acts as the plural of the word, is the masculine version.
Ward has other meanings associated with flowers.
It describes a specific colour, red with a hint of yellow, seen in the spice saffron or in the sheen on a dark chestnut horse. Used as a verb, it describes the process of the reddening horizon during a sunset.
Warda is also a term of endearment used in some Arabic dialects, in both a romantic and platonic context on both men and women despite the word being feminine. Used in this context, it means someone who is either beautiful physically or in their nature. Warda also has associations to someone being at the hight of their youth and beauty.
Warda is also a name used for women. The most famous Warda was the Algerian singer renowned for her Arabic and Egyptian songs. While known simply as Warda she was also known as Warda Al-Jazairia, which translates to the Rose of Algeria.
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
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Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
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Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
