nisba

N1I1S1B3A1

noun

An Arabic derivational adjective formed with the suffix ـِيّ m (-iyy) / ـِيَّة f (-iyya), or the equivalent construction in another Semitic (or other Afroasiatic) language.

OriginArabic نِسْبَة →
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Meanings

nounnisba (plural nisbas)

plural nisbas · alternative nesba · alternative nisbah · alternative nisbat · alternative nisbe

  1. An Arabic derivational adjective formed with the suffix ـِيّ m (-iyy) / ـِيَّة f (-iyya), or the equivalent construction in another Semitic (or other Afroasiatic) language.
  2. The part of an Arabic name consisting of such an adjective.

    Knowing the nisbas of the litigants and their representatives was the qāḍī's single most important preliminary task.

    2013, Zouhair Ghazzal, The grammars of adjudication: The economics of judicial decision making in fin-de-siècle Ottoman Beirut and Damascus

Origin

  1. Arabicنِسْبَة
  2. Englishnisba

From Arabic نِسْبَة (nisba).

More words from Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic نِسْبَة
  • نِسْبَة (nisba)grammar term
German Nisbe
  • Nisbegrammar term
Hebrew ניסבה
  • ניסבה (nisbá)grammar term
Hindi निसबत
  • निसबत (nisbat)grammar term
Malay nisbah
  • nisbahgrammar term
Russian ни́сба
  • ни́сба (nísba)grammar term
Turkish nispet eki
  • nispet ekigrammar term
Urdu نِسْبَت, نِسْبَہ
  • نِسْبَت (nisbat)grammar term
  • نِسْبَہ (nisba)grammar term

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

basinbainssabinnasibnisab
Cite this entry
APA

nisba. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nisba

MLA

“nisba.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nisba. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nisba,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nisba.

Source: nisba on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.