أَكَلَ
akala
/ʔaˈkal/
Definition
To eat food or consume something by mouth.
Example
أَكَلَ الوَلَدُ التُّفَّاحَةَ بِسُرْعَةٍ.
Show translation
The boy ate the apple quickly.
Etymology
From the trilateral root أ-ك-ل (ʾ-k-l), meaning "to eat." This root is shared across many Semitic languages: Hebrew אָכַל (akhal), Aramaic אֲכַל (akhal), and Ge'ez አካለ (akala). The root appears abundantly in Classical Arabic poetry and the Quran.
Cultural note
Eating in Arab culture is a deeply communal act. The phrase "تَفَضَّل" (tafaḍḍal, "please, help yourself") is almost always said to guests before a meal. Eating with the right hand is traditional and considered polite. Note that أَكَلَ is the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) form — in Egyptian dialect you'll hear "اتكل" (itakal), and in Levantine Arabic "أكل" is pronounced more like "akal."