Definition
A river; a large natural stream of water that flows through the land.
Example
يَجْلِسُ الأَطْفَالُ بِجَانِبِ النَّهْرِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ.
Show translation
The children sit beside the river every day.
Etymology
From the Semitic root *n-h-r*, meaning "to flow" or "to shine." The root is shared across Semitic languages: Hebrew נָהָר (nāhār), Aramaic ܢܗܪܐ (nahrā), and Akkadian nāru. The same root also gives Arabic نَهَار (nahār, "daytime"), likely from the image of light flowing or spreading.
Cultural note
Rivers hold immense cultural and historical weight in the Arab world. The Nile (النِّيل, al-Nīl) and the Tigris and Euphrates (دِجْلَة وَالفُرَات, Dijla wa-l-Furāt) — the rivers of ancient Mesopotamia, modern Iraq — are central to the story of human civilization. The phrase "بِلَاد الرَّافِدَيْن" (bilād al-rāfidayn, "land of the two rivers") is the classical Arabic name for Mesopotamia. Note: نَهْر refers specifically to a river, while وَادٍ (wādī) refers to a valley or dry riverbed, a common feature of the Arabian landscape.