يَد
yad
/jad/
Definition
The hand; the part of the body at the end of the arm, used for touching, holding, and doing things.
Example
غَسَلَ الطِّفْلُ يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ الأَكْلِ.
Show translation
The child washed his hands before eating.
Etymology
From Proto-Semitic *yad-, shared across the Semitic family: Hebrew יָד (yad), Aramaic יְדָא (yedā), Akkadian *idu. One of the oldest and most stable roots in Semitic languages, appearing in thousands of idiomatic phrases across Arabic dialects.
Cultural note
يَد is far more than an anatomical term in Arabic culture. It appears in dozens of set phrases: يَد بِيَد (hand in hand), بِيَدِ اللّه (in God's hands), and عَلَى يَد (at the hands of / thanks to). The gesture of placing the right hand over the heart after a handshake is a common sign of sincerity in many Arab societies. Note also that the plural يَدَان (yadān) is the dual form for "two hands," while أَيْدِي (aydī) is the plural for multiple hands — a grammatical distinction unique to Arabic.