قلعة

See also: قلعہ and قلعه

Arabic

قَلْعَة

Etymology 1

Unknown. Possibilities include:

• From the Arabic root ق ل ع (q-l-ʕ).
• From Persian کلات (kalât, “fortress”), since a borrowing of this word regularly yields the shape قَلْعَة (qalʕa). Akin to Mazanderani کلا (kalâ, “borough”) and probably Old Armenian քաղաք (kʻałakʻ, “town”) (under ancient circumstances “fortress, castle” and “town” isn’t necessarily a meaning difference).
• From the name of the Malay town below, after its high walls, perhaps supported by how the vocalization varies between قَلْعَة (qalʕa), قِلْعَة (qilʕa) and قَلَعَة (qalaʕa).
• From Proto-Turkic *kiāl-mak (“to remain”). Compare the early Turkic borrowing for a fortification خَازُوق (ḵāzūq, “pale, stake”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qal.ʕa/, (less common) IPA^(key): /qil.ʕa/
  • (Hijazi) IPA^(key): [ɡal.ʕa], [qal.ʕa]

Noun

قَلْعَة or قِلْعَة • (qalʕa or qilʕa) f (plural قِلَاع (qilāʕ) or قُلُوع (qulūʕ) or قَلَعَات (qalaʕāt))

1. fortress, fort, castle

Declension

Declension of noun قَلْعَة (qalʕa)‎; قِلْعَة (qilʕa)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَلْعَة‎; قِلْعَة qalʕa‎; qilʕa	الْقَلْعَة‎; الْقِلْعَة al-qalʕa‎; al-qilʕa	قَلْعَة‎; قِلْعَة qalʕat‎; qilʕat
Nominative	قَلْعَةٌ‎; قِلْعَةٌ qalʕatun‎; qilʕatun	الْقَلْعَةُ‎; الْقِلْعَةُ al-qalʕatu‎; al-qilʕatu	قَلْعَةُ‎; قِلْعَةُ qalʕatu‎; qilʕatu
Accusative	قَلْعَةً‎; قِلْعَةً qalʕatan‎; qilʕatan	الْقَلْعَةَ‎; الْقِلْعَةَ al-qalʕata‎; al-qilʕata	قَلْعَةَ‎; قِلْعَةَ qalʕata‎; qilʕata
Genitive	قَلْعَةٍ‎; قِلْعَةٍ qalʕatin‎; qilʕatin	الْقَلْعَةِ‎; الْقِلْعَةِ al-qalʕati‎; al-qilʕati	قَلْعَةِ‎; قِلْعَةِ qalʕati‎; qilʕati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَلْعَتَيْن‎; قِلْعَتَيْن qalʕatayn‎; qilʕatayn	الْقَلْعَتَيْن‎; الْقِلْعَتَيْن al-qalʕatayn‎; al-qilʕatayn	قَلْعَتَيْ‎; قِلْعَتَيْ qalʕatay‎; qilʕatay
Nominative	قَلْعَتَانِ‎; قِلْعَتَانِ qalʕatāni‎; qilʕatāni	الْقَلْعَتَانِ‎; الْقِلْعَتَانِ al-qalʕatāni‎; al-qilʕatāni	قَلْعَتَا‎; قِلْعَتَا qalʕatā‎; qilʕatā
Accusative	قَلْعَتَيْنِ‎; قِلْعَتَيْنِ qalʕatayni‎; qilʕatayni	الْقَلْعَتَيْنِ‎; الْقِلْعَتَيْنِ al-qalʕatayni‎; al-qilʕatayni	قَلْعَتَيْ‎; قِلْعَتَيْ qalʕatay‎; qilʕatay
Genitive	قَلْعَتَيْنِ‎; قِلْعَتَيْنِ qalʕatayni‎; qilʕatayni	الْقَلْعَتَيْنِ‎; الْقِلْعَتَيْنِ al-qalʕatayni‎; al-qilʕatayni	قَلْعَتَيْ‎; قِلْعَتَيْ qalʕatay‎; qilʕatay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote‎; sound feminine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قِلَاع‎; قُلُوع‎; قَلَعَات qilāʕ‎; qulūʕ‎; qalaʕāt	الْقِلَاع‎; الْقُلُوع‎; الْقَلَعَات al-qilāʕ‎; al-qulūʕ‎; al-qalaʕāt	قِلَاع‎; قُلُوع‎; قَلَعَات qilāʕ‎; qulūʕ‎; qalaʕāt
Nominative	قِلَاعٌ‎; قُلُوعٌ‎; قَلَعَاتٌ qilāʕun‎; qulūʕun‎; qalaʕātun	الْقِلَاعُ‎; الْقُلُوعُ‎; الْقَلَعَاتُ al-qilāʕu‎; al-qulūʕu‎; al-qalaʕātu	قِلَاعُ‎; قُلُوعُ‎; قَلَعَاتُ qilāʕu‎; qulūʕu‎; qalaʕātu
Accusative	قِلَاعًا‎; قُلُوعًا‎; قَلَعَاتٍ qilāʕan‎; qulūʕan‎; qalaʕātin	الْقِلَاعَ‎; الْقُلُوعَ‎; الْقَلَعَاتِ al-qilāʕa‎; al-qulūʕa‎; al-qalaʕāti	قِلَاعَ‎; قُلُوعَ‎; قَلَعَاتِ qilāʕa‎; qulūʕa‎; qalaʕāti
Genitive	قِلَاعٍ‎; قُلُوعٍ‎; قَلَعَاتٍ qilāʕin‎; qulūʕin‎; qalaʕātin	الْقِلَاعِ‎; الْقُلُوعِ‎; الْقَلَعَاتِ al-qilāʕi‎; al-qulūʕi‎; al-qalaʕāti	قِلَاعِ‎; قُلُوعِ‎; قَلَعَاتِ qilāʕi‎; qulūʕi‎; qalaʕāti

Derived terms

• قُلَيْعَة (qulayʕa, diminutive)

Descendants

• → Middle Armenian: կլայ (klay)
  • → Armenian: ղալա (ġala)
• → Persian: قلعه (qal'e)
  • → Azerbaijani: qala
  • → Bashkir: ҡала (qala)
  • → Bengali: কেল্লা (kella)
  • → Hindustani:

    Hindi: क़िला (qilā)

    Urdu: قِلْعَہ (qil'a)

    • → English: qila
    • → Shina: قلعہ (qilla)

  • → Kazakh: қала (qala)
  • → Kyrgyz: калаa (kalaa)
  • → Marathi: किल्ला (killā)
  • → Tajik: қалъа (qalʾa)
  • → Tatar: кала (qala)
  • → Turkmen: gala
  • → Uzbek: qalʼa
  • → Ottoman Turkish: قلعه (kalʼa, kalʼe)
    • Turkish: kale
    • → Albanian: kala
  • → Punjabi:

    Gurmukhi script: ਕਿਲ੍ਹਾ (kilhā)

    Shahmukhi script: قلعہ (qila)

  • → Uyghur: قەلئە (qel'e)
• → Tabasaran: гъала (ġala)

Toponyms

• → Spanish: Alcalá
• → Sicilian: Carta-
• → Sicilian: Cala-
• ⇒ Arabic: قَلْعَةْ النِسَاء (qalʕat an-nisāʔ, “Fort of the Women”)
  • → Italian: Caltanissetta

Etymology 2

Root
ق ل ع (q-l-ʕ)

Noun

قُلْعَة • (qulʕa) f

1. (obsolete) distancing oneself, remotion, depart, not resting

   Synonym: رِحْلَة (riḥla)

Declension

Declension of noun قُلْعَة (qulʕa)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قُلْعَة qulʕa	الْقُلْعَة al-qulʕa	قُلْعَة qulʕat
Nominative	قُلْعَةٌ qulʕatun	الْقُلْعَةُ al-qulʕatu	قُلْعَةُ qulʕatu
Accusative	قُلْعَةً qulʕatan	الْقُلْعَةَ al-qulʕata	قُلْعَةَ qulʕata
Genitive	قُلْعَةٍ qulʕatin	الْقُلْعَةِ al-qulʕati	قُلْعَةِ qulʕati

Etymology 3

Proper noun

قَلْعَة or قِلْعَة • (qalʕa or qilʕa) f

1. alternative form of كَلَة (kala, “the tin-exporting port town”)

Declension

Declension of noun قَلْعَة (qalʕa)‎; قِلْعَة (qilʕa)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	—	قَلْعَة‎; قِلْعَة qalʕa‎; qilʕa	—
Nominative	—	قَلْعَةٌ‎; قِلْعَةٌ qalʕatun‎; qilʕatun	—
Accusative	—	قَلْعَةً‎; قِلْعَةً qalʕatan‎; qilʕatan	—
Genitive	—	قَلْعَةٍ‎; قِلْعَةٍ qalʕatin‎; qilʕatin	—

Derived terms

• قَلْعِيّ (qalʕiyy)

References

• Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1881) “قلعة”, in Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes‎^[1] (in French), volume 2, Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 396
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 237
• Freytag, Georg (1835) “قلعة”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[2] (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 490
• Mirzoyan, Knarik, Charchyan, Tadevos (2016) “Some Persian Loanwords in Tatar Language”, in Problems of Oriental Studies‎^[3], volume 12, Yerevan: University Press, page 256
• Siddiqi, Abdussattar (1919) Studien über die Persischen Fremdwörter im klassischen Arabisch (in German), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pages 70–71
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884) “قلعة”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[4], London: W.H. Allen, page 853
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “قلعة”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, page 920

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Arabic قَلْعَة (qalʕa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qal.ʕe/, [ˈqɑl.ʕa]
• IPA^(key): /qal.ʕa/, [ˈqɑl.ʕa]

• Audio (Ramallah)

  (file)

Noun

قلعة • (qalʕa) f (plural قلاع (qilāʕ))

1. fort, fortress, castle
2. (chess) rook