كمان (Egyptian Arabic)

Where does "كمان" come from?

The Egyptian Arabic word 'kaman' originates from the Classical Arabic phrase 'kamā ʔan', which literally translates to 'as that'. Over time, this expression evolved from its function as a comparative conjunction into the versatile adverb used today to mean 'too,' 'also,' or 'in addition'.

Full etymology tree

• كمان (kamān) (Egyptian Arabic), 'too (likewise)'
  • inherited كَمَا أَنْ (kamā ʔan) (Arabic)
    • compound كَمَا (kamā) (Arabic), 'like, as'
      • compound كَ (ka) (Arabic), 'The twenty-second letter of the Arabic alphabet. It is preceded by ق (q) and followed by ل (l).'
      • compound مَا (mā) (Arabic), 'what?'
    • compound أَنْ (ʔan) (Arabic), 'Suffix used in forming intensive adjectives of the pattern فَعْلَان (faʕlān), e.g. تَعْبَان (taʕbān, “tired”), عَطْشَان (ʕaṭšān, “thirsty”), غَضْبَان (ḡaḍbān, “angry”), زَعْلَان (zaʕlān, “annoyed”), كَسْلَان (kaslān, “lazy”), نَعْسَان (naʕsān, “drowsy”). These adjectives generally have a feminine in َـى (-ā), e.g. عَطْشَى (ʕaṭšā), كَسْلَى (kaslā), نَعْسَى (naʕsā).'

Updated July 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris