Fatha
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 In Arabic script, the vowel point for a, appearing as a diagonal line placed above a letter ( ـَ ) and designating a short a /a/. If the Arabic letters ا (أَلِف (ʔalif)) or ى (أَلِف مَقْصُورَة (ʔalif maqṣūra)) immediately follow, it indicates a long ā /aː/.
- 2 father Geordie
- 3 Alternative form of fatha. alt-of, alternative, no-plural
"The use of the vowel fatHa (or in English "a") simply refers to the participant as being the one receiving the "action" as opposed to the use of kasra (or "i" in English) which denotes the participant "doing" the action rather than receiving it."
- 4 The vowel designated by this mark.
Example
More examples"The use of the vowel fatHa (or in English "a") simply refers to the participant as being the one receiving the "action" as opposed to the use of kasra (or "i" in English) which denotes the participant "doing" the action rather than receiving it."
Etymology
Borrowed from Arabic فَتْحَة (fatḥa, “an opening”), instance noun of the verb فَتَحَ (fataḥa, “to open”). Refers to the mouth position when pronouncing the /a/ vowel. Doublet of fathe, patach, and ptaha, denoting the open vowel in the Hebrew and Syriac scripts.
Alteration of father.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.