nakba

/ˈnɑːkbə/

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic النَّكْبَة (an-nakba, “the catastrophe, the disaster”), from نَكَبَ (nakaba, “to make miserable”).

Why this word is great

NAKBA — [Name] The dispossession, societal destruction, and cultural suppression experienced by Palestinian Arabs following the 1948 Palestine war and the establishment of Israel. Borrowed from Arabic النَّكْبَة (an-nakba, "the catastrophe, the disaster"), from نَكَبَ (nakaba, "to make miserable"). Unlike "Holocaust" (which denotes industrialized genocide) or "Exodus" (which carries undertones of divine purpose or voluntary departure), Nakba is the weight of a key kept but never used, the silence of a village erased from maps, the stubborn fig tree still standing in the ruins of a razed home—a wound that refuses to scar, because the land remembers.

name

The dispossession of land and other property, destruction of society, and suppression of culture and political rights experienced by Palestinian Arabs occuring since the 1948 Palestine war and establishment of the State of Israel.“That al-Husayni [Amin al-Husseini]'s political career has not received balanced and impartial treatment is, of course, not remarkable in view of the passion his name has always inspired. Some Arab biographers have lauded him and his cause, seeking to absolve him of any responsibility for the 1948 nakba, while Jewish nationalists vilify him and discredit his movement.”

noun

In Arab contexts: a catastrophe; a grave setback.“Our President is admitting that the war has been a nakba, a setback. 'I take full personal responsibility.' 'But not for long,' murmurs Mahmoud, in whose company I am watching this ultra-dramatic moment.”