Fus-ha

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfÊŠshÉ™/

Alternative forms

• Fuṣḥā, Fusha, Fus'ha, FuSHa, Fus7a, Fu97a

Origin

From Arabic فُصْحَى ("eloquent").

Full definition of Fus-ha

Proper noun

1. Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, taken together: "standard" Arabic, used in religious texts, in writing, and in formal speech, as opposed to the regional "dialects" used for most daily communication.

Hyponyms

• (standard Arabic) Modern Standard Arabic, MSA; Classical Arabic

Antonyms

• colloquial Arabic, spoken Arabic, dialectal Arabic, vernacular Arabic, 'ammiyya, daarija

Usage notes

The name is also frequently spelled Fusha, with no hyphen; the hyphenated spelling is used to avoid a mispronunciation with (as in push). (An apostrophe is also sometimes used for this purpose: Fus'ha.)