Nakba
Origin
From Nakba, from Arabic نَكْبَة (nákba, "disaster, catastrophe"); see Nakba for more.
Full definition of nakba
Proper noun
nakba
(plural nakbas)- Alternative capitalization of Nakba
- 1992, Philip Mattar, The Mufti of Jerusalem (ISBN 0231064632), page 140: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.
- 2009, Nissim Rejwan, Arabs in the Mirror: Images and Self-Images (ISBN 0292774451), page 149:Ever since the 1948 nakba, Arab thinkers and intellectuals have been studying the causes of their condition and recommending ways for changing or improving it.
- 2009, Sumantra Bose, Contested lands (ISBN 0674028562), page 262Indeed, violence broke out in the occupied territories in mid-May 2000 as Palestinians observed the anniversary of the 1948 nakba—these disturbances paled in comparison to the second intifada, which erupted in the autumn.
Noun
nakba
(plural nakbas)- A catastrophe; a grave setback.
- 1998, David Caute, Fatima's scarf, page 280: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.
- 2000, Arab American Voices, page 45:A second nakba happened after the 1967 Six Day War, when Israel captured Arab land that belonged to Jordan and Egypt; another 325,000 Palestinians left their homes.
- 2010, Raimond Gaita, Gaza: Morality, Law & Politics (ISBN 1742580963), page 99:But for now, there is no prophet amongst the politicians, and the only prophecies to be heard are of nakbas and holocausts.----