salaam
Americannoun
-
a salutation meaning “peace,” used especially in Islamic countries.
-
a very low bow or obeisance, especially with the palm of the right hand placed on the forehead.
verb (used with or without object)
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salaams,
present (3rd person singular)
-
salaamed,
past participle, past
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salaaming
present participle
noun
-
a Muslim form of salutation consisting of a deep bow with the right palm on the forehead
-
a salutation signifying peace, used chiefly by Muslims
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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salaamsimple
-
salaamssimple
-
have salaamedperfect
-
has salaamedperfect
-
am salaamingprogressive
-
are salaamingprogressive
-
is salaamingprogressive
-
have been salaamingperfect progressive
-
has been salaamingperfect progressive
Past
-
salaamedsimple
-
had salaamedperfect
-
was salaamingprogressive
-
were salaamingprogressive
-
had been salaamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of salaam
First recorded in 1605–15; from Arabic salām “peace,” cognate with Hebrew shalom ( def. ), from common Semitic šalām
Vocabulary lists containing salaam
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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Muslim Empires and the Middle East - High School
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Muslim Empires and the Middle East - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Villagers greeted his mother, Raja Begam, with a respectful salaam.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2017
Maira asks the group, “Can I write salaam aleikum?”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 23, 2016
They begin to sing: Lal lal salaam, lal lal salaam, aane vaaley saathiyon ko lal lal salaam.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 27, 2010
Gordon loves the “We’re not worthy” line that Wayne and sidekick Garth salaam to Cooper in the film.
From Newsweek
They smile and offer a salaam to everyone we pass.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
The book's only egregious fault is its beginning: there, the author salaams toward Oxford, Miss., as almost every new Southern writer has done for two decades.
From Time Magazine Archive
I say salaams to Nuah and good-bye to Tats and lie on the couch with my eyes wide open.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
She follows me to the door, so I turn and kiss salaams on her cheeks, to disarm her from further questions.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Okay, give my salaams to your parents, and I will talk to you later.”
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
There were salaams from the benches as people I knew from masjid inquired about Mama and Baba, told me that du'as had been made for their health, and asked if I needed anything.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Italians still salaamed to his face on screens, his name on walls, but there were certain new mental reservations in their reverence.
From Time Magazine Archive
One Teheran elector dropped his ballot in the box, then salaamed deeply three times to the container.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was a Mecca to which diplomats either made pilgrimages or salaamed.
From Time Magazine Archive
After they received bakhsheesh they escorted me two miles farther "to honour the Khanum," fired their guns in the air, salaamed profoundly, and with shrieks and yells left me at a gallop.
From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird
But he was interrupted as a porter appeared and salaamed.
From Caravans By Night A Romance of India by Harry Hervey
In desperation, newsmen formed a crescent on Rita's lawn, fell to their knees, salaaming and pleading.
From Time Magazine Archive
The great soldier having driven off in full uniform through a throng of salaaming menials of various nationalities, X. entered his humble gharry, and, followed by Usoof and Abu, drove to the Messagerie wharf.
From From Jungle to Java The Trivial Impressions of a Short Excursion to Netherlands India by Arthur Louis Keyser
He stepped on to the trolley and sat down, as Ali, saluting and salaaming respectfully, again bade him be of good cheer and high heart, as he would see him at Kilindini.
From Cupid in Africa by P. C. Wren
"Enter, my lord," the man said, salaaming deeply.
From At the Point of the Bayonet A Tale of the Mahratta War by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
She did not understand at first, but the owners, salaaming behind their sweating cargadores, explained that they were to be hers during her stay.
From Caybigan by James Hopper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
