ثَـكْـلَى

Thakla

A woman bereft of her child by death and desperately afflicted by that.

The Arabic word thakla, (or thaklan in the masculine form), refers to a parent who has lost a child. Universal though this experience sadly is, this specific word for a bereaved parent is missing from the English language. It’s just one example of a unique and poignant word that exists without translation, yet expresses a social, emotional or physical concepts common across cultures.

The feminine form is also used metaphorically in contemporary literature to indicated a person’s deep state of affliction and despair.

ثَـكْـلَى

• Transcription: thakla simplified english transcription
  
  
• Phonetic: θaklā
  
  
• Arabic definition: اِمْرَأةٌ ثَكْلَى : فَقَدَتْ ابْنَهَا، أيْ مَفْجُوعَةٌ بِهِ
  
  
• English definition: thakla is a woman bereft of her child (by death, and so) desperately afflicted for that.