Mashrabaمشربة

أنسa single root meaning the appearing of a thing, and whatever runs contrary to the way of … (root ns)

الهمزة والنون والسين أصل واحد وهو ظهور الشيء وكل شيء خالف طريقة التوحش قالوا الإنس خلاف الجن وسموا لظهورهم

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

أنس
Patterns computed · our data

The words of أ ن س that our sources attest: the root's letters in green, the added letters in gold.

37 words6 verbs5 verbal nouns6 participles1 place or instrument3 intensives and elatives6 other nouns7 plurals3 relatives and abstracts

  • إِنسَانhuman being
  • إِنسchosen, select, particular, or special, friend or companion
  • أُنْسsociableness
  • إِنْسَانِيّhuman; humane
  • ءَانَسَhe behaved in a sociable, friendly, or familiar, manner with him
The whole family8 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs6آنَسَ · ءَانَسَ · اِسْتَأْنَسَ

The root as an action: the bare Form I, and the Forms made by adding letters before, inside or after the root.grammar →

Form I vowels: فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ (a – a; the imperfect from Lane's “aor.”)

  • آنَسَhe was, or became, sociable, companionable, conversable, inclined to company …LaneForm Ilibrary ×6LaneIbn Fāris
  • ءَانَسَhe behaved in a sociable, friendly, or familiar, manner with himLaneForm IVQurʾān ×5Lane
  • اِسْتَأْنَسَForm XQurʾān ×1library ×3Lane
  • اَنَّسَhe rendered him familiarLaneForm IILaneIbn Fāris
Verbal nouns5إِيناس · أَنَس · تَأْنِيس

The action itself, named as a noun (maṣdar).grammar →

  • إِيناسcourtesy; friendlinessautoForm IV · Lane: inf. n.library ×2Lane
  • أَنَسForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • تَأْنِيسhumanization; domesticationautoForm II · Lane: inf. n.library ×1Lane
  • مُؤانَسَةconviviality; cordialityautoForm I · Lane: inf. n.library ×1Lane
  • أَنَسَةForm I · Lane: inf. n.Lane
Participles6مُؤْنِس · مَأْنُوس · مُؤَانِس

The one who does it, and the one it is done to.grammar →

  • مُؤْنِسname which the Arabs, and the ancients, used to give to ThursdayLaneactive, Form IVlibrary ×1Lane
  • مَأْنُوسpassive, Form ILane
  • مُؤَانِسactive, Form IIILane
  • مُتَأَنِّسthe lionLaneactive, Form VLane
Place, time and instrument1مَأْنَس

Where or when it happens, and what it is done with: the m- nouns.grammar →

  • مَأْنَسnoun of place or timeLane
Intensives, qualities and the elative3إِنسَان · أَنِيس · أَنُوس

The quality carried far, held as a trait, or compared.grammar →

  • إِنسَانhuman beingautointensive (faʿlān)Qurʾān ×71library ×94LaneIbn Fāris
  • أَنِيسthere is not in the house any one by whose company, or converse, or presence, …Lanequality (faʿīl)library ×1Lane
  • أَنُوسtame, or gentle, dogLaneintensive (faʿūl)Lane
Other nouns6إِنس · أُنْس · آنَس

Nouns on other patterns; their meaning is learned word by word.grammar →

Plurals7أُنَاس · أَنَس · أَنَاسِىَّ

Broken plurals rebuild the word on a new pattern; sound plurals add an ending.grammar →

  • أُنَاسplural of human beingfrom the singularbroken plural of إِنسَانQurʾān ×5
  • أَنَسbroken plural of إِنسlibrary ×2Ibn Fāris
  • أَنَاسِىَّplural of human beingfrom the singularbroken plural of إِنسَانQurʾān ×1
  • أُنُسbroken plural of أَنُوسLaneIbn Fāris
Relative and abstract3إِنْسَانِيّ · إِنسِيّ · إِنْسَانِيَّة

-iyy relates a thing to its source; -iyya makes an abstract noun.grammar →

  • إِنْسَانِيّhuman; humaneautorelative adjective (-iyy)library ×13Lane
  • إِنسِيّhumanautorelative adjective (-iyy)Qurʾān ×1library ×5
  • إِنْسَانِيَّةabstract noun (-iyya)Lane
Why this shape?What each of the 20 patterns does

What each pattern does. The pattern gives a tendency, not a rule: many words have drifted into meanings of their own.

The pattern machinePour the root into a pattern; see whether the word exists

Choose a pattern; the root's letters pour into it. Then see whether the word exists in our sources. The machine makes shapes; only usage makes words.

مَفْعَلَةأ ن سمَأْنَسَة

Not in our sources. A possible shape, not a word we can show: the Quran, the library and Lane do not have it for this root.

Place noun with -a. The place noun with the feminine -a. Sometimes it is only a variant of mafʿal; often it names the place where a thing is found in abundance (maʾsada, 'a place full of lions'). So maktab is the place of writing, and maktaba, where writings are gathered: a library, a bookshop. Our summary

But: maktaba is not in our classical dictionaries for k-t-b: Lane and al-Jawharī give maktab ('a school'), none gives maktaba. Its sense of 'library, bookshop' fits the pattern of abundance, but that is our reading of the pattern, not a classical entry. Many mafʿala words are single items of usage (maqbara 'cemetery'), which the grammarians call heard, not formed by rule.

The grammarians on this pattern (4)
  • ما يكون مفعلة لازمة لها الهاء والفتحة … وذلك إذا أردت أن تكثر الشيء بالمكان، وذلك قولك: أرض مسبعة، ومأسدة

    Chapter on what is mafʿala, with the -a and the a-vowel always: that is when you mean that a thing abounds in a place, as you say 'a land of many beasts of prey (masbaʿa), of many lions (maʾsada)'

    Sībawayh (d. c. 180/796), al-Kitāb, ed. ʿAbd al-Salām Hārūn, 3rd ed. (Cairo: al-Khānjī, 1988), 4:94 · OpenITI line 21027–21028 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  • و نحو المظنة و المقبرة فتحا و ضما ليس بقياس

    and words like maẓinna and maqbara (with a or u) are not by rule

    Ibn al-Ḥājib (d. 646/1249), al-Shāfiya fī ʿilm al-taṣrīf, ed. Ḥasan Aḥmad al-ʿUthmān (Mecca: al-Maktaba al-Makkiyya, 1995), 1:30 · OpenITI line 223 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  • “designate the place where the object signified by the noun from which they are formed, is found in large numbers or quantities” Wright, Grammar I, §247, p. 148 ↗ · on nouns of abundance, maf'ala · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain
  • “Nouns of time and place not unfrequently take the feminine form” Wright, Grammar I, §225, p. 128 ↗ · on maf'ala as a variant of maf'al · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain

This root has a weak or doubled letter, so real words change shape (qāla → qāʾil, not qāwil); the machine pours the letters in as they are, and matches attested words by their regular pattern.

About thisWhat “attested” means here; the sources

Attested means found in our data: the Quranic Arabic Corpus (lemmas, verb Forms, participles, verbal nouns, plurals), the library's words (automatic analysis), Lane's Lexicon (his headwords, the Forms he numbers, the verbal nouns and plurals he names) and Ibn Fāris's entry. Nothing is generated for this list. Meanings are Lane's first gloss in his entry, or else the analyser's gloss (“auto”). Vowelling follows the corpus, then Lane, then the analyser; verbs are given in the regular perfect. Lane's Lexicon thins out after qāf, and a few of his entries cover several roots at once: those roots show no Lane. The patterns, written with ف ع ل, are computed by us.

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170Al-ins (الإنس) [mankind]: the group of people, they are al-anas (الأنس);

    al-Khalīl b. Aḥmad (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn. The first Arabic dictionary, arranged by permutations of the root letters.

    Al-ins (الإنس) [mankind]: the group of people, they are al-anas (الأنس); [you say]: 'I saw at such-and-such a place anasan kathīran (أنسا كثيرا)' meaning 'many people.' Insī al-qaws (إنسي القوس) [the 'human' side of the bow] is the side facing toward you, while waḥshī (الوحشي) is the side facing away from you. Insī al-insān (إنسي الإنسان) [a person's 'inner' side] is his left side, and his waḥshī (وحشيه) is his right side, likewise for everything with two sides. Al-istiʾnās (الاستئناس), al-uns (الأنس), and al-taʾannus (التأنس) are one and the same. One says 'anastu bi-fulān (أنست بفلان)' [I became familiar with so-and-so]. It is said: when night comes, every wild creature (waḥshī) grows tame (istaʾnasa), and every tame creature (insī) grows wild (istawḥasha). Al-ānisa (الآنسة) is the good-natured girl whose closeness and conversation are loved. 'Ānastu fazaʿan (آنست فزعا)' and 'anastuhu (أنسته)' mean: you sensed and found that fear within yourself. The falcon 'yataʾannas (يتأنس)' when it becomes clear-eyed and looks up, raising its head. 'Ānastu shakhṣan min makāni kadhā (آنست شخصا من مكان كذا)' means: I saw him. 'Ānastu min fulānin ḍaʿfan aw ḥazman (آنست من فلان ضعفا أو حزما)' means: I perceived it in him. A dog described as anūs (أنوس) is the opposite of one that bites (ʿaqūr); [plural] kilāb unus (كلاب أنس) [gentle dogs].

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الإنس: جماعة الناس، وهم الأنس، [تقول] : رأيت بمكان كذا أنسا كثيرا، أي: ناسا. وإنسي القوس: ما أقبل عليك، والوحشي: ما أدبر عنك. وإنسي الإنسان: شقه الأيسر، ووحشيه: شقه الأيمن، وكذلك في كل شيء. والاستئناس والأنس والتأنس واحد، وقد أنست بفلان، وقيل: إذا جاء الليل استأنس كل وحشي، واستوحش كل إنسي. والآنسة: الجارية الطيبة النفس التي تحب قربها وحديثها. وآنست فزعا وأنسته، إذا أحسست ذاك ووجدته في نفسك. والبازي يتأنس، إذا جلى ونظر رافعا رأسه. وآنست شخصا من مكان كذا، أي: رأيت. وآنست من فلان ضعفا، أو حزما، [أي: علمته] . وكلب أنوس، وهو نقيض العقور، وكلاب أنس.

  • al-Jawharī · 393Al-ins (الإنس) [mankind]: human beings;

    al-Jawharī (d. c. 393/1003), al-Ṣiḥāḥ. Admits only usage he judged sound.

    Al-ins (الإنس) [mankind]: human beings; the singular is insī (إنسي) and also unsī (أُنسي) with the vowel a, and the plural is anāsī (أناسي). If you wish, you may treat it as insān (إنسان) and then pluralize it as anāsī (أناسي), the yāʾ being a substitute for the nūn. God Most High said: 'wa-anāsiyya kathīran (وأناسي كثيرا)' ['and many human beings']. Likewise al-anāsiyya (الأناسية), like al-ṣayārifa (الصيارفة) and al-ṣayāqila (الصياقلة). The word insān (إنسان) is also used for a woman, and one does not say insāna (إنسانة) — though common people say it. Insān al-ʿayn (إنسان العين) is the image seen in the black of the eye, i.e., the pupil. It is also pluralized as anāsī (أناسي). Dhū al-Rumma said, describing camels whose eyes had sunk from fatigue and travel: 'like little pupils (anāsī, أناسي) set deep in the eyebrows' — and it is not pluralized as anās (أناس). The pattern of insān (إنسان) is fiʿlān (فعلان); a yāʾ was added in its diminutive just as a yāʾ was added in the diminutive of rajul (رجل), giving ruwayjil (رويجل). Some said: its origin is insiyān (إنسيان) on the pattern ifʿilān (إفعلان); the yāʾ was dropped for lightness, due to how frequently the word is used, but when they form its diminutive they restore the yāʾ, because the diminutive is not used as frequently. They cited as evidence the saying of Ibn ʿAbbās, God be pleased with him: 'He was only named insān (إنسان) because a covenant (ʿuhida) was made with him and he forgot (fa-nasiya).' Al-anās (الأناس) is a dialectal variant of al-nās (الناس), and is actually the original form, later lightened. The poet said: 'Indeed the fates come upon the secure people (al-anās al-āminīn, الأناس الآمنين).' It is said: 'kayfa ibnu insik (كيف ابن إنسك)' and 'insuka (إنسك)' meaning himself, i.e., 'how do you find me in my companionship with you?' 'Fulān ibnu insi fulān (فلان ابن إنس فلان)' means his close friend and intimate. [Similarly] 'hādhā khidnī (هذا خدني)', 'insī (إنسي)', 'khilṣī (خلصي)', and 'jilsī (جلسي)' — all with kasra. 'Istaʾnastu bi-fulān (استأنست بفلان)' and 'taʾannastu bihi (تأنست به)' are synonymous. 'Istaʾnasa al-waḥshī (استأنس الوحشي)' means: when the wild animal senses a human (insiyyan, إنسيا). Al-anīs (الأنيس) is al-muʾānis (المؤانس) [one who gives companionship], and anything by which one finds comfort. 'Mā bi-l-dāri anīs (ما بالدار أنيس)' means 'there is no one in the house.' Al-Kumayt's verse: 'Among them is one whose conversation is gentle (ānisatu al-ḥadīth, آنسة الحديث), modest, neither indecent nor foul-mouthed' — meaning: you find comfort (taʾannasta, تأنست) in her conversation. He did not mean that she actively comforts you, for then he would have said muʾnisa (مؤنسة). 'Ānastuhu (آنسته)' means: I saw/perceived him. 'Ānastu minhu rushdan (آنست منه رشدا)' means I perceived it in him. 'Ānastu al-ṣawt (آنست الصوت)' means: I heard the sound. Al-īnās (الإيناس) is the opposite of al-īḥāsh (الإيحاش) [causing fright], likewise al-taʾnīs (التأنيس). The Arabs used to call Thursday muʾnis (مؤنس). Al-Farrāʾ said: Yūnus (يونس), Yūnas (يونَس), and Yūnis (يونِس) are three dialectal forms of a man's name; the hamzated form was also transmitted. Abū Zayd said: al-insī (الإنسي) is the left side of anything. Al-Aṣmaʿī said: it is the right side. He said: every pair belonging to a person, such as the two forearms (sāʿidayn, الساعدين), the two wrist-bones (zandayn, الزندين), and the two feet (qadamayn, القدمين) — whichever faces toward the person is his insī (إنسي), and whichever... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الإنس: البشر، الواحد إنسي وأنسي أيضا بالتحريك، والجمع أناسي. وإن شئت جعلته إنسانا ثم جمعته أناسي، فتكون الياء عوضا من النون. وقال الله تعالى: {وأناسى كثيرا} . وكذلك الاناسية، مثل الصيارفة والصياقلة. ويقال للمرأة أيضا إنسان، ولا يقال إنسانة، والعامة تقوله. وإنسان العين: المثال الذي يرى في السواد، أي سواد العين. ويجمع أيضا على أناسي. قال ذو الرمة يصف إبلا غارت عيونها من التعب والسير: أناسي ملحود لها في الحواجب (1) * ولا يجمع على أناس. وتقدير إنسان فعلان، وإنما زيد في تصغيره ياء (2) كما زيد في تصغير رجل فقيل: رويجل. وقال قوم: أصله إنسيان على إفعلان، فحذفت الياء استخفافا، لكثرة ما يجرى على ألسنتهم، فإذا صغروه ردوها، لان التصغير لا يكثر. واستدلوا عليه بقول ابن عباس رضي الله عنه أنه قال: إنما سمى إنسانا لانه عهد إليه فنسى. والاناس: لغة في الناس، وهو (3) الأصل فخفف. قال الشاعر: إن المنايا يطلع‍ * ن على الأناس الآمنينا * ويقال: كيف ابن إنسك، وإنسك، يعني نفسه، أي كيف تراني في مصاحبتي إياك. وفلان ابن إنس فلان، أي صفيه وخاصته. وهذا خدنى، وإنسى، وخلصي، وجلسى، كله بالكسر. واستأنست بفلان وتأنست به، بمعنى. واستأنس الوحشي، إذا أحس إنسيا. والأنيس: المؤانس، وكل ما يؤنس به. وما بالدار أنيس، أي أحد. وقول الكميت: فيهن آنسة الحديث حيية * ليست بفاحشة ولا متفال * أي تأنست بحديثك. ولم يرد أنها تؤنسك، لأنه لو أراد ذلك لقال مؤنسة. وآنسته: أبصرته. يقال: آنست منه رشدا، أي عملته. وآنست الصوت: سمعته. والايناس: خلاف الإيحاش، وكذلك التأنيس. وكانت العرب تسمي يوم الخميس: مؤنسا. قال الفراء يونس ويونس ويونس: ثلاث لغات في اسم رجل. وحكى فيه الهمز أيضا. قال أبو زيد: الإنسي: الأيسر من كل شئ. وقال الاصمعي: هو الأيمن. وقال: كل اثنين من الإنسان مثل الساعدين والزندين والقدمين فما أقبل منهما على الإنسان فهو إنسي، وما أدبر عنه فهو وحشي. وإنسي القوس: ما أقبل عليك منها. والأنس، بالتحريك: الحى المقيمون. والانس أيضا: لغة في الإنس. وأنشد الأخفش على هذه اللغة (1) : أتوا ناري فقلت منون أنتم * فقالوا الجن قلت عموا ظلاما * فقلت إلى الطعام فقال منهم * زعيم: نحسد الأنس الطعاما * قال: والإنس أيضا: خلاف الوحشة، وهو مصدر قولك أنست به بالكسر أنسا وأنسة وفيه لغة أخرى: أنست به أنسا، مثال كفرت به كفرا.

  • Ibn Fāris · 395The letters hamza, nūn, and sīn form one root, meaning the appearing/showing of a thing, and anything contrary to wildness/being untamed.

    Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004), Maqāyīs al-Lugha. Seeks each root's original sense (aṣl).

    The letters hamza, nūn, and sīn form one root, meaning the appearing/showing of a thing, and anything contrary to wildness/being untamed. They say al-ins (الإنس) is the opposite of al-jinn (الجن), and they were named thus because of their visibility. It is said āʾnasa (آنس) a thing when you saw it. God Most High said: 'fa-in ānastum minhum rushdan' (فإن آنستم منهم رشدا) ['if you perceive in them sound judgment']. It is also said āʾnasa (آنس) a thing when you heard it — this is a metaphorical usage derived from the first meaning. Al-Ḥārith said: 'I perceived (āʾnasat, آنست) a faint sound, and it startled the hunter's dog, at an hour when evening had already drawn near.' And al-uns (الأنس) is the familiarity of a person with something, when he is not frightened by it. The Arabs say: 'kayfa ibnu insik (كيف ابن إنسك)?' when asking someone about himself. One says insān (إنسان), insānān (إنسانان), and anāsī (أناسي). Insān al-ʿayn (إنسان العين) is the pupil that is in the black of the eye. [Note: 'ibnu insik' is vocalized in al-Mukhaṣṣaṣ (200:13) as both 'ibnu insik' and 'ibnu ansik'.]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الهمزة والنون والسين أصل واحد وهو ظهور الشيء وكل شيء خالف طريقة التوحش قالوا الإنس خلاف الجن وسموا لظهورهم يقال آنست الشيء إذا رأيته قال الله تعالى ﴿ فإن آنستم منهم رشدا ﴾ ويقال آنست الشيء إذا سمعته وهذا مستعار من الأول قال الحارث — آنست نبأة وأفزعها الق ناص … عصرا وقد دنا الإمساء … والأنس أنس الإنسان بالشيء إذا لم يستوحش منه والعرب تقول كيف ابن إنسك إذا سأله عن نفسه ويقال إنسان وإنسانان وأناسي وإنسان العين صبيها الذي في السواد ابن إنسك ضبط في المخصص ( 200 : 13 ) : ابن إنسك وابن أنسك

  • al-Rāghib · 502...and the jinn (الجن) — they, in relation to God Most High, are passive (munfaʿila), while in relation to what they themselves make, they are active (fāʿila).

    al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī (d. c. 502/1108), al-Mufradāt. Quranic vocabulary, from core sense to Quranic usage.

    ...and the jinn (الجن) — they, in relation to God Most High, are passive (munfaʿila), while in relation to what they themselves make, they are active (fāʿila). Since their objects of worship were among the inanimate things that are passive, not active, God Most High called them 'female' (unthā) and rebuked them for this, alerting them to their ignorance in believing these to be gods, despite the fact that they neither reason, nor hear, nor see — indeed they perform no action whatsoever. This is reflected in the saying of Ibrāhīm, peace be upon him: 'yā abati lima taʿbudu mā lā yasmaʿu wa-lā yubṣiru wa-lā yughnī ʿanka shayʾan (يا أبت لم تعبد ما لا يسمع ولا يبصر ولا يغني عنك شيئا)' ['O my father, why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees, nor can avail you anything?'] [Maryam 19:42]. As for His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'wa-jaʿalū al-malāʾikata alladhīna hum ʿibādu al-raḥmāni ināthan (وجعلوا الملائكة الذين هم عباد الرحمن إناثا)' ['And they made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females'] [al-Zukhruf 43:19] — this refers to the claim of those who said the angels are daughters of God. Ins (إنس): the opposite of al-jinn (الجن). Al-uns (الأنس): the opposite of nufūr (النفور) [aversion]. Al-insī (الإنسي) is a relational adjective from al-ins (الإنس); said of one with much familiarity (uns), and of anything by which one finds companionship. Hence it is said: insī al-dābba (إنسي الدابة) for the side of the mount nearest the rider, and insī al-qaws (إنسي القوس) for the side of the bow facing the archer. Al-insī (الإنسي) of anything is what is nearest to the human being, while al-waḥshī (الوحشي) is what is on the farther side. The plural of al-ins (الإنس) is anāsī (أناسي); God Most High said: 'wa-anāsiyya kathīran (وأناسي كثيرا)' [al-Furqān 25:49]. It is also said 'ibnu insik (ابن إنسك)' referring to oneself. His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'fa-in ānastum minhum rushdan (فإن آنستم منهم رشدا)' [al-Nisāʾ 4:6] means: you have perceived a discernment (unsan) regarding them. [Also] 'ānastu nāran (آنست نارا)' ['I perceived a fire'] [Ṭāhā 20:10]. And His saying: 'ḥattā tastaʾnisū (حتى تستأنسوا)' ['until you find companionship/welcome'] [al-Nūr 24:27] means: until you find īnās (إيناس). Al-insān (الإنسان) — it is said he was so named because he was created such that he has no stability except through the mutual familiarity (ins) of people with one another; hence it is said 'man is civil by nature (madanī bi-l-ṭabʿ)', since people cannot subsist except through one another, and no individual can singlehandedly manage all his affairs. It is also said he was so named because he finds comfort (yaʾnasu) with everything he becomes accustomed to. And it is said the word is on the pattern ifʿilān (إفعلان), its origin being insiyān (إنسيان), so named because God made a covenant with him and he forgot (fa-nasiya).

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    والجن، وهم بالإضافة إلى الله تعالى منفعلة، وبالإضافة إلى مصنوعاتهم فاعلة، ولما كانت معبوداتهم من جملة الجمادات التي هي منفعلة غير فاعلة سماها الله تعالى أنثى وبكتهم بها، ونبههم على جهلهم في اعتقاداتهم فيها أنها آلهة، مع أنها لا تعقل ولا تسمع ولا تبصر، بل لا تفعل فعلا بوجه، وعلى هذا قول إبراهيم عليه الصلاة والسلام: يا أبت لم تعبد ما لا يسمع ولا يبصر ولا يغني عنك شيئا [مريم/ 42] . وأما قوله عز وجل: وجعلوا الملائكة الذين هم عباد الرحمن إناثا [الزخرف/ 19] فلزعم الذين قالوا: إن الملائكة بنات الله. إنس الإنس: خلاف الجن، والأنس: خلاف النفور، والإنسي منسوب إلى الإنس يقال ذلك لمن كثر أنسه، ولكل ما يؤنس به، ولهذا قيل: إنسي الدابة للجانب الذي يلي الراكب «1» ، وإنسي القوس: للجانب الذي يقبل على الرامي. والإنسي من كل شيء: ما يلي الإنسان، والوحشي: ما يلي الجانب الآخر له. وجمع الإنس أناسي، قال الله تعالى: وأناسي كثيرا [الفرقان/ 49] . وقيل ابن إنسك للنفس «2» ، وقوله عز وجل: فإن آنستم منهم رشدا [النساء/ 6] أي: أبصرتم أنسا بهم، وآنست نارا [طه/ 10] ، وقوله: حتى تستأنسوا [النور/ 27] أي: تجدوا إيناسا. والإنسان قيل: سمي بذلك لأنه خلق خلقة لا قوام له إلا بإنس بعضهم ببعض، ولهذا قيل: الإنسان مدني بالطبع، من حيث لا قوام لبعضهم إلا ببعض، ولا يمكنه أن يقوم بجميع أسبابه، وقيل: سمي بذلك لأنه يأنس بكل ما يألفه «3» ، وقيل: هو إفعلان، وأصله: إنسيان، سمي بذلك لأنه عهد الله إليه فنسي.

  • Lisān · 711It is related that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, God be pleased with him and his father, recited His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'wa-fākihatan wa-abban (وفاكهة وأبا)' ['and fruit and abb (أب)'], and said: 'What is al-abb (الأب)?

    Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711/1311), Lisān al-ʿArab. The great compendium of the earlier dictionaries (entry shortened).

    It is related that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, God be pleased with him and his father, recited His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'wa-fākihatan wa-abban (وفاكهة وأبا)' ['and fruit and abb (أب)'], and said: 'What is al-abb (الأب)?' Then he said: 'We have not been burdened with this, nor commanded regarding it.' Al-abb (الأب) is pasturage ready for grazing and cutting. From this is the ḥadīth of Quss ibn Sāʿida: 'fa-jaʿala yartaʿu abban wa-yaṣīdu ḍabban (فجعل يرتع أبا ويصيد ضبا)' ['and he began to graze on abb and hunt lizards']. 'Abba li-l-sayr (أب للسير)' — yaʾibbu (يئب) and yaʾubbu (يؤب) — abban (أبا), abīban (أبيبا), and abāba (أبابة): means he prepared himself for departure and got equipped. Al-Aʿshā said: 'I have severed ties, though I did not truly wish to sever with you, like one severing — a brother who has folded his side in departure and prepared (abba, أب) to go' — meaning: 'I severed with you in my readying myself to part from you'; for one who prepares to depart is like one who has already severed ties. Likewise iʾtabba (ائتب) has the same meaning. Abū ʿUbayd said: 'abbabtu aʾubbu abban (أببت أؤب أبا)' means: you resolved upon travel and prepared yourself. One says 'huwa fī abābihi (هو في أبابه)', 'ibābatihi (إبابته)', and 'abābatihi (أبابته)' meaning: in his equipment. Al-Tahdhīb: al-wabb (الوب) is preparing oneself for a charge in war; one says 'habba (هب)' and 'wabba (وب)' when he prepares for a charge. Abū Manṣūr said: its origin is abb (أب), the hamza having been changed into a wāw. Ibn al-Aʿrābī said: 'abba (أب)' when something is stirred, and 'abba (أب)' when an enemy is routed by a genuine, resolute charge. Al-abb (الأب) is also: yearning for one's homeland. 'Abba ilā waṭanihi (أب إلى وطنه)' — yaʾubbu (يؤب) — abban (أبا), abābatan (أبابة), ibābatan (إبابة): he yearned for it. Ibn Durayd holds the form with kasra (ibāba, إبابة) to be well-known. He cited a verse by Hishām, brother of Dhū al-Rumma: 'And the possessor of an inhabited dwelling-place yearned (abba, أب), his longing (ibābatahu, إبابته) becoming apparent, while the intention to strike the tent-ropes and dismantle camp had been resolved upon.' 'Abba yadahu ilā sayfihi (أب يده إلى سيفه)': he drew his hand back to his sword to draw it. 'Abbat abābata al-shayʾ (أبت أبابة الشيء)' and 'ibābatahu (إبابته)': its course became straight/proper. They used to say of gazelles: 'in aṣābat al-māʾa fa-lā ʿabāba, wa-in lam tuṣib al-māʾa fa-lā abāba (إن أصابت الماء فلا عباب وإن لم تصب الماء فلا أباب)' — meaning: they did not prepare (taʾtabb, تأتب) or ready themselves to seek it. This is mentioned further in its proper place. Al-abāb (الأباب): water, and also mirage, according to Ibn al-Aʿrābī, who cited: 'They rose up like teak ships, light of burden, cleaving the crests of the surging, full water (al-abāb al-ḥafl, الأباب الحفل)' — he informs that these are the 'ships of the land.' Abāb al-māʾ (أباب الماء) is the same as ʿabābuhu (عبابه) [its surge]. It was said: 'abābu baḥrin ḍāḥikin hazūq (أباب بحر ضاحك هزوق)' ['the surging flood of a laughing, roiling sea']. Ibn Jinnī said: the hamza in it is not a substitute for the ʿayn of ʿabāb (عباب), even though we have heard such substitution elsewhere; rather it is the pattern faʿāl (فعال) from 'abba (أب)' meaning he prepared himself. 'Istaʾabba abban (استأب أبا)': he took it up/adopted it — a rare usage, according to Ibn al-Aʿrābī; though the expected analogical form would be istaʾabba (استأب).

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    أن عمر بن الخطاب، رضي الله عنهما، قرأ قوله، عز وجل، وفاكهة وأبا ، وقال: فما الأب، ثم قال: ما كلفنا وما أمرنا بهذا. والأب: المرعى المتهيئ للرعي والقطع. ومنه حديث قس بن ساعدة: فجعل يرتع أبا وأصيد ضبا. وأب للسير يئب ويؤب أبا وأبيبا وأبابة: تهيأ للذهاب وتجهز. قال الأعشى: صرمت، ولم أصرمكم، وكصارم؛ ... أخ قد طوى كشحا، وأب ليذهبا أي صرمتكم في تهيئي لمفارقتكم، ومن تهيأ للمفارقة، فهو كمن صرم. وكذلك ائتب. قال أبو عبيد: أببت أؤب أبا إذا عزمت على المسير وتهيأت. وهو في أبابه وإبابته وأبابته أي في جهازه. التهذيب: والوب: التهيؤ للحملة في الحرب، يقال: هب ووب إذا تهيأ للحملة. قال أبو منصور: والأصل فيه أب فقلبت الهمزة واوا. ابن الأعرابي: أب إذا حرك، وأب إذا هزم بحملة لا مكذوبة فيها. والأب: النزاع إلى الوطن. وأب إلى وطنه يؤب أبا وأبابة وإبابة: نزع، والمعروف عند ابن دريد الكسر، وأنشد لهشام أخي ذي الرمة: وأب ذو المحضر البادي إبابته، ... وقوضت نية أطناب تخييم وأب يده إلى سيفه: ردها إليه ليستله. وأبت أبابة الشيء وإبابته: استقامت طريقته. وقالوا للظباء: إن أصابت الماء، فلا عباب، وإن لم تصب الماء، فلا أباب. أي لم تأتب له ولا تتهيأ لطلبه، وهو مذكور في موضعه. والأباب: الماء والسراب، عن ابن الأعرابي، وأنشد: قومن ساجا مستخف الحمل، ... تشق أعراف الأباب الحفل أخبر أنها سفن البر. وأباب الماء: عبابه. قال: أباب بحر ضاحك هزوق قال ابن جني: ليست الهمزة فيه بدلا من عين عباب، وإن كنا قد سمعنا، وإنما هو فعال من أب إذا تهيأ. واستئب أبا: اتخذه، نادر، عن ابن الأعرابي، وإنما قياسه استأب.

  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

    E. W. Lane (d. 1876), An Arabic-English Lexicon. English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

    أَنِسَ بِهِ

    1. أَنِسَ بِهِ, (AZ, S, M, A, Msb, K,) and إِلَيْهِ, (A,) aor. اَنَسَ ; (Msb, TA;) and أَنَسَ, (S, M, A, Msb, K,) aor. اَنِسَ (M, Msb, TA) and اَنُسَ ; (M;) and أَنُسَ, aor. اَنُسَ ; (M, Sgh, K;) inf. n. أَنَسٌ and أَنَسَةٌ, (S, K,) both of أَنِسَ, (S,) or إِنَسٌ, (AZ, AHát, T, M, Msb,) also of أَنِسَ, (AZ, AHát, Msb, TA,) but this is rare, (T, TA,) and أُنْسٌ, (T, S, M, A, K,) which is the more common, (T, TA,) and is of أَنَسَ, (S,) or أُنْسٌ has a different signification from إِنْسٌ the inf. n. of أَنِسَ, [see أُنْسٌ below,] (AZ, AHát,) or it is a subst. from أَنِسَ بِهِ, (Msb,) and أُنْسَةٌ; (M;) [but this also is probably a subst.;] one says أُنْسٌ and أُنْسَةٌ, like as one says بُعْدٌ and بُعْدَة; (Ham p. 768;) He was, or became, sociable, companionable, conversable, inclined to company or converse, friendly, amicable, or familiar, with him, or by means of him, and to him: and [انس به] he was, or became, cheered, or gladdened, by his company or converse, or by his, or its, presence; or cheerful, gay, or gladsome: the inf. n. signifying the contr. of وَحْشَةٌ: (T, S, A, K:) or he was, or became, at ease, or tranquil, with him: (M:) or his heart was, or became, at ease, or tranquil, with him; without shrinking, or aversion: (Msb:) and بِهِ استأنس, (S, M, A, Msb,) and إِلَيْهِ, (A,) and بِهِ تأنّس, signify the same, (S, M, Msb,) i. e., the same as أَنِسَ (M, A, Msb, TA) and أَنَسَ (M, Msb) and أُنُسَ: (M:) أَنِسَ بِفُلَانٍ is likewise explained as signifying he delighted, or rejoiced, in such a one; he was happy, or pleased, with him: (IAar, TA:) [and آنسهُ, a form of frequent occurrence, inf. n. مُؤَانَسَةٌ, which occurs in this art. in the TA, also signifies he was, or became, sociable, &c., with him; like أَنِسَ بِهِ &c.: it is also said in the TA that أَنِسَ بِهِ and بِهِ آنَسَ are syn., meaning, app., like استأنس and تأنّس به, and that آنس in this case is therefore of the measure فَاعَلَ; but this admits of some doubt, as it is said immediately after آنسهُ as meaning the contr. of أَوْحَشَهُ:] and استأنس, (K, TA,) said of a wild animal, (TA,) signifies [he became familiar, or tame, or domesticated; or] his wildness (تَوَحُّشُهُ) departed: (K, TA:) you say إِذَا جَآءَ اللَّيْلُ ٱسْتَأْنَسَ كُلُّ وَحْشِىٍّ وَٱسْتَوْحَشَ كُلُّ إِنْسِىٌ [When the night comes, every wild animal becomes familiar with his kind, and every human being becomes shy of his kind, i. e., of such thereof as he does not know, when meeting them in the dark]. (A, TA, Msb in art. وحش.)

    اَنَّسَ

    2: أنّسهُ, inf. n. تَأْنِيسٌ, He rendered him familiar; or tame. (KL.) See also 4, in three places.

    اَاْنَسَ

    3: see 1, in two places.

    آنسهُ

    4. آنسهُ, (M, K,) inf. n. إِينَاسٌ, (S,) He behaved in a sociable, friendly, or familiar, manner with him; [see 1, in two places;] he, or it, cheered him, or gladdened him, by his company or converse, or by his, or its, presence; he, or it, solaced, or consoled, him; contr. of أَوْحَشَهُ; (S, * K;) as also أنّسهُ, (K,) inf. n. تَأْنِيسٌ: (S, K:) or he, or it, rendered him easy, at ease, or tranquil; as also ↓the latter verb, occurring in the following ex.: سَمَّاهَا بِٱلْمُؤْنِسَاتِ لِأَنَّهُنَّ يُؤَنِّسْنَهُ بِأَقْرَانِهِ فَيُؤَمِّنَّهُ أَوْيُحَسِّنَّ ظَنِّهُ [He has called them (referring to weapons) المؤنسات because they render him at ease with his adversaries, and secure, or cause him to have a good opinion of his safety, and thus, cheer him, or solace him, by their presence]. (M: [and the like is said in the A.]) He perceived it; syn. of the inf. n. إِدْرَاكٌ. (TA.) He saw him, or it, (S, M, A, * Msb, K,) and looked at him, or it; (M, TA;) as also أنّسهُ, inf. n.

    تَأْنِيسٌ

    تَأْنِيسٌ; (K;) and استأنسهُ: (M:) or he saw it so that there was no doubt or uncertainty in it: or he saw it, meaning a thing by the sight or presence of which he was cheered, gladdened, solaced, or consoled; إِينَاسٌ signifying إِبْصَارُ مَا يُؤْنَسُ بِهِ: (Bd in xx. 9:) or he saw it, not having before known it, or been acquainted with it. (TA.) He heard it; namely, a sound or voice. (S, K.) He felt it; was sensible of it; (M, K, TA;) experienced it in himself; (TA;) namely, [for instance,] fright, or fear. (A, TA.) He knew it: (S, M, Msb, K:) he was acquainted with it: (TA:) he had certain knowledge of it; was certain of it. (M, TA.) You say, آنَسْتُ مِنْهُ رُشْدًا (S, A, TA) I knew him to be characterized by رُشْد, (S, TA,) i. e., maturity of intel-lect, and rectitude of actions, and good management of affairs. (TA.) [See Kur iv. 5.] And it is said in a prov., بَعْدَ ٱطِّلَاعٍ إِينَاسٌ, i. e. After appearance [is knowledge, or certain knowledge]. (Fr, TA.)

    تأنّس بِهِ

    5. تأنّس بِهِ: see 1. تأنّس البَازي The falcon looked, raising his head (M, A, K) and his eyes. (A.) تأنّس لَهُ: see 10.

    استأنس

    10. استأنس, and استأنس بِهِ and إِلَيْهِ: see 1. استأنس signifies also He (a wild animal) became sensible of the presence or nearness of a human being. (S, K.) He looked; as in the phrase اِذْهَبْ فَٱسْتَأْنِسْ هَلْ تَرَى أَحَدًا [Go thou and look if thou see any one]: (Fr, TA:) he considered, or examined, endeavouring to obtain a clear knowledge of a thing; (K, TA;) and looked aside, or about, to ascertain if he could see any one: (TA:) he sought, or asked for, knowledge, or information; he inquired: (M, TA:) and hence, (Bd in xxiv. 27,) he asked permission. (Fr, Zj, K, TA, and Bd ubi suprà.) It is said in the Kur [xxiv. 27], لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّي تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا [Enter ye not houses other than your own houses] until ye inquire whether its inhabitants desire that ye should enter or not; [and salute:] (M:) or (which is essentially the same, M) until ye ask permission: (Fr, Zj, M, TA:) but Fr says that the sentence presents an inversion, and that the meaning is, until ye salute, and ask if ye shall enter or not: (TA:) I'Ab says that تَستأنسوا is a mistranscription; and he and Ubeí and Ibn-Mes'ood read تَسْتَأْذِنُوا, which signifies the same: (Az, TA:) [it is said that] استأنس also signifies he made a reiterated hemming, like a slight coughing; [as a man does to notify his nearness;] syn. تَنَحْنَحَ: and so some explain it in the text of the Kur quoted above. (TA.) استأنس لَهُ He listened to, or endeavoured or sought to hear, him, or it; as also تأنّس. (A.) [See the Kur xxxiii. 53.] استأنسهُ: see 4.

    أُنْسٌ

    أُنْسٌ Sociableness; companionableness; conversableness; inclination to company or converse; friendliness; amicableness; socialness; familiarity: cheerfulness; gayness; gladsomeness: contr. of وَحْشَةٌ: (T, S, A, K:) joy; gladness; happiness: (Har p. 652:) or ease, or tranquillity: (M:) or ease, or tranquillity, of heart, and freedom from shrinking, or from aversion: (Msb:) an inf. n. of 1, (S, M,) as are also أَنَسٌ and أَنَسَةٌ (S, K) and إِنْسٌ, (M,) but this is rare as signifying the contr. of وَحْشَةٌ: (T, TA:) or إِنْسٌ is the inf. n. of أَنِسَ بِهِ; but أُنُسٌ is not: (AZ, AHát, Msb, TA:) this latter is a subst. from that verb [signifying as explained above]: (Msb:) or only signifying converse, and companionship, or familiarity, with women; (AZ, AHát, TA;) or amatory conversation and conduct; or the talk of young men and young women: (Fr, TA:) [but of all the forms above, أُنْسٌ is that which is most commonly used, at least in post-classical works, as signifying the contr. of وَحْشَةٌ.] [Also (assumed tropical:) Delight, as meaning a cause of delight, or thing that gives delight.] A poet says, [O inhabitants of Mekkeh, may ye not cease to be a delight to us: verily I have not forgotten you: there is in you no fault beside your saying, at meeting, Your sociableness, or companiableness, &c., has made us feel lonely and sad; meaning, in your absence]. (TA in art. وحش.) [See أَوْحَشَ. But this signification, though allowable as tropical, is perhaps post-classical.] اِبْنُ أُنْس: and فُلَانٌ ٱبْنُ أُنْسِ فُلَانٍ: and كَيْفَ ٱبْنُ أُنْسِكَ: and كَيْفَ تَرَى ٱبْنَ أُنْسِكَ: see إِنْسٌ.

    إِنْسٌ

    إِنْسٌ: see أُنْسٌ, in two places. (tropical:) A chosen, select, particular, or special, friend or companion; (S, K;) as also اِبْنُ إِنْسٍ (S, K,) or اِبْنُ أُنْسٍ. (So in a copy of the A.) You say, هٰذَا إِنْسِى; (S;) and إِنْسُكَ, and ٱبْنُ إِنْسِكَ; (K;) (tropical:) This is my chosen, or particular, friend; (S;) and thy chosen, or particular, friend. (K.) And فُلَانٌ ٱبْنُ إِنْسِ فُلَانٍ (S,) or فلان ابن أُنْسِ (A,) (tropical:) Such a one is the chosen, or particular, friend of such a one. (S, A.) One also says, كَيْفَ ٱبْنُ إِنْسِكَ and أُنْسِكَ, (S, M,) or كَيْفَ تَرَي ٱبْنَ إِنْسِكَ (AZ, Fr, A) and أُنْسِكَ, (A,) meaning himself, (AZ, Fr, S, S TA,) i. e., (assumed tropical:) How dost thou regard me in my companionship with thee? (S:) or the meaning is, (tropical:) how dost thou find thyself? (A:) or how is thyself? (M, TA.) Mankind; (S, M, A, K;) the opposite of جِنٌّ; (Msb;) as also أَنَسٌ, (Akh, S, TA,) and إِنْسَانٌ; (A, K;) the last being a gen. n., (Msb,) but applied to the male (S, * Msb) and female, (S, Msb, K,) and sing. and pl.: (Msb:) one is [also] termed إِنْسِىٌّ and أَنَسِىٌّ; (S, K;) the former of which is a rel. n. from إِنْسٌ; (M;) [and the latter, from أَنَسٌ: the fem. of each is with ة:] the vulgar apply to a woman, instead of إِنْسَانٌ, [which is the more approved,] إِنْسَانَةٌ: (S, K:) this latter [accord. to some] should not be used: (S:) but it is correct, though rare: it is said in the K to occur in poetry, but supposed to be post-classical: it occurs, however, in classical poetry, and has been transmitted by several authors: (MF:) the pl. (of إِنْسٌ, M, TA) is آنَاسٌ; (M, K, TA;) and (of the same, K in art. نوس, or of إِنْسَانٌ, M) أُنَاسٌ, (M, K ubi suprà,) with which نَاسٌ is syn., (S, M, Msb, K,) being a contraction thereof; (Sb, S, M, Msb;) and (of إِنْسِىٌّ, S, M, or أَنَسِىٌّ, S, or of إِنْسَانٌ, Lh, S, M, Msb) أَنَاسِىٌّ, (Lh, S, M, Msb, K,) like as كَرَاسِىُّ is pl. of كُرْسِىٌّ, or like as سَرَاحينُ is pl. of سِرحَانٌ, but ى being substituted for ن, (M, TA,) after the same manner as they say أَرَانٍ for أَرَانِبُ; (Fr, TA;) and أَنَاسٍ, (Lh, M,) in the accus. case أَنَاسِىَ, as the word is read in the Kur xxv. 51, by Ks, (TA,) and by Yahyà Ibn-El-Hárith, (K, TA,) dropping the ى between the second and last radical letters, [for, with some others, it seems, they held the word to be derived from the root نسى,] (TA,) and أَنَاسِيَةٌ, (S, M, K,) in which the ة is a substitute for one of the two yás in أَنَاسِىُّ, a pl. of إِنْسَانٌ; or, accord. to Mbr, أَنَاسِيَةٌ is pl. of إِنْسِىٌّ, [in the TA, of إِنْسِيَّةٌ, which I regard as a mistranscription,] and is like زَنَادَقَةٌ for زَنَادِيقُ, and فَرَازِتَةٌ for فَرَازِينُ; (M, TA;) and you say also إِنْسَيُّونَ. (TA.) نَاسٌ is masc., as in the Kur ii. 19, &c.; and sometimes fem., as meaning A tribe, or a body of men, قَبِيلَةٌ, or طَائِفَةٌ; as in the phrase, mentioned by Th, جَآءَتَْكَ النَّاسُ, meaning, The tribe, or portion of people (قِطْعَة), came to thee. (M, TA.) بَنُوالإِنْسَانِ means The sons of Adam. (M.) And النَّاسُ النَّاسُ, an expression mentioned by Sb, means, Men in every place and in every state are men: a poet says, meaning [A country in which we were, and which we used to love,] since the men were ingenuous men, and the country was a fruitful country. (M.) The following trad., لَوْ أَطَاعَ ٱللّٰهُ النَّاسَ فِى النَّاسِ لَمْ يَكُنْ نَاسٌ If God complied with the prayer of men with respect to men there would be no men, is said to mean, that men love to have male children born to them, and not females, and if there were no females, or if the females were not, men would cease to be. (TA.) It is related that a party of the jinn, or genii, came to a company of men, and asked permission to go in to them, whereupon the latter said to them, Who are ye? and they answered, نَاسٌ مِنَ الجنِّ [A people of the jinn], making their answer to accord. with common usage; for it is customary for men, when it is said to them, Who are ye? to answer, نَاسٌ مِنْ بَنِى فُلَانٍ [Men of the sons of such a one]. (IJ, M, L: but in the L, for ناس, in both instances, we find أُنَاسٌ.) [See also نَاسٌ in art. نوس.] Respecting the derivation of إِنْسَانٌ, authors differ, though they agree that the final ن is augmentative: the Basrees say that it is from الإِنْسُ; (Msb;) and its measure is فِعْلَانٌ; (S, Msb;) but an addition, of ى, is made in its dim., [which is أُنَيْسِيَانٌ,] like as an addition is made in رُوَيْجِلٌ, the dim. of رَجُلٌ: (S:) [but it should be observed that رُوَيْجِلٌ is more probably the dim. of رَاجِلٌ:] some say that it is from إِينَاسٌ, signifying “perception,” or “sight,” and “knowledge,” and “sensation;” because man uses these faculties: (TA:) and Mohammad Ibn-'Arafeh El-Wásitee says that men are called إِنسِيُّونِ because they are seen (يُؤْنَسُونَ, i. e.

    يُرَوْنَ

    يُرَوْنَ), and that the jinn are called جِنّ because they are [ordinarily] concealed (مُجْتَنُّونَ, i. e. مُتَوَارُونَ,) from the sight of men: (TA:) [it is said in the B, as cited in the TA, that the form أَنِسَان is also used for إِنْسَانٌ; as though it were a dual, meaning “a double associate,” i. e., an associate with the jinn and with his own kind; for it is added, أَنِسَ بِٱلآْجِنِّ وَأَنِسَ بِٱلآْخَلْقِ:] some derive the word from النَّوْسُ, signifying “motion:” (TA:) some (namely, the Koofees, Msb) say that it is originally إِنسِيَانٌ, (S, Msb, TA,) of the measure إِفْعِلَانٌ, (S, Msb,) from النِّسْيَانُ [“forgetfulness”], (Msb,) and contracted to make it more easy of pronunciation, because of its being so often used; (S;) but it is restored to its original in forming the dim., (S, Msb,) which is أُنَيْسِيَانٌ: (Msb, TA:) this form of the dim., they say, shows the original form of the word which is its source; (TA;) and they adduce as an indication of its derivation the saying of I'Ab, إِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ إِنْسَانًا لِأَنَّهُ عُهِدَ إِلَيْهِ فَنَسِىَ [He (meaning the first man) was only named انسان because he was commanded and he forgot]: (S, TA:) [in like manner,] it is said that النَّاسُ is originally النَّاسِى; the former of these, accord. to one reading, and the latter accord. to another, occurs in the Kur ii. 195; the latter referring to Adam, and to the words of the Kur in xx. 114: (TA:) but Az holds that إِنْسِيَانٌ is of the measure فِعْلِيَانٌ, from الإِنْسُ, and similar to خِرْصِيَانٌ. (L, TA. *)

    أَنَسٌ

    أَنَسٌ i. q. أُنْسٌ, q. v. (S, K.) Also i. q. إِنْسٌ, q. v. (Akh, S, TA.) Also A numerous company of men; (K, * TA;) many men. (TA.) A tribe (حَىُّ) staying, residing, dwelling, or abiding: (S, K:) the people of a place of alighting or abode: (M, TA: [but in the latter, in one place, said to be إِنْسٌ, with kesr; though a verse cited in both, as an ex., shows it to be أَنَسٌ:]) the inhabitants of a house: (AA, TA:) pl. (of the word in the first sense, of these three, TA, and in the second, M, TA) آنَاسٌ. (M, TA.) One with whom a person is sociable. (Ham p. 136.) You say also, هُمْ أَنَسُ فُلَانٍ They are they with whom such a one is sociable (اَلَّذِينَ يَسْتَأْنِسُ إِلَيْهِمْ). (Lh, M.) And هُوَ أَنَسُ فُلَانٍ He is much accustomed to the serving of him. (Har p. 472.)

    أَنَسَةٌ

    أَنَسَةٌ i. q. أُنْسٌ, q. v. (S, K.)

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗

The same three letters in all six orders. Choose one.

أ ن س

الهمزة والنون والسين أصل واحد وهو ظهور الشيء وكل شيء خالف طريقة التوحش قالوا الإنس خلاف الجن وسموا لظهورهم

a-n-s is one root, and it is the appearance of a thing, and anything that differs from the way of wildness; they said al-ins is the opposite of al-jinn, and they were so named for their visibility.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗Quran ×97

an entry in Ibn Fārislater sources onlyin none of them

Do these six share one core meaning?

About thisal-Khalīl, Ibn Jinnī, Ibn Fāris; the counts across the dictionary

al-Khalīl (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn, as transmitted by al-Layth: a two-letter word “turns in two ways”, a three-letter word “in six ways” (masdūsa), four letters in 24, five in 120; “its used forms are written down and its unused ones dropped” (line 975 ↗). The dictionary is built on this: each chapter takes a set of letters and names which orders are used (mustaʿmal) and which unused (muhmal). The ring shows that verdict, from the chapter heading as edited (documented in the text; how much of the book is al-Khalīl's own is disputed).

A reported total. al-Suyūṭī transmits, from Ḥamza al-Iṣfahānī, that al-Khalīl put the possible forms, used and unused, of two to five letters at 12,305,412 (al-Muzhir, line 1347 ↗). It is reported, not found in the ʿAyn. It equals exactly the arrangements of 2 to 5 different letters out of 28 (756 + 19,656 + 491,400 + 11,793,600); the breakdown printed beside it is corrupt, and al-Zubaydī's count, given next, differs (6,659,400).

Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, names the greater derivation (al-ishtiqāq al-akbar): bind a three-letter root and its six orders to one meaning, and bring stray members back “by the subtlety of the craft and interpretation” (line 7536 ↗). He says himself that it does not hold for every root (line 167 ↗; line 7603 ↗).

Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004) gives each root its own aṣl and treats a rearranged word as maqlūb, “turned round”, and so not a root of its own: “j-b-dh is not a root, because it is a single word, turned round” (Maqāyīs, line 6147 ↗). The ring sets his aṣl for each order side by side; whether they meet is the question.

Neighbours on the ring differ by one swap of two letters.

The critique. A source quoted by al-Suyūṭī calls the greater derivation Ibn Jinnī's innovation, “not relied on in the language” (al-Muzhir, line 6159 ↗).

The other axis. The root's letters also go into patterns that keep their order and change the frame: the patterns (awzān) and the verb Forms I–X.

Across Ibn Fāris's dictionary. Of the 2,300 possible sets of three different sound letters (no hamza, w or y), 1,021 have at least one order as an entry. How many of their six orders are entries:

Ibn Fāris, entries found (1,021 letter-sets)
  1. 1 of 6319
  2. 2 of 6218
  3. 3 of 6164
  4. 4 of 6155
  5. 5 of 6107
  6. 6 of 658
al-Khalīl, orders his headings call used (746 letter-sets)
  1. 1 of 6148
  2. 2 of 6108
  3. 3 of 6157
  4. 4 of 6179
  5. 5 of 6111
  6. 6 of 643

Of the orders al-Khalīl calls used, 2,097 are entries in Ibn Fāris and 267 are not; 17 that he calls unused are entries in Ibn Fāris.

Our computation from the OpenITI texts; heading detection can miss entries

Attested here means found in our digital texts (Ibn Fāris, Lisān al-ʿArab, Lane, the Quranic Arabic Corpus), with w and y kept apart and hamza spellings merged; it is our data, not a classical verdict. English beside the Arabic is AI translation. Sources and grades: docs/research/root-permutations.md.

How each letter is made, in brief, from Sībawayh's and Ibn Jinnī's own sentences (linked); their words are under Reference.

How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

أ

فأقصاها مخرجا: الهمزة والهاء والألف

The furthest of them [the three in the throat] in place: the hamza, the hāʾ and the alif. Sībawayh, line 26548 ↗

فأولها من أسفله وأقصاه، مخرج الهمزة والألف والهاء، هكذا يقول سيبويه

The first of them [in the throat], from its lowest and furthest part, is the place of the hamza, the alif and the hāʾ: so Sībawayh says. Ibn Jinnī, line 965 ↗

ن

ومن حافة اللسان من أدناها إلى منتهى طرف اللسان ما بينها وبين ما يليها من الحنك الأعلى وما فويق الثنايا مخرج النون

From the edge of the tongue, from its nearest part to the end of its tip, between it and the upper palate next to it and what is just above the front teeth, is the place of the nūn. Sībawayh, lines 26555–26556 ↗

ومن طرف اللسان بينه وبين ما فويق الثنايا، مخرج النون

From the tip of the tongue, between it and what is just above the front teeth, is the place of the nūn. Ibn Jinnī, line 979 ↗

س

ومما بين طرف اللسان وفويق الثنايا مخرج الزاي، والسين، والصاد

From between the tip of the tongue and just above the front teeth is the place of the zāy, the sīn and the ṣād. Sībawayh, line 26560 ↗

ومما بين الثنايا وطرف اللسان، مخرج الصاد والزاي والسين

From between the front teeth and the tip of the tongue is the place of the ṣād, the zāy and the sīn. Ibn Jinnī, line 983 ↗

Sībawayh, al-Kitāb (ed. Hārūn) and Ibn Jinnī, Sirr ṣināʿat al-iʿrāb; OpenITI digital texts (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Full credits on each letter's page.

In the Breath of the All-MercifulIbn ʿArabī · metaphysics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

أ

وإلا الهاء والهمزة فإنهما باردتان رطبتان

And except hāʾ and hamza, for these two are cold and moist.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2583

ن

Level of existence: السماء الرابعة · the fourth heaven

Divine Name: النور · the Light (al-Nūr)

Lunar mansion: السماك · al-Simāk

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64663

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 8 line 2571 ↗

الثمانية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The eightfold [rank]: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2580

س

Level of existence: ما ظهر في الماء · what appears in water

Divine Name: المحيي · al-Muḥyī, the Life-Giver

Lunar mansion: النعائم · al-Naʿāʾim

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62110

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 9 line 2572 ↗

السين والشين فطبعهما الحرارة واليبوسة

Sīn and shīn: their nature is heat and dryness.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2581
Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

أ

فهي إشارة إلى جميع الأشياء قلت أو كثرت، وتكون الإشارة في بعض الأحيان من المتكلم إلى ذاته ونفسه، وهذه الإشارة سالمة من القبض.

It is an indication of all things, whether few or many. At times the indication is from the speaker to his own essence and self, and this indication is free of contraction (qabḍ).

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء القريب القليل.

It is an indication of the near, small thing.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء القريب المناسب.

It is an indication of the near, fitting (congruent) thing.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī

ن

فهي الخير الساكن في الذات الشاعل فيها.

It is the good that dwells in the self, kindling [al-shāʿil, as written] within it.

فهي إشارة إلى الخير الكامل أو النور الساطع.

It is an indication of perfect good or radiant light.

فهي إشارة إلى شيء يدركه المتكلم أو هو له.

It is an indication of something that the speaker perceives or that belongs to him.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī

س

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء المليح الذي من طبعه الرقة.

It is an indication of the comely thing whose nature is delicacy.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء القبيح الخشن، أو إشارة إلى سواد حسا ومعنى.

It is an indication of the ugly, rough thing, or of blackness, sensible and figurative.

وبالكسر إشارة إلى الشيء الطابع وتكون الإشارة منه.

With kasra it is an indication of the impressing/stamping thing, and the indication proceeds from it.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
In the sister scriptsHebrew א נ ס/שSyriac ܐ ܢ ܣ/ܫ
Arabicأ ن س
Hebrewא נ ס/ש
Syriacܐ ܢ ܣ/ܫ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩱 𐩬 𐩯/𐩦
Phoenician𐤀 𐤍 𐤎/𐤔

Letter for letter, by the regular sound correspondences of the Semitic languages (Arabic keeps several sounds the others merged). This shows how the root would be spelled; whether a related word exists is a separate question, answered in the Semitic lens. Where an Arabic sibilant (s, sh) continues two older sounds, both spellings are shown.

  • Classical lexiconAl-Khalīl uses ins for a company of people and uns, istiʾnās and taʾannus for familiarity.well attested

    The lexicographers in chronological order, from al-Khalīl to Lane.

    Al-Khalīl uses ins for a company of people and uns, istiʾnās and taʾannus for familiarity. He sets insī against waḥshī: the side of a bow that faces you against the side turned away, and a person's left side against the right. He notes that at nightfall every wild creature grows easy and every human grows wary, and gives ānastu for perceiving or feeling something ('I sensed fear') and for sighting a figure. Al-Jawharī glosses ins as bashar, with plural anāsī, allows insān for a woman while rejecting insāna as popular usage, and records insān al-ʿayn as the image seen in the pupil. Ibn Fāris unifies these under manifestation and non-wildness: humans are ins because they are visible in contrast to the jinn, and ānastu means first 'I saw' and by extension 'I heard.' Lane gives anisa bihi, 'he was familiar with it,' and notes that uns is the commoner verbal noun. (The Mufradāt and Lisān excerpts supplied here belong to neighbouring entries, unthā and abb, and are not used.)

    Draws on: al-Khalīl · al-Jawharī · Ibn Fāris · Lane

  • Letters & soundThe supplied data give no Ibn ʿArabī correspondence for any of the three letters, and no al-Dabbāgh meaning for hamza.speculative

    What the theorists of sound symbolism would say of these letters. Speculative by nature.

    The supplied data give no Ibn ʿArabī correspondence for any of the three letters, and no al-Dabbāgh meaning for hamza. Al-Dabbāgh reads nūn as the good that dwells in the self and kindles within it, and sīn as a sign of a comely thing whose nature is delicacy. A reader drawn to such schemes might set these beside uns, an inward ease toward something agreeable. Mainstream linguistics treats letter-meaning correspondences of this kind as suggestive at most.

    Draws on: al-Dabbāgh · sound-symbolism

    • al-Dabbāgh (via Ibn al-Mubārak), al-Ibrīz, on the letters of al-Fātiḥa
  • Root structureNo two-letter nucleus siblings are supplied for this root.plausible

    The two-letter nucleus (Ibn Fāris's own chapters) and the permutations of the letters (Ibn Jinnī).

    No two-letter nucleus siblings are supplied for this root. Among the permutations, ʾsn is attested and occurs once in the Quran (ghayr āsin, 47:15). Ibn Fāris gives ʾsn two roots, the altering of a thing (stagnant water) and a cause or tie. The permutation nsʾ is attested and occurs twice, and snʾ is attested outside the Quran. The classical derivation of insān from nisyān (root nsy) stands outside this permutation set because it replaces hamza with a weak letter. Ibn Jinnī's greater derivation does not yield a convincing common sense across these permutations.

    Draws on: permutations · Ibn Fāris

  • Semitic kin & loanwordsArabic ins and insān belong with Hebrew ʾĕnôš 'man, mankind,' Aramaic ʾĕnāš and Syriac (ʾ)nāšā 'man, person,' Akkadian nišū 'people,' and Sabaic ʾns¹ 'man.' Whether this noun is related to the Hebrew verb ʾānaš 'to be weak, incurable' is disputed.well attested

    Cognates in the sister languages, and whether the word was borrowed.

    Arabic ins and insān belong with Hebrew ʾĕnôš 'man, mankind,' Aramaic ʾĕnāš and Syriac (ʾ)nāšā 'man, person,' Akkadian nišū 'people,' and Sabaic ʾns¹ 'man.' Whether this noun is related to the Hebrew verb ʾānaš 'to be weak, incurable' is disputed. The Arabic sense of familiarity or tameness, as opposed to wildness, has no clear counterpart in the cognate languages and looks like an inner-Arabic development. The word is inherited, not borrowed.

  • Quranic exegesisOn Moses' 'I have perceived a fire' (innī ānastu nāran, 20:10), the exegetes take ānastu as seeing.plausible

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    On Moses' 'I have perceived a fire' (innī ānastu nāran, 20:10), the exegetes take ānastu as seeing. Al-Zamakhsharī specifies clear sight that leaves no doubt and connects it with insān al-ʿayn. On 'if you perceive in them maturity' (fa-in ānastum minhum rushdan, 4:6), al-Ṭabarī reads ānastum as knowing or discerning soundness in orphans before their property is handed over. On 'man was created weak' (4:28), commentators take insān as the human kind at large. On tastaʾnisū (24:27), al-Ṭabarī reports early views that it means seeking permission or making oneself known before entering. The commentaries, al-Rāzī's especially, discuss whether insān derives from uns (familiarity) or from nisyān (forgetting).

    Draws on: al-Ṭabarī · al-Zamakhsharī · al-Rāzī

  • Akbarian readingFaṣṣ Ādam reports that the Sufis call the form of the world 'the Great Human' (al-insān al-kabīr).well attested

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    Faṣṣ Ādam reports that the Sufis call the form of the world 'the Great Human' (al-insān al-kabīr). The angels are to it as the spiritual and sensory faculties are to the human configuration (al-nashʾa al-insāniyya), and each faculty, veiled by itself, sees nothing superior to itself. Adam is named insān because his configuration is universal and he gathers all realities. The passage goes on to say he is to the Real as the pupil (insān al-ʿayn) is to the eye, the means by which seeing occurs, which draws on the lexical sense al-Jawharī and Ibn Fāris record. The same chapter speaks of the world being preserved while 'this Perfect Human' (al-insān al-kāmil) remains in it. No Iṣṭilāḥ definition is supplied for this root.

    Draws on: Fuṣūṣ, Faṣṣ Ādam

    • Ibn ʿArabī, Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Faṣṣ Ādam
Neighbouring rootsThe roots that share letters with this one, as a map you can open out