Mashrabaمشربة

Root · 25 in the Quran · 103 in 21 texts of the library

بطنa single root that 'hardly varies', meaning the inner side of a thing, the side turned … (root btn)

الباء والطاء والنون أصل واحد لا يكاد يخلف وهو إنسي الشيء والمقبل منه فالبطن خلاف الظهر تقول بطنت الرجل إذا ضربت بطنه …

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

بطن

The family of the root

Patterns computed · our data

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

32 words8 verbs6 verbal nouns3 participles1 place or instrument3 intensives and elatives4 other nouns6 plurals1 relative or abstract

  • بَاطِنunapparent
  • بَطْنthe belly, or abdomen
  • بُطُون—
  • بَطَنَhe was, or became, big, or large, in the belly, in consequence of much eating
  • بِطَانَةthe lining, or inner covering, of a garment, or piece of cloth
The whole family8 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs8بَطَنَ · أَبْطَنَ · بَطَّنَ

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 يَفْعُلُ (a – u; the imperfect from Lane's “aor.”)

Verbal nouns6بَطْن · بُطُون · بَطَانَة

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

  • بَطْنthe belly, or abdomenLaneForm I · Lane: inf. n.Qurʾān ×17library ×6LaneIbn Fāris
  • بُطُونinteriorautoForm I · Lane: inf. n.library ×3Lane
  • بَطَانَةForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • بَطَنdisease of the belly, being a state of enlargement thereof arising from satietyLaneForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
Participles3بَاطِن · مَبْطُون · مُبَطَّن

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

Place, time and instrument1مِبْطَان

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

Intensives, qualities and the elative3أَبْطَن · بَطِين · بُطَيْن

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

  • أَبْطَنcertain vein in the interior of the arm of the horseLaneelative or colour adjective (afʿal)LaneIbn Fāris
  • بَطِينquality (faʿīl)LaneIbn Fāris
  • بُطَيْنone of the Mansions of the MoonLanequality (faʿīl)LaneIbn Fāris
Other nouns4بِطَانَة · بِطَان · بَطِنَة

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

  • بِطَانَةthe lining, or inner covering, of a garment, or piece of clothLanenounQurʾān ×2LaneIbn Fāris
  • بِطَانthe belly-girth of a camelLanenounLaneIbn Fāris
  • بَطِنَةthe back, hinder part, posteriorsLanenounLane
  • بِطْنَةrepletionLanenounLane
Plurals6بُطُون · بَواطِن · أَبْطُن

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

  • بُطُونbroken plural of بَطْنQurʾān ×13
  • بَواطِنplural of unapparentfrom the singularbroken plural of بَاطِنlibrary ×3
  • أَبْطُنbroken plural of بَطْنLaneIbn Fāris
  • بَطَائِنbroken plural of بِطَانَةQurʾān ×1
Relative and abstract1باطِنِيّ

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

  • باطِنِيّinterior; internalautorelative adjective (-iyy)library ×3

Reference

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.

مَفْعَلَةب ط نمَبْطَنَة

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
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.

The dictionaries

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170Al-baṭn (البطن) in everything is the opposite of al-ẓahr, as in the baṭn of the earth and its ẓahr, and like al-bāṭin and al-ẓāhir, and like al-biṭāna (البطانة) and al-ẓihāra (الظهارة) — namely the lining and the outer f

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

    Al-baṭn (البطن) in everything is the opposite of al-ẓahr, as in the baṭn of the earth and its ẓahr, and like al-bāṭin and al-ẓāhir, and like al-biṭāna (البطانة) and al-ẓihāra (الظهارة) — namely the lining and the outer face of a garment. God Almighty says: 'reclining on couches whose linings (baṭāʾinuhā) are of brocade' [Q. 55:54]. In some exegesis, baṭāʾinuhā is said to mean 'their outer faces.' Biṭānat al-rajul (بطانة الرجل) is his intimate confidant among those who share in and are shared in his inner affairs; his biṭāna is [also] his inner secret (sarīra). Likewise one says ahl biṭānatihi (the people of his intimate circle), and liḥāf mabṭūn/mubaṭṭan (a lined wrap). Al-Bāṭina (الباطنة) of Kufa, Basra, and the like is their central gathering place, while al-Ẓāhira is what lies on the outskirts. Baṭn al-rāḥa (the palm) corresponds to ẓahr al-kaff (the back of the hand); bāṭin al-ibṭ (the inside of the armpit) — they do not say baṭn for it. Bāṭin al-khuff is [the part of a boot] next to the foot. Al-niʿma al-bāṭina (the hidden blessing) is one that is particular, while al-ẓāhira is one that is general. God Almighty says: 'and has completed His favors upon you, outward and inward' [Q. 31:20]. Al-baṭna (البطنة) is the filling of the belly with food, and also [used for] insolence from abundance of wealth; hence it is said 'nazzat bihi l-baṭna' (surfeit made him unruly). A man is baṭīn (بطين), [meaning] fat-bellied, and baṭīn also means wealthy. Ruʾba said: 'And Kurz walks about, belly full [of stored grain] (baṭīn al-kirz), / not fearing the branding-iron for that hoard.' A man is mabṭūn (مبطون): he has become afflicted with a belly ailment. 'The hen dropped what was in her belly' is a euphemism for defecating. 'The woman dropped what was in her belly' means she gave birth, and 'she scattered her belly for her husband' means she bore him many children. Al-biṭān (البطان) for a camel is like the girth for a riding-beast; its plural is buṭun, and the counted plural is abṭina. Your tabṭīn (تبطين) of a riding-beast is striking its belly with a whip. Tabaṭṭantu (تبطنت) in this matter means I entered it until I knew its inner aspect. Tabaṭṭantu al-arḍ wa-l-kalaʾ means I roamed about in it. A man is mabṭān in one sense: one who absents himself from people in the evenings for drinking and the like. Mutammim said: 'Al-Minhāl indeed lay shrouded beneath his cloak — / a noble young man, not one to hide away in the evenings (ghayr mabṭān al-ʿashiyyāt).' A man is also mabṭān if he continually has a huge belly, eating voraciously beyond his companions. And one says: 'anta abṭanu bi-hādhā al-amri khibratan wa-aṭwalu bihi ʿishratan' (you are more knowledgeable of its inner aspect and longer acquainted with it).

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    البطن في كل شيء خلاف الظهر، كبطن الأرض وظهرها، وكالباطن والظاهر، وكالبطانة والظهارة، يعني: باطن الثوب وظاهره، قال الله عز وجل: متكئين على فرش بطائنها من إستبرق «76» وفي بعض التفسير: بطائنها: ظواهرها. وبطانة الرجل: وليجته من القوم الذين يداخلهم ويداخلونه في دخلة أمرهم. وبطانته: سريرته. وكذلك يقال: أهل بطانته، ولحاف مبطون ومبطن. والباطنة من الكوفة والبصرة ونحوهما: مجتمعهم في وسطها. والظاهرة: ما تنحى. وبطن الراحة وظهر الكف، وباطن الإبط، ولا يقولون: بطن. وباطن الخف: [الذي تليه الرجل] «77» . والنعمة الباطنة: التي قد خصت، والظاهرة: التي عمت، قال الله عز وجل: وأسبغ عليكم نعمه ظاهرة وباطنة «78» . والبطنة: امتلاء البطن من الطعام، وهي الأشر من كثرة المال أيضا، ومنه قيل: نزت به البطنة. ورجل بطين: ضخم «79» البطن، ورجل بطين: كثير المال أيضا، قال رؤبة: «80» وكرز يمشي بطين الكرز ... لا يحذر الكي بذاك الكنز ورجل مبطون: قد بطن، وبه البطن. وألقت الدجاجة ذا بطنها: كناية عن مزقها، أي: سلحها. وألقت المرأة ذا بطنها، أي: ولدت، ونثرت للزوج بطنها، أي: أكثرت ولدها. والبطان للبعير كالحزام للدابة، وجمعه: بطن، والعدد: أبطنه.. وتبطينك الدابة: ضربك بطنها بالسوط. وتبطنت في هذا الأمر، أي: دخلت فيه حتى عرفت باطنه. وتبطنت الأرض والكلأ، أي: جولت فيه. ورجل مبطان: يغيب بالعشيات عن الناس في الشرب وغيره، قال متمم: «81» لقد كفن المنهال تحت ردائه ... فتى غير مبطان العشيات أروعا ورجل مبطان، [إذا كان لا يزال ضخم البطن] يأكل أكلا شديدا دون أصحابه. وتقول: أنت أبطن بهذا الأمر خبرة، وأطول به عشرة، أي: أخبر بباطنه.

    al-Khalīl · 170 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 7, p. 440) ↗
  • al-Jawharī · 393Al-baṭn (البطن): the opposite of al-ẓahr;

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

    Al-baṭn (البطن): the opposite of al-ẓahr; it is masculine. Abū Ḥātim related from Abū ʿUbayda that its feminine use is [also] a dialect. Al-baṭn is [a tribal grouping] smaller than a qabīla. Al-baṭn also means the long side of a feather, its plural being buṭnān, like ẓahr/ẓahrān and ʿabd/ʿabdān. Al-buṭnān is also the plural of baṭn meaning a low, hidden tract of land. Buṭnān al-janna (بطنان الجنة) is its middle. Baṭantuhu: I struck his belly. And [a poet] said: 'If you strike a heavily-laden [beast], then strike its belly (fa-ibṭin lahu) / between its short ribs and its flank, forcefully' — [with a variant] fa-abṭinhu, adding a lām. Some say baṭanahu and baṭana lahu are equivalent, like shakarahu/shakara lahu and naṣaḥahu/naṣaḥa lahu. Baṭantu al-wādī: I entered it. Baṭantu hādhā al-amr: I came to know its inner aspect — hence al-Bāṭin as an attribute of God Almighty. Baṭantu bi-fulān: I became one of his intimates. Buṭina al-rajul, in the passive: he suffered a belly ailment. Baṭuna, with kasra, yabṭunu, baṭanan: his belly grew large from satiety. Al-Qulākh said: 'Her offspring did not become emaciated from bloated bellies (al-baṭn), / nor did drowsy languor overtake her from slackness (ghadan).' Al-ghadan is slackness and languor. Al-biṭān (البطان) for a pack-saddle is the strap placed under a camel's belly; it is said 'the two rings of the biṭān met' (iltaqat ḥalqatā l-biṭān) of a matter grown dire — corresponding to the taṣdīr of a riding-saddle. From this: abṭantu al-baʿīr ibṭānan, I tightened its girth. Al-abṭan (الأبطن) in a horse's foreleg is a vein on its inner side; there are two, abṭanān. Biṭānat al-thawb is the opposite of its ẓihāra. Biṭānat al-rajul is his intimate confidant. Abṭantu al-rajul: I made him one of my intimates. Abṭantu al-sayf kashḥī: [I pressed] the sword to my side. Baṭṭantu al-thawb tabṭīnan: I gave the garment a lining. Istabṭantu al-shayʾ [I penetrated to the inside of the thing]. Tabaṭṭantu al-jāriya [I embraced the girl intimately]. Imruʾ al-Qays said: 'As if I had never ridden a swift steed for pleasure, / nor embraced a full-bosomed girl wearing anklets (tabaṭṭantu kāʿiban dhāt khalkhāl).' Tabaṭṭantu al-kalaʾ: I roamed about in the pasture. Ibtaṭantu al-nāqa ʿashrata abṭun: I had her bear young ten times. Al-baṭna is al-kaẓẓa, that is, filling oneself severely with food. It is said: 'there is no good in baṭna (fullness) compared to a khamṣa (emptiness) that follows it.' Al-baṭn [as epithet] is the greedy one concerned only with his belly. Al-mabṭūn: one afflicted in the belly. Al-mabṭān: one continually swollen-bellied from excessive eating. Al-mubaṭṭin: one lean of belly. A woman [in this sense] is mubaṭṭina. Dhū al-Rumma said: 'Soft-spoken [women], slender-waisted (mubaṭṭinnāt), / wearers of anklets, plump-legged (khadāl).' Al-baṭīn: one with a huge belly. Al-baṭīn also means 'far-reaching,' as in 'a far-reaching stride (shaʾw baṭīn).' Al-Buṭayn is one of the lunar mansions, consisting of three small stars... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    البطن: خلاف الظهر، وهو مذكر. وحكى أبو حاتم عن أبي عبيدة أن تأنيثه لغة. والبطن: دون القبيلة. والبطن: الجانب الطويل من الريش، والجمع بطنان مثل ظهر وظهران، وعبد وعبدان. والبطنان أيضا: جمع البطن، وهو الغامض من الأرض. وبطنان الجنة: وسطها. وبطنته: ضربت بطنه. وقال: إذا ضربت موقرا فابطن له (1) بين قصيراه وبين الجله أردا فأبطنه، فزاد لاما. (*) وقال قوم: بطنه وبطن له، مثل شكره وشكر له، ونصحه ونصح له. وبطنت الوادي: دخلته. وبطنت هذا الأمر: عرفت باطنه. ومنه الباطن في صفة الله عز وجل. وبطنت بفلان: صرت من خواصه. وبطن الرجل، على ما لم يسم فاعله: اشتكى بطنه. وبطن بالكسر يبطن بطنا: عظم بطنه من الشبع. قال القلاخ: ولم تضع أولادها من البطن ولم تصبه نعسة على غدن والغدن: الاسترخاء والفترة. والبطان للقتب: الحزام الذي يجعل تحت بطن البعير: ويقال: " التقت حلقتا البطان " للأمر إذا اشتد. وهو بمنزلة التصدير للرحل. يقال منه: أبطنت البعير إبطانا، إذا شددت بطانه. والأبطن في ذراع الفرس: عرق في باطنها، وهما أبطنان. وبطانة الثوب: خلاف ظهارته. وبطانة الرجل: وليجته. وأبطنت الرجل، إذا جعلته من خواصك. وأبطنت السيف كشحى. وبطنت الثوب تبطينا، إذا جعلت له بطانة. واستبطنت الشئ. وتبطنت الجارية. قال امرؤ القيس: كأني لم أركب جوادا للذة ولم أتبطن كاعبا ذات خلخال وتبطنت الكلأ: جولت فيه. وابتطنت الناقة عشرة أبطن، أي نتجتها عشر مرات. والبطنة: الكظة، وهو أن تمتلئ من الطعام امتلاء شديدا. يقال: ليس للبطنة خير من خمصة تتبعها. والبطن: النهم الذي لا يهمه إلا بطنه. والمبطون: العليل البطن. والمبطان: الذي لا يزال عظيم البطن من كثرة الأكل. والمبطن: الضامر البطن. والمرأة مبطنة. قال ذو الرمة: رخيمات الكلام مبطنات جواعل في البرى قصبا خدالا والبطين: العظيم البطن. والبطين: البعيد. يقال: شأو بطين. والبطين من منازل القمر، وهو ثلاثة كواكب صغار مستوية التثليث كأنها أثافى، وهو بطن الحمل، وصغر لان الحمل نجوم كثيرة على صورة الحمل فالشرطان قرناه، والبطين بطنه، والثريا أليته.

    al-Jawharī · 393 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 5, p. 2079) ↗
  • Ibn Fāris · 395Bāʾ, ṭāʾ, and nūn form a single root that scarcely deviates [in meaning], denoting the inner, facing side of a thing.

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

    Bāʾ, ṭāʾ, and nūn form a single root that scarcely deviates [in meaning], denoting the inner, facing side of a thing. Thus baṭn (البطن) is the opposite of ẓahr (back). One says baṭantu al-rajul (بطنت الرجل) when one strikes his belly. Someone said (poetry, cut short in the source): 'If you strike a heavily-laden [camel], then strike its belly (fa-ibṭin lahu) ...' And bāṭana al-amr (باطن الأمر) means he entered into a matter, i.e. its hidden inner aspect, as opposed to its outer aspect (ẓāhir). God Most High is al-Bāṭin (الباطن), because He has full inner knowledge of all things. One says baṭantu hādhā al-amr (بطنت هذا الأمر) when one knows its inner reality. Al-baṭīn (البطين) is a man with a large belly. Al-mabṭūn (المبطون) is one ill in the belly. Al-mabṭān (المبطان) is one who eats much. Al-mubaṭṭin (المبطن) is one with a lean belly. Al-buṭnān (البطنان) refers to the inner side of the [arrow's] fletching feathers. Al-baṭn (البطن) among the Arabs is a tribal grouping smaller than a qabīla (tribe). Al-Buṭayn (البطين) is a star, said to be 'the belly of Aries' (baṭn al-Ḥamal). Al-biṭān (البطان) is the girth-strap of a pack-saddle, so called because it lies against the belly. From this same root comes the expression for a man's intimates who are privy to his inner affairs: they are his biṭāna (بطانة). God Most High says: 'Do not take as intimates (biṭānatan) other than yourselves' [Q. 3:118]. One says tabaṭṭantu al-kalaʾ (تبطنت الكلأ) meaning I roamed about within the pasturage. A poet said: 'I roamed about while beneath me was a sturdy she-camel, / firm-jointed in her elbows, like twisted rope.' [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الباء والطاء والنون أصل واحد لا يكاد يخلف وهو إنسي الشيء والمقبل منه فالبطن خلاف الظهر تقول بطنت الرجل إذا ضربت بطنه قال بعضهم — إذا ضربت موقرا فابطن له … وباطن الأمر دخلته خلاف ظاهره والله تعالى هو الباطن لأنه بطن الأشياء خبرا تقول بطنت هذا الأمر إذا عرفت باطنه والبطين الرجل العظيم البطن والمبطون العليل البطن والمبطان الكثير الأكل والمبطن الخميص البطن والبطنان بطنان القذذ والبطن من العرب دون القبيلة والبطين نجم يقال إنه بطن الحمل والبطان بطان الرحل وهو حزامه وذلك أنه يلي البطن ومن هذا الباب قولهم لدخلاء الرجل الذين يبطنون أمره هم بطانته قال الله تعالى ﴿ لا تتخذوا بطانة من دونكم ﴾ ويقال تبطنت الكلأ إذا جولت فيه قال — قد تبطنت وتحتي جسرة … حرج في مرفقيها كالفتل —

    Ibn Fāris · 395 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 1, p. 259) ↗
  • al-Rāghib · 502The basic meaning of al-baṭn (البطن) is the [bodily] organ, its plural being buṭūn (بطون).

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

    The basic meaning of al-baṭn (البطن) is the [bodily] organ, its plural being buṭūn (بطون). God Most High says: 'and when you were fetuses in the wombs (buṭūn) of your mothers' [Q. 53:32]. Baṭantuhu: I struck his belly. Al-baṭn is the opposite of al-ẓahr in everything; the lower side is called baṭn and the upper side ẓahr, and by this the 'belly' of a matter (baṭn al-amr) and the 'belly' of a valley (baṭn al-wādī) are named metaphorically. Al-baṭn as a tribal grouping among the Arabs is so named on the consideration that they [the whole people] are like a single person, each of whose tribes is like a limb — a baṭn, a fakhdh, or a kāhil [in tribal hierarchy]. On this consideration, the poet said: [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    أصل البطن الجارحة، وجمعه بطون، قال تعالى: وإذ أنتم أجنة في بطون أمهاتكم [النجم/ 32] ، وقد بطنته: أصبت بطنه، والبطن: خلاف الظهر في كل شيء، ويقال للجهة السفلى: بطن، وللجهة العليا: ظهر، وبه شبه بطن الأمر وبطن الوادي، والبطن من العرب اعتبارا بأنهم كشخص واحد، وأن كل قبيلة منهم كعضو بطن وفخذ وكاهل، وعلى هذا الاعتبار قال الشاعر:

    al-Rāghib · 502 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 1, p. 130) ↗
  • Lisān · 711Al-baṭn (البطن) of a human being and of other animals is well known, [meaning] the opposite of al-ẓahr;

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

    Al-baṭn (البطن) of a human being and of other animals is well known, [meaning] the opposite of al-ẓahr; it is masculine, and Abū ʿUbayda related that its feminine use is [also] a dialectal form. Ibn Barrī said: the evidence for its masculine gender is the saying of Mayya bint Ḍirār: 'He keeps concealed — when miserliness has locked its lock — / a belly (baṭnan), lean, from wicked provisions.' We have already mentioned, in the entry ẓ-h-r under the letter rāʾ, the reasoning behind the raf' and naṣb in what Sībawayh related of the Arabs' speech: ḍaraba ʿAbdullāhi baṭnahu wa ẓahrahu, and ḍaraba Zaydun al-baṭna wa-l-ẓahra. The plural of baṭn is abṭun, buṭūn, and buṭnān; al-Tahdhīb [says]: abṭun is used for [counts] three to ten, and buṭūn for more than ten; the diminutive of baṭn is buṭayn. Al-baṭna (البطنة) is the filling of the belly with food, and also [used for] insolence from abundance of wealth. Baṭina, yabṭanu, baṭanan wa-baṭnatan wa-baṭnan — he is baṭīn — [said] when his belly becomes large. It is said: 'al-baṭna weighed heavily on him,' that is, al-kaẓẓa, meaning he became severely filled with food. It is said: 'there is no good in baṭna (fullness) compared to a khamṣa (emptiness) that follows it' — meaning by khamṣa, hunger. Among their proverbs: 'al-baṭna tudhhibu al-fiṭna' (fullness of the belly drives away perspicacity); and from this the poet's saying: 'O sons of al-Mundhir ibn ʿAbdān, indeed baṭna (surfeit) / is among the things that render minds foolish.' It is said: 'so-and-so died of al-baṭn' [a bowel disease]. Al-Jawharī: buṭina al-rajul, in the passive, means he suffered a belly ailment. Baṭuna, with kasra, yabṭunu, baṭanan: his belly grew large from satiety. Al-Qulākh said: 'Her offspring did not become emaciated from bloated bellies, / nor did drowsy languor overtake her from slackness (ghadan).' Al-ghadan is slackness and languor. In the ḥadīth: 'al-mabṭūn (المبطون) is a martyr,' meaning one who dies of a disease of the belly such as dropsy and the like; and from this the ḥadīth that a woman died 'fī baṭn' — it is said this refers to childbirth/postpartum bleeding (nifās), which is said to be the more apparent [reading] because al-Bukhārī entitled the chapter containing this ḥadīth 'The Prayer over the Woman [Who Dies] in Nifās.' And his saying in the ḥadīth: 'they go out in the morning with empty bellies (khimāṣan) and return in the evening with full bellies (buṭānan)' means [the animals return] with bellies filled. And in the ḥadīth of Mūsā and Shuʿayb, peace be upon our Prophet and upon them both, concerning [the return of] his sheep: 'ḥafalan buṭānan' (udders and bellies full); and from this the ḥadīth of ʿAlī, peace be upon him: 'I spend the night mabṭānan (belly full) while around me are hungry bellies (buṭūn gharthā)' — al-mabṭān is one who eats much and has a huge belly. And in the description of ʿAlī, peace be upon him: 'al-baṭīn al-anzaʿ,' meaning one with a huge belly [and receding hairline]. A man is baṭn [as epithet], meaning he has no concern but his belly; it is also said [to mean] one greedy whose appetite for food never ends; it is also said [to mean] one who continually has a huge belly from excessive eating. They say 'kīs baṭīn' (a full purse), meaning full, by way of metaphor. Thaʿlab recited, on behalf of a certain thief: 'So I brought out from it a bag full of finery, / and the purse of Abū al-Jārūd, not lacking (ghayr baṭīn) [i.e., full].' A man is mabṭān: one who eats much, concerned with nothing but his belly; baṭīn: one with a huge belly; and mubaṭṭin: one lean of belly ... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    البطن من الإنسان وسائر الحيوان: معروف خلاف الظهر، مذكر، وحكى أبو عبيدة أن تأنيثه لغة؛ قال ابن بري: شاهد التذكير فيه قول مية بنت ضرار: يطوي، إذا ما الشح أبهم قفله، ... بطنا، من الزاد الخبيث، خميصا وقد ذكرنا في ترجمة ظهر في حرف الراء وجه الرفع والنصب فيما حكاه سيبويه من قول العرب: ضرب عبد الله بطنه وظهره، وضرب زيد البطن والظهر. وجمع البطن أبطن وبطون وبطنان؛ التهذيب: وهي ثلاثة أبطن إلى العشر، وبطون كثيرة لما فوق العشر، وتصغير البطن بطين. والبطنة: امتلاء البطن من الطعام، وهي الأشر من كثرة المال أيضا. بطن يبطن بطنا وبطنة وبطن وهو بطين، وذلك إذا عظم بطنه. ويقال: ثقلت عليه البطنة، وهي الكظة، وهي أن يمتلئ من الطعام امتلاء شديدا. ويقال: ليس للبطنة خير من خمصة تتبعها؛ أراد بالخمصة الجوع. ومن أمثالهم: البطنة تذهب الفطنة؛ ومنه قول الشاعر: يا بني المنذر بن عبدان، والبطنة ... مما تسفه الأحلاما ويقال: مات فلان بالبطن. الجوهري: وبطن الرجل، على ما لم يسم فاعله، اشتكى بطنه. وبطن، بالكسر، يبطن بطنا: عظم بطنه من الشبع؛ قال القلاخ: ولم تضع أولادها من البطن، ... ولم تصبه نعسة على غدن والغدن: الإسترخاء والفترة. وفي الحديث: المبطون شهيد أي الذي يموت بمرض بطنه كالاستسقاء ونحوه؛ ومنه الحديث: أن امرأة ماتت في بطن ، وقيل: أراد به هاهنا النفاس، قال: وهو أظهر لأن البخاري ترجم عليه باب الصلاة على النفساء. وقوله في الحديث: تغدو خماصا وتروح بطانا أي ممتلئة البطون. وفي حديث موسى وشعيب، على نبينا وعليهما الصلاة والسلام، وعود غنمه: حفلا بطانا ؛ ومنه حديث علي، عليه السلام: أبيت مبطانا وحولي بطون غرثى ؛ المبطان: الكثير الأكل والعظيم البطن. وفي صفة علي، عليه السلام: البطين الأنزع أي العظيم البطن. ورجل بطن: لا هم له إلا بطنه، وقيل: هو الرغيب الذي لا تنتهي نفسه من الأكل، وقيل: هو الذي لا يزال عظيم البطن من كثرة الأكل، وقالوا: كيس بطين أي ملآن، على المثل؛ أنشد ثعلب لبعض اللصوص: فأصدرت منها عيبة ذات حلة، ... وكيس أبي الجارود غير بطين ورجل مبطان: كثير الأكل لا يهمه إلا بطنه، وبطين: عظيم البطن، ومبطن: ضامر البطن خميصه، قال: وهذا على السلب كأنه سلب بطنه فأعدمه، والأنثى مبطنة، ومبطون: يشتكي بطنه؛ قال ذو الرمة: رخيمات الكلام مبطنات، ... جواعل في البرى قصبا خدالا ومن أمثالهم: الذئب يغبط بذي بطنه؛ قال أبو عبيد: وذلك أنه لا يظن به أبدا الجوع إنما يظن به البطنة لعدوه على الناس والماشية، ولعله يكون مجهودا من الجوع؛ وأنشد: ومن يسكن البحرين يعظم طحاله، ... ويغبط ما في بطنه وهو جائع وفي صفة عيسى، على نبينا وعليه أفضل الصلاة والسلام: فإذا رجل مبطن مثل السيف ؛ المبطن: الضامر البطن، ويقال للذي لا يزال ضخم البطن من كثرة الأكل مبطان، فإذا قالوا رجل مبطن فمعناه أنه خميص البطن؛ قال متمم بن نويرة: فتى غير مبطان العشية أروعا ومن أمثال العرب التي تضرب للأمر إذا اشتد: التقت حلقتا البطان، وأما قول الراعي يصف إبلا وحالبها: إذا سرحت من مبرك نام خلفها، ... بميثاء، مبطان الضحى غير أروعا مبطان الضحى: يعني راعيا يبادر الصبوح فيشرب حتى يميل من اللبن. والبطين: الذي لا يهمه إلا بطنه. والمبطون: العليل البطن. والمبطان: الذي لا يزال ضخم البطن. والبطن: داء البطن. ويقال: بطنه الداء وهو يبطنه، إذا دخله، بطونا. ورجل مبطون: يشتكي بطنه. وفي حديث عطاء: بطنت بك الحمى أي أثرت في باطنك. يقال: بطنه الداء يبطنه. وفي الحديث: رجل ارتبط فرسا ليستبطنها أي يطلب ما في بطنها من النتاج. وبطنه يبطنه بطنا وبطن له، كلاهما: ضرب بطنه. وضرب فلان البعير فبطن له إذا ضرب له تحت البطن؛ قال الشاعر: إذا ضربت موقرا فابطن له، ... تحت قصيراه ودون الجله، فإن أن تبطنه خير له أراد فابطنه فزاد لاما، وقيل: بطنه وبطن له مثل شكره وشكر له ونصحه ونصح له، قال ابن بري: وإنما أسكن النون للإدغام في اللام؛ يقول: إذا ضربت بعيرا موقرا بحمله فاضربه في موضع لا يضر به الضرب، فإن ضربه في ذلك الموضع من بطنه خير له من غيره. وألقى الرجل ذا بطنه: كناية عن الرجيع. وألقت الدجاجة ذا بطنها: يعني مزقها إذا باضت. ونثرت المرأة بطنها ولدا: كثر ولدها. وألقت المرأة ذا بطنها أي ولدت. وفي حديث القاسم بن أبي برة: أمر بعشرة من الطهارة: الختان والاستحداد وغسل البطنة ونتف الإبط وتقليم الأظفار وقص الشارب والاستنثار ؛ قال بعضهم: البطنة هي الدبر، هكذا رواها بطنة، بفتح الباء وكسر الطاء؛ قال شمر: والانتضاح «1». الاستنجاء بالماء. والبطن: دون القبيلة، وقيل: هو دون الفخذ وفوق العمارة، مذكر، والجمع أبطن وبطون. وفي حديث علي، عليه السلام: كتب على كل بطن عقوله ؛ قال: البطن ما دون القبيلة وفوق الفخذ، أي كتب عليهم ما تغرمه العاقلة من الديات فبين ما على كل قوم منها؛ فأما قوله: وإن كلابا هذه عش …

    Lisān · 711 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 13, p. 52) ↗
  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

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

    بَطُنَ

    1. بَطُنَ, aor. بَطُنَ , (K,) inf. n. بَطَانَةٌ, (TA,) He (a man) was, or became, big, or large, in the belly, (K, TA,) in consequence of much eating. (TA.) And بَطِنَ, aor. بَطَنَ , inf. n. بَطَنٌ, He (a man) was, or became, big, or large, in the belly, in consequence of satiety, (S, TA,) and disordered therein: (TA:) he was, or became, in a state of repletion, or much filled with food. (TA.) And [hence,] بَطِنَ signifies also (tropical:) i. q. أَشِرَ and بَطِرَ [He exulted, or exulted greatly, or excessively, and behaved insolently and unthankfully, or ungratefully: &c.]. (TA.) بُطِنَ He (a man, S, TA) had a complaint of, or a disease in, or a pain in, his belly. (S, Msb, TA.) بَطَنَهُ, (S, K,) aor. بَطُنَ , (S, TA,) inf. n. بَطْنٌ, (TA,) He struck, or beat, his belly; as also بَطَنَ لَهُ, (S, K,) accord. to some, or the ل is added [only] in verse; (S;) and بطّنهُ, (K,) inf. n. تَبْطِينٌ. (TA.) It (a disease) entered into him: [as though it penetrated into his belly: see 10:] in this sense it has for its inf. n. بُطُونٌ. (TA.) And بَطَنَتْ بِهِ الحُمَّى The fever produced an effect within him. (TA.) He entered into it; namely, a valley; (S, TA;) in which sense it has for its inf. n. بَطْنٌ; and تبطّنهُ signifies the same: or the latter, he went about in it; namely, the valley; as also استبطنهُ. (TA.) (tropical:) [He penetrated into it mentally;] he knew it; (Msb, K, TA;) namely, the news or story, or the state or case, of another: (K, TA:) (tropical:) he knew the inward, or intrinsic, state or circumstances thereof; (S, Msb, TA;) i. e., of a case, or an affair; (S, TA;) as also استبطنهُ: (K, A, TA:) and تبطّنهُ (assumed tropical:) he entered into it so that he knew its inward, or intrinsic, state or circumstances. (Ham p. 688.) بَطَنَ بِفُلَانٍ, accord. to the S and M, but in the K مِنْ فُلَانٍ, (TA,) (tropical:) He became one of his particular, or special, intimates, friends, or associates, (S, K, TA,) entering into his affair [or affairs]: (TA:) or بَطَنَ بِهِ, aor. بَطُنَ , inf. n. بُطُونٌ and بَطَانَةٌ, means (assumed tropical:) he entered into his affair [or affairs]. (TA.) And بَطَنَ, (Msb, K,) aor. بَطُنَ , said of a thing, (Msb,) It was, or became, unapparent, hidden, concealed, or covert; (K, TA;) contr. of ظَهَرَ. (Msb.) See also 4.

    بطّنهُ

    2. بطّنهُ, inf. n. تَبْطِينٌ: see 1. See also 4. He put a بِطَانَة, i. e. a lining, to it; namely, a garment, or piece of cloth; (S, K;) as also ابطنهُ. (K.) بطّن لِحَيَتَهُ, inf. n. as above, He took, or cut off, from that part of his beard which was beneath the chin and lower jaw. (Sh, Nh, TA.) Accord. to the copies of the K, تَبْطِينُ اللِّحْيَةِ signifies the not doing so: but this is wrong. (TA.)

    بَاطَنْتُ صَاحِبِى

    3. بَاطَنْتُ صَاحِبِى i. q. شددته [app. a mistranscription for شَاوَرْتُهُ, meaning (assumed tropical:) I consulted with my companion in order to know what was in his mind]. (TA.)

    ابطن البَعِيرَ

    4. ابطن البَعِيرَ, (IAar, S, K,) inf. n. إِبْطَانٌ, (S,) He bound, or made fast, the camel's بِطَان [or belly-girth]; (S, K;) as also بطّنهُ, accord. to the copies of the K; but this is a mistake for بَطَنَهُ, aor. بَطُنَ , inf. n. بَطْنٌ; which last verb, however, though said by Az to be a dial. var., is disallowed by IAar and by AHeyth. (TA.) أَبْطَنْتُ السِّيْفَ كَشْحِى (S, TA) I put the sword beneath my waist. (TA.) And ابطن كَشْحَهُ سَيْفَهُ (assumed tropical:) He made his sword to be his بِطَانَة [app. meaning his secret companion]. (TA.) [This seems to be from the phrase next following.] أَبْطَنْتُ الرَّجُلَ (assumed tropical:) I made the man to be one of my particular, or special, intimates, friends, or associates; (S, TA; *) took him as a بِطَانَة. (TA.) One says also, فُلَانًا دُونَكَ اِسْتَبْطَنْتُ (Ham p. 688; [there rendered by خامصته, app. a mistranscription for خَصَصْتُهُ; meaning (assumed tropical:) I took, or chose, such a one particularly, or specially, for my companion, in preference to thee: it is said in explanation of the phrase مُسْتَبْطِنًا سَيْفِى, which seems to mean (assumed tropical:) taking my sword as my special companion, or putting it beneath my waist; so that سَيْفَهُ استبطن is similar to one, or both, of two phrases mentioned above in this paragraph.]) See also 2.

    تبطّن

    5. تبطّن He filled the [meaning his] belly. (Har p. 176.) تبطّن جَارِيَةً (Sh, S, TA) He made his بَطْن to be in contact with that of a girl, skin to skin: (Sh, TA:) or inivit puellam; i. e. أَوْلَحَ ذَكَرَهُ فِيهَا. (TA.) تبطّن الكَلَأَ He was, or became, in the middle, or midst, of the herbage: (TA:) or he went round about in the herbage. (S.) See also 1, in two places.

    تباطن

    6. تباطن It (a place) was far-extending; one part thereof being remote from another. (TA.)

    اِبْتَطَنْتُ النَّاقَةَ عَشَرَةَ أَبْطُنٍ

    8. اِبْتَطَنْتُ النَّاقَةَ عَشَرَةَ أَبْطُنٍ I assisted the she-camel in bringing forth, or delivered her of her young, ten times. (S, TA. [Golius and Freytag render the verb by “ ventre enixa fuit: ” and the former renders the phrase above (incorrectly printed in his Lex.) by “ peperit camela decem vicibus. ”])

    استبطن الفَرَسَ

    10. استبطن الفَرَسَ He sought to find what young was in the belly of the mare. (TA.) استبطن الفَحْلُ الشُّوَّلَ The stallion covered the she-camels raising their tails, so that they conceived, or received his seed into their wombs; as though [meaning] he deposited his seed in their bellies. (TA.) استبطنهُ He, or it, entered [or penetrated] into his, or its, belly, or interior; [or was, or became, or lay, within it;] like as the vein enters [or penetrates] into [or lies within] (يَسْتَبْطِنُ) the flesh. (A, TA.) You say, اِسْتَبْطَنْتُ الشَّىْءَ [I entered, or penetrated, into the thing, whether actually or mentally]. (S.) See 1, in two places. See also 4, in two places. اِسْتِبْطَانٌ also signifies The having, or holding, [a thing] concealed within. (PS.) [This explanation seems to be given to show that, in the opinion of the author of the PS, اِسْتَبْطَنْتُ الشَّىْءَ in the S means I had, or held, the thing concealed within.]

    بَطْنٌ

    بَطْنٌ The belly, or abdomen; i. e. the part of the body which is separated from the جَوْف [i. e. chest, or thorax,] by the حِجَاب [i. e. midriff, or diaphragm]; containing the liver and the spleen and the stomach and the lower intestines &c.; (Zj in his “ Khalk el-Insán; ” [in which it is erroneously said to comprise also the lungs;]) contr. of ظَهْرٌ; (S, Msb, K;) of a man and of any animal: (TA:) of the masc. gender, (S, K,) and, accord. to AO, fem. also: (AHát, S:) pl. أَبْطُنٌ and بُطُونٌ (Az, Msb, K) and بُطْنَانٌ; (K;) the first a pl. of pauc.; and the second [as also the third] a pl. of mult., applied to more than ten. (Az, TA.) [Hence,] ذُو البَطْنِ [What is in the belly: but generally meaning] excrement, ordure, or dung. (K, TA.) You say, أَلْقَى ذَا بَطْنِهِ He (a man) ejected his excrement, or ordure. (TA.) And أَلْقَتْ ذَا بَطْنِهَا She (a woman, TA) brought forth; (K;) as also وَضَعَتْ ذَاتَ بَطْنِهَا: (TA in art. ذو:) and she (a hen) laid an egg. (K.) And نَثَرَتْ ذَا بَطْنِهَا, (T and Mgh in art. نثر,) and [elliptically] نَثَرَتْ بَطْنَهَا, (T and A and Mgh in that art.,) She (a woman) brought forth many children. (T in that art.) And it is said in a prov., (TA,) الذِّئْبُ يُغْبَطُ بِذِى بَطْنِهِ [The wolf is envied for what is in his belly]: for one never thinks him to be hungry, but only thinks him to be in a state of repletion, because of his hostility to men and cattle, (A'Obeyd, K,) though he is sometimes distressed by hunger. (A'Obeyd. [See various readings of this prov. in Freytag's Arab. Prov. i. 500 and 501.]) مَاتَتْ فِى بَطْنٍ, a phrase occurring in a trad., means She (a woman) died in childbirth. (TA.) See also فُلَانٌ ٱبْنُ بَطْنِهِ. بَطَنٌ. means (assumed tropical:) Such a one is solicitous for his belly. (Er-Rághib, TA in art. بنى.) [Many phrases in which the word بَطْن occurs will be found explained under other words of those phrases; as ظَهْرٌ, and أَخَذَ, and عُصْفُورٌ, &c.] بَطْنُ الحُوتِ: see الرِّشَآءُ. Also The inside, or interior, of anything; syn. جَوْفٌ: and so بَاطِنٌ; syn. دَاخِلٌ: (K:) pl. of the former as above. (TA.) Thus بَطْنُ وَادٍ means The interior of a water-course or riverbed [or valley; i. e. its bottom, in which flows, occasionally or constantly, its torrent or river]. (MA.) And بَطْنُ مَكَّةَ means The interior of Mekkeh. (Bd in xlviii. 24.) [Hence,] it is said of the Kur-án, لِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مِنْهَا ظَهْرٌ وَ بَطْنٌ, meaning (assumed tropical:) To every verse thereof is an apparent sense and a sense requiring development. (TA.) [See ظَهْرٌ.] See also بَاطِنٌ. [And its pl. بُطْنَانٌ is also used as a sing., meaning The middle, or midst, of a thing: and the lower, or lowest, part, or the foundation. Thus,] بُطْنَانُ الجَنَّةِ means The middle, or midst, of Paradise: (S, TA:) and بُطْنَانُ العَرْشِ, The lower, or lowest, part, or the foundation, of the عرش [vulgarly held to be the throne of God]. (TA.) You say also [بَطْنُ الكَفِّ and] الكَفِّ بَاطِنُ (assumed tropical:) The palm of the hand [opposed to ظَهْرُهَا and ظَاهِرُهَا]: and [بَطْنُ القَدَمِ and] القَدَمِ بَاطِنُ (assumed tropical:) The sole of the foot [likewise opposed to ظَهْرُهَا and ظَاهِرُهَا]: (Zj in his “ Khalk- el-Insán: ”) and بَطْنُ الحَافِرُ (S in art. نسر) and الحَافِرِ بَاطِنُ (M and K in that art.) (assumed tropical:) [The sole of the solid hoof;] the part of the solid hoof in which is the نَسْر, q. v. (S and M and K in that art.) بَطْنُ الرَّاحَةِ is well known [as another name for بَطْنُ الكَفِّ, explained above; for الرَّاحَة is often used as syn. with الكَفّ]: and الخُفِّ بَاطِنُ is [said to be] (assumed tropical:) The part of the foot of a camel or the like that is next the leg: and one says, بَاطِنُ الإِبْطِ, [meaning (assumed tropical:) The armpit, or hollow of the inner side of the shoulder-joint,] but not بَطْنُ الإِبْطِ: (TA:) [and العُنُقِ بَاطِنُ the throat.] The بَطْن of a feather is (tropical:) The long, (S,) or longer, (K,) [or wider, i. e. inner,] lateral half: pl. بُطْنَانٌ; (S, K, TA;) which is explained as signifying the parts beneath the shaft: opposed to ظُهْرَانٌ, pl. of ظَهْرٌ [q. v.]. (TA.) Also A low, or depressed, tract, or portion, of land, or ground; (S, TA;) and so بَاطِنٌ: (TA:) [or a bottom, or low land; or a low, soft flat; i. e.] soft, plain, fine, low land or ground; opposed to ظَهْرٌ [q. v.]: (TA in art. ظهر:) pl. of the former, (S,) or of the latter, (K,) بُطْنَانٌ, (S, K,) a pl. of mult., (TA,) and أَبْطِنَةٌ, (K,) a pl. of pauc., and anomalous [as pl. of either]: (TA:) the former pl., in relation to land, is also used as a sing., like بَطْنٌ: (AHn, TA:) and accord. to ISh, بُطْنَانُ الأَرْضِ signifies the low, or depressed, tract, or tracts, of land, of the plain, or soft, parts thereof, and of the rugged, and of the meadows, where water rests and stagnates: and such tracts are also called بَوَاطِنُ and بُطُونٌ. (TA.) بَطْنُ السَّمَآءِ and ظَهْرُ السَّمَآءِ both signify (assumed tropical:) The apparent, visible, part of the sky. (Fr, T voce ظَهْرٌ [q. v.].) Also (tropical:) A tribe below that which is termed قَبِيلَة: (S, Msb, K, TA:) or next below the عِمَارَة: (S and TA voce شَعْبٌ, &c.:) or below the فَخِذ and above the عمارة: (K: [but for this I have found no other authority:]) of the masc. gender: (TA:) or [properly] fem.: but if حَيٌّ [said by some to signify a tribe, absolutely,] be meant thereby, it is masc.: (Msb:) or fem. if used in the sense of قَبِيلَة: (TA:) pl. [of pauc.] أَبْطُنٌ and [of mult.] بُطُونٌ. (Msb, K.) [See شَعْبٌ.]

    بَطَنٌ

    بَطَنٌ Disease of the belly, (K, TA,) being a state of enlargement thereof arising from satiety; and so بَطْنٌ; whence the phrase مَاتَ بِالبَطْنِ He died by the disease of the belly. (TA.)

    بَطَنٌ

    بَطَنٌ One whose object of care, or anxiety, is his belly: (K:) or who has an inordinate desire, or appetite, for food; (S;) whom nothing causes care, or anxiety, but his belly; (S, TA;) as also مِبْطَانٌ: (TA:) or the former, (TA,) or ↓the latter, (S,) ever large, or big, in the belly in consequence of much eating: (S, TA:) or ↓both signify voracious; not ceasing from eating. (K.) And [hence,] (tropical:) One who exults, or exults greatly, or excessively, and behaves insolently and unthankfully, or ungratefully: (TA:) or who does so, being abundant in wealth. (K, TA.)

    بِطْنَةٌ

    بِطْنَةٌ Repletion; the state of being much filled with food (S, K) and drink. (So in a copy of the S.) It is said in a prov., البِطْنَةُ تُذْهِبُ الفِطْنَةَ [Repletion banishes intelligence]. (TA.) And [hence,] (tropical:) Exultation, or great or excessive exultation, and insolent and unthankful, or ungrateful, behaviour. (K, TA.) [Hence also,] مَاتَ فُلَانٌ بِبِطْنَتِهِ (assumed tropical:) Such a one died with his wealth complete, not having expended, or dispensed, anything thereof: or, accord. to A'Obeyd, this prov. relates to religion, and means (assumed tropical:) he went forth from the present world in a state of integrity, without any infringement of his religion. (TA.) [See also تَغَضْغَضَ, in two places.] [Hence also,] نَزَّتْ بِهِ البَطِنَةُ (assumed tropical:) Richness caused him to exult, or exult greatly, or excessively, and to behave insolently and unthankfully, or ungratefully. (TA.)

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗
Look this root up elsewhere:Doha Historical Dictionary ↗Quranic Arabic Corpus ↗Arabic Almanac ↗Hawramani Arabic Lexicon ↗

The same letters, turned

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

ب ط ن

الباء والطاء والنون أصل واحد لا يكاد يخلف وهو إنسي الشيء والمقبل منه فالبطن خلاف الظهر تقول بطنت الرجل إذا ضربت بطنه

The letters b-ṭ-n are one root that hardly ever fails, which is the inner, facing side of a thing; al-baṭn is the opposite of al-ẕahr. You say: baṭanta al-rajul if you struck his belly.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗al-Khalīl: used ↗Quran ×25

an entry in Ibn Fārislater sources onlyin none of them

Do these six share one core meaning?

Reference

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.

Letters & sound

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

Sharing two of its three letters (computed; kinship of form, not of meaning)

16 more

Reference

How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ب

ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء، والميم، والواو

From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Sībawayh, line 26563 ↗

ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء والميم والواو

From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Ibn Jinnī, line 986 ↗

ط

ومما بين طرف اللسان وأصول الثنايا مخرج الطاء، والدال، والتاء

From between the tip of the tongue and the roots of the front teeth is the place of the ṭāʾ, the dāl and the tāʾ. Sībawayh, line 26559 ↗

ومما بين طرف اللسان وأصول الثنايا، مخرج الطاء والدال والتاء

From between the tip of the tongue and the roots of the front teeth is the place of the ṭāʾ, the dāl and the tāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 982 ↗

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 ↗

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

ب

Level of existence: الجن · the jinn

Divine Name: اللطيف · al-Laṭīf, the Subtle

Lunar mansion: الفرع المقدم · al-Farʿ al-Muqaddam

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62118

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗

Nature (ch. 2)

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582

ط

Level of existence: السماء السادسة · the sixth heaven

Divine Name: المحصي · the Enumerator (al-Muḥṣī)

Lunar mansion: الزبانا · al-Zubānā

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64680

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗

Nature (ch. 2)

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582

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 ↗

Nature (ch. 2)

الثمانية فحروفها حارة يابسة

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

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2580
Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ب

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي هو في غاية العز أو في غاية الذل.

It is an indication of the thing that is at the utmost of might or at the utmost of abasement.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي إشارة معها قبض.

It is an indication accompanied by contraction (qabḍ).

With kasra ـِ

فهي إشارة إلى ما دخل أو هو داخل على الذات.

It is an indication of what has entered, or is entering, upon the self.

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

ط

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي جنسه طاهر وصاف إلى النهاية، وهو في ذاته أيضا طاهر صاف إلى النهاية.

It is an indication of the thing whose genus is pure and clear to the utmost, and which is also, in itself, pure and clear to the utmost.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي إشارة إلى الخبيث إلى النهاية عكس الأول.

It is an indication of what is foul to the utmost, the reverse of the first.

With kasra ـِ

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي من طبعه السكون أو أمر بالسكون.

It is an indication of the thing whose nature is stillness, or which has been commanded to be still.

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

ن

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي الخير الساكن في الذات الشاعل فيها.

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

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي إشارة إلى الخير الكامل أو النور الساطع.

It is an indication of perfect good or radiant light.

With kasra ـِ

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
Two-letter nucleus5 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterب ط

Ibn Fāris groups his roots under two-letter chapters (“the X and the Y and what makes them three”). These are the roots of this root's chapter with the core sense he gives each. Setting them side by side is our juxtaposition; he does not himself draw a shared meaning. His chapter heading, line 3142 ↗

  • بطغالباء والطاء والغين أصل واحد وهو التلطخ بالشيءL3143
  • بطنالباء والطاء والنون أصل واحد لا يكاد يخلف وهو إنسي الشيء والمقبل منه فالبطن خلاف الظهر تقول بطنت الرجل إذا ضربت بطنهQ 25 · L3158
  • بطخالباء والطاء والخاء كلمة واحدة وهو البطيخ وما أراها أصلا لأنها مقلوبة من الطبيخ وهذا أقيس وأحسن اطرادا وقد كتب في بابهL3192
  • بطرالباء والطاء والراء أصل واحد وهو الشق وسمى البيطار لذلك ويقال له أيضا المبيطرQ 2 · L3194
  • بطشالباء والطاء والشين أصل واحد وهو أخذ الشيء بقهر وغلبة وقوةQ 10 · L3199
In the sister scriptsHebrew ב ט נSyriac ܒ ܛ ܢ
Arabicب ط ن
Hebrewב ט נ
Syriacܒ ܛ ܢ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩨 𐩷 𐩬
Phoenician𐤁 𐤈 𐤍

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.

Lenses

  • Classical lexiconAl-Khalīl makes baṭn in every thing the counterpart of ẓahr: the belly and back of the earth, the bāṭin and ẓāhir, and the lining (biṭāna) and outer face (ẓihāra) of a garment.well attested

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

    Al-Khalīl makes baṭn in every thing the counterpart of ẓahr: the belly and back of the earth, the bāṭin and ẓāhir, and the lining (biṭāna) and outer face (ẓihāra) of a garment. He cites Q 76 [sic, i.e. 55:54] on linings of brocade and notes a gloss that there biṭāʾin means 'outer faces'. He also takes a man's biṭāna to be the intimates who enter into his affairs, or his hidden intention (sarīra), and the bāṭina of Kufa or Basra to be its populous centre. Al-Jawharī adds the grammar of the word (masculine, with a feminine dialect reported via Abū ʿUbayda), baṭn as a kin group below the tribe, and buṭnān al-janna as the middle of Paradise. He also gives the cognitive verbs baṭantu al-wādī, 'I entered the valley', and baṭantu hādhā al-amr, 'I knew this affair's inner side', and derives from the latter the divine attribute al-Bāṭin. Ibn Fāris reduces all of this to one aṣl, the inner facing side, and explains al-Bāṭin as God's inner knowledge of things (baṭana al-ashyāʾ khubran). Al-Rāghib instead begins from the bodily organ and extends it by analogy to lower versus upper sides and to tribes as members of one body. Ibn Manẓūr records the plurals and biṭna, both repletion and the insolence that comes from wealth. Lane glosses baṭina tropically by ashira and baṭira, 'to exult'.

    Draws on: al-ʿAyn · al-Ṣiḥāḥ · Maqāyīs · Mufradāt · Lisān · Lane

  • Letters & soundIn al-Dabbāgh's letter meanings, bāʾ points to what is at the extreme of might or of abasement.speculative

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

    In al-Dabbāgh's letter meanings, bāʾ points to what is at the extreme of might or of abasement. Ṭāʾ points to what is pure and clear to the utmost in genus and in itself, and nūn to the good that dwells and kindles within the self. On that reading the final nūn fits the root's sense of interiority. Ibn ʿArabī's correspondences give ṭāʾ to the Sixth Heaven; the data give no assignment for bāʾ or nūn. An imsās reading in Ibn Jinnī's manner might take the emphatic, occluded ṭāʾ to suit the mass of the belly, but Ibn Jinnī makes no such claim for this root. Mainstream linguistics treats such correspondences as suggestive at most.

    Draws on: al-Dabbāgh (al-Ibrīz) · Ibn ʿArabī letter correspondences · Ibn Jinnī imsās

    • al-Dabbāgh / Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Ibrīz
    • Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, ch. 2 and ch. 198
  • Root structureIbn Fāris lists these siblings of b-ṭ-n in the b-ṭ chapter: b-ṭ-gh (being smeared with something), b-ṭ-r (splitting;uncertain

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

    Ibn Fāris lists these siblings of b-ṭ-n in the b-ṭ chapter: b-ṭ-gh (being smeared with something), b-ṭ-r (splitting; hence bayṭār, the farrier), b-ṭ-sh (seizing by force) and b-ṭ-kh. He treats the last as a single word, biṭṭīkh, and regards it as a metathesis of ṭ-b-kh. No common b-ṭ meaning emerges from this list. Among the permutations, ṭ-b-n (burying fire so that it stays alight, the ṭābūn; iṭbaʾanna, to settle) sits beside a sense of concealment. N-b-ṭ (drawing up hidden water; istinbāṭ, Q 4:83) sits beside a sense of bringing the inward out. Ṭ-n-b (firmness extended in length) is attested, while b-n-ṭ and n-ṭ-b have no Maqāyīs gloss. Ibn Jinnī's greater derivation would require one meaning shared across all six orders, and that is not evident here. These pairings are offered as juxtapositions only.

    Draws on: Maqāyīs nucleus b-ṭ · permutations

  • Semitic kin & loanwordsHebrew beṭen, 'belly, womb, inner part', is a secure cognate.well attested

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

    Hebrew beṭen, 'belly, womb, inner part', is a secure cognate. It covers the same span from the body to the inside of something, as in beṭen Šəʾōl. Syriac has the verb bṭen, 'to conceive', with related nouns for conception and pregnancy, which specialises the same bodily sense. No confident Akkadian, Geʿez or South Arabian cognate is offered here. The Arabic word is inherited, not borrowed.

    Draws on: Hebrew · Aramaic/Syriac

  • Quranic exegesisAt Q 57:3, al-Ṭabarī reads al-Ẓāhir wa-l-Bāṭin with the Prophetic prayer that nothing is above God and nothing nearer or more inward than He, and he takes al-Bāṭin to mean knowledge of all that is hidden.plausible

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    At Q 57:3, al-Ṭabarī reads al-Ẓāhir wa-l-Bāṭin with the Prophetic prayer that nothing is above God and nothing nearer or more inward than He, and he takes al-Bāṭin to mean knowledge of all that is hidden. Al-Zamakhsharī reads the pair as manifest through proofs and hidden from the senses. Al-Rāzī sets out several such pairings, including manifest in existence or signs and hidden in essence. At Q 3:118 the exegetes explain biṭāna as intimates to whom one entrusts secrets, likened to the lining that touches the body. At Q 55:54 the lining of brocade raises the question of what the outer face must be, and some report that biṭāna can there mean the outer face. The concrete belly carries the other occurrences: a mother's womb at 3:35 and the fire the concealers of scripture eat into their bellies at 2:174.

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

  • Philosophy & kalāmIn falsafa the root gives al-ḥawāss al-bāṭina, the internal senses.plausible

    The word as a technical term in falsafa and theology.

    In falsafa the root gives al-ḥawāss al-bāṭina, the internal senses. In Avicenna's psychology these are common sense, retentive imagination, compositive imagination, estimation (wahm) and memory, contrasted with the five external senses (al-ḥawāss al-ẓāhira). In theological polemic, bāṭin names the hidden meaning of revelation claimed by the Bāṭiniyya, whom al-Ghazālī attacks in Faḍāʾiḥ al-Bāṭiniyya while keeping a controlled ẓāhir–bāṭin hermeneutic of his own.

    Draws on: Avicenna, internal senses · al-Ghazālī

  • Akbarian readingIn Faṣṣ Ādam, the universal matters (al-umūr al-kulliyya) have no existence in their own entity.well attested

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    In Faṣṣ Ādam, the universal matters (al-umūr al-kulliyya) have no existence in their own entity. They are intelligible in the mind and remain inward (bāṭina) with respect to concrete existence. They are outward through the entities of existents and inward through their intelligibility, and every concrete existent depends on them. Because God describes Himself as Outward and Inward (Q 57:3), He made the world one of unseen and witnessed, so that we perceive the inward by our unseen and the outward by our witnessing. The same chapter says Adam's outward form was produced from the realities of the world and his inward form on God's form. No Iṣṭilāḥ definition is supplied for this root.

    Draws on: Fuṣūṣ, Faṣṣ Ādam · ẓāhir/bāṭin pair

    • Ibn ʿArabī, Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Faṣṣ Ādam
    • Q 57:3 ↗

Reference

Neighbouring rootsThe roots that share letters with this one, as a map you can open out