Mashrabaمشربة

بلغa single meaning, arrival at a thing, extended by courtesy to mere approach or … (root blgh)

الباء واللام والغين أصل واحد وهو الوصول إلى الشيء تقول بلغت المكان إذا وصلت إليه وقد تسمى المشارفة بلوغا بحق المقاربة …

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

بلغ
Patterns computed · our data

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

36 words6 verbs7 verbal nouns4 participles1 place or instrument3 intensives and elatives11 other nouns4 plurals

  • بَلَغَthat clave to him, or adhered to him, , rising to its highest degree or point
  • بَلَاغthe bringing, conveyance, delivery, or communication, of a message
  • بَالِغreaching, attaining, arriving at, or coming to, a place
  • بَلَّغَhe caused him, or it, to reach, attain, arrive at, or come to, the place
  • أَبْلَغَhe brought his utmost power or ability, or effort or endeavour, to the …
The whole family7 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs6بَلَغَ · بَلَّغَ · أَبْلَغَ

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.”)

  • بَلَغَthat clave to him, or adhered to him, , rising to its highest degree or pointLaneForm IQurʾān ×40library ×25LaneIbn Fāris
  • بَلَّغَhe caused him, or it, to reach, attain, arrive at, or come to, the placeLaneForm IIQurʾān ×6LaneIbn Fāris
  • أَبْلَغَhe brought his utmost power or ability, or effort or endeavour, to the …LaneForm IVQurʾān ×5Lane
  • بَالَغَhe exceeded the usual, or ordinary, or the just, or proper, bounds, or …LaneForm IIILane
Verbal nouns7بَلَاغ · بَلَاغَة · إِبْلَاغ

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

  • بَلَاغthe bringing, conveyance, delivery, or communication, of a messageLaneForm I · Lane: inf. n.Qurʾān ×15library ×1LaneIbn Fāris
  • بَلَاغَةeloquenceautoForm I · Lane: inf. n.library ×2LaneIbn Fāris
  • إِبْلَاغForm IV · Lane: inf. n.Lane
  • بُلُوغForm I · Lane: inf. n.Lane
Participles4بَالِغ · مَبْلُوغ · مُبَالَغ

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

  • بَالِغreaching, attaining, arriving at, or coming to, a placeLaneactive, Form IQurʾān ×6library ×1Lane
  • مَبْلُوغpassive, Form ILane
  • مُبَالَغpassive, Form IIILane
  • مُبَلِّغactive, Form IILane
Place, time and instrument1مَبْلَغ

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

Intensives, qualities and the elative3بَلِيغ · بِلَغْن · أَبْلَغ

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

Other nouns11بَلَغ · بَلْغ · بَلْغَة

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

Plurals4بَالِغُو · بُلَغاء · تَبَالِغ

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

  • بَالِغُوsound plural of بَالِغQurʾān ×1
  • بُلَغاءplural of eloquentfrom the singularbroken plural of بَلِيغlibrary ×1
  • تَبَالِغbroken plural of تَبْلِغَةLane
  • مَبَالِغbroken plural of مَبْلَغLane
Why this shape?What each of the 19 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 ل غمَبْلَغَة

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.

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170A man [described as] balgh (بلغ) is baligh (بليغ, 'eloquent'), and he has [attained] balāghah (بلاغة, eloquence).

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

    A man [described as] balgh (بلغ) is baligh (بليغ, 'eloquent'), and he has [attained] balāghah (بلاغة, eloquence). Balagha (بلغ) the thing, yablughu (يبلغ), bulūgh (بلوغا, 'reaching'); and ablaghtuhu (أبلغته), ibalāgh (إبلاغا, 'to convey/deliver'). And ballaghtuhu (بلغته), tablīgh (تبليغا), in a message and the like. In such-and-such there is balāgh (بلاغ) and tablīgh (تبليغ), meaning 'sufficiency.' A thing that is bāligh (بالغ) means 'good/excellent.' Al-mubālaghah (المبالغة) is that you exert your utmost effort in a task. Al-Ḍarīr said: I heard Abū 'Amr say: al-balgh (البلغ) is news that reaches you which does not please you; the saying 'O God, [let it be] heard, not brought to fulfillment (Allāhumma sam' lā balgh)' means 'O God, let us hear of such a thing but let it not come down upon us.'

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    رجل بلغ: بليغ، وقد بلغ بلاغة. وبلغ الشيء يبلغ بلوغا، وأبلغته إبلاغا. وبلغته تبليغا في الرسالة ونحوها. وفي كذا بلاغ وتبليغ أي كفاية. وشيء بالغ أي جيد. والمبالغة: أن تبلغ من العمل جهدك. قال الضرير: سمعت أبا عمرو يقول: البلغ ما يبلغك من الخبر الذي لا يعجبك، القول: اللهم سمع لا بلغ أي اللهم نسمع بمثل هذا فلا تنزله بنا

  • al-Jawharī · 393Balaghtu (بلغت) the place, bulūgh (بلوغا): I arrived at it;

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

    Balaghtu (بلغت) the place, bulūgh (بلوغا): I arrived at it; and likewise when you have come close to it. From this [meaning] is His saying: "fa-idhā balaghna ajalahunna" [and when they have reached (balaghna) their term] — i.e., approached it. Balagha (بلغ) the boy: he reached puberty. Al-ibalāgh (الإبلاغ) is 'delivering/conveying,' and likewise al-tablīgh (التبليغ); the noun from it is al-balāgh (البلاغ). Al-balāgh (البلاغ) also means 'sufficiency.' From this is the verse of the rajaz poet: "She drives away, from your worldly life, with sufficiency (bi-l-balāgh), / and hastens the stomach with tanning (dabāgh)". And balaghtu (بلغت) the message [I delivered it]. Balagha (بلغ) the horseman: when he extends his hand with his horse's rein to increase its running. A thing that is bāligh (بالغ) means 'good.' It is said 'balagha (بلغ) in goodness to a certain degree (mablaghan).' It is said: 'God's command is balgh (بلغ)' with fatḥah, meaning bāligh (بالغ, 'effective, attaining its purpose'), from His saying: "inna Allāha bālighu amrihi" [Indeed God is the one who attains His purpose]. Al-Farrā' said: it is said 'Allāhumma sam' lā balgh' and 'sam' lā balagh,' meaning 'let it be heard of but not fulfilled.' Al-Kisā'ī said: when a man hears news that does not please him he says: 'Allāhumma sam' lā balgh,' 'sam' lā balagh,' and 'sam'an lā balaghan.' Their saying 'aḥmaq balgh (بلغ)' with kasrah means: he, despite his foolishness, attains what he wants. It is said 'balgh malgh' [a rhyming intensifier]. Al-balāghah (البلاغة) is eloquence (al-faṣāḥah). Baligha (بلغ) the man, with ḍammah, means he became eloquent (baligh). Al-balāghāt (البلاغات) are like slanderous reports (al-washāyāt). Al-balaghayn (البلغين) is calamity. In the ḥadīth, 'Ā'ishah said to 'Alī, may God be pleased with them both, when she was seized [arrested]: 'You have brought upon us the two calamities (balaghtu minnā al-balaghayn).' Bālagha (بالغ) so-and-so in my affair means he did not fall short in it. Al-bulghah (البلغة) is that by which one subsists in life. Taballagha (تبلغ) with something means he was satisfied with it as sufficient. Taballaghat (تبلغت) with him the illness means it became severe. Al-bālighā' (البالغاء) is [a word for] the shanks/lower legs — in the dialect of the people of Medina. Abū 'Ubayd said: its origin in Persian is 'pāyhā' [legs/feet].

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    بلغت المكان بلوغا: وصلت إليه، وكذلك إذا شارفت عليه. ومنه قوله تعالى: {فإذا بلغن أجلهن} أي قاربنه. وبلغ الغلام: أدرك. والإبلاغ: الإيصال، وكذلك التبليغ، والاسم منه البلاغ. والبلاغ أيضا: الكفاية. ومنه قول الراجز * تزج من دنياك بالبلاغ (1) * وبلغت الرسالة. وبلغ الفارس، إذا مد يده بعنان فرسه ليزيد في جريه. وشئ بالغ، أي جيد. وقد بلغ في الجودة مبلغا. ويقال: أمر الله بلغ بالفتح، أي بالغ من قوله تعالى: {إن الله بالغ أمره (2) . قال الفراء: يقال اللهم سمع لا بلغ، وسمع لا بلغ، معناه يسمع به ولا يتم. وقال الكسائي: إذا سمع الرجل الخبر لا يعجبه قال: اللهم سمع لا بلغ، وسمع لا بلغ، وسمعا لا بلغا. وقولهم: أحمق بلغ بالكسر، أي هو مع حماقته يبلغ ما يريده. يقال بلغ ملغ (3) . والبلاغة: الفصاحة. وبلغ الرجل بالضم، أي صار بليغا. والبلاغات، كالوشايات. والبلغين: الداهية. وفي الحديث أن عائشة قالت لعلي رضي الله عنهما حين أخذت: " بلغت منا البلغين ". وبالغ فلان في أمري، إذا لم يقصر فيه. والبلغة: ما يتبلغ به من العيش. وتبلغ بكذا، أي اكتفى به. وتبلغت به العلة، أي اشتدت. والبالغاء: الا كارع فيه لغة أهل المدينة. قال أبو عبيد: وأصلها بالفارسية " پايها ".

  • Ibn Fāris · 395The letters bā', lām, and ghayn form one root, meaning 'reaching/arriving at a thing.' You say balaghtu (بلغت) the place when you have arrived at it.

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

    The letters bā', lām, and ghayn form one root, meaning 'reaching/arriving at a thing.' You say balaghtu (بلغت) the place when you have arrived at it. Coming close to something (mushārafah) may also be called bulūgh (بلوغ) by way of approximation. God Almighty said: "And when they have reached (balaghna) their term, retain them in a fair manner" [Qur'an 2:231]. From this [root] belongs the saying 'he is a fool who is baligh (بلغ) and baligh' — meaning that, despite his foolishness, he attains (yablughu) what he wants. Al-bulghah (البلغة) is that by which one subsists in livelihood — as though it means he thereby attains the rank of one who has abundance, when he is content and satisfied. Likewise balāghah (البلاغة), for which an eloquent tongue is praised, [is so named] because by it one attains (yablughu) what one wants. [The expression] 'I have balāgh (بلاغ) in this' means 'sufficiency.' Their saying 'the horseman balagha (بلغ)' means that he extends his hand with his horse's rein so as to increase its running. And their saying 'poverty taballaghat (تبلغت) with so-and-so' when it became severe [means] that poverty reached its utmost extent and limit through him.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الباء واللام والغين أصل واحد وهو الوصول إلى الشيء تقول بلغت المكان إذا وصلت إليه وقد تسمى المشارفة بلوغا بحق المقاربة قال الله تعالى : ﴿ فإذا بلغن أجلهن فأمسكوهن بمعروف ﴾ ومن هذا الباب قولهم هو أحمق بلغ وبلغ أي إنه مع حماقته يبلغ ما يريده والبلغة ما يتبلغ به من عيش كأنه يراد أنه يبلغ رتبة المكثر إذا رضي وقنع وكذلك البلاغة التي يمدح بها الفصيح اللسان لأنه يبلغ بها ما يريده ولي في هذا بلاغ أي كفاية وقولهم بلغ الفارس يراد به أنه يمد يده بعنان فرسه ليزيد في عدوه وقولهم تبلغت القلة بفلان إذا اشتدت فلأنه تناهيها به وبلوغها الغاية

  • al-Rāghib · 502Al-bulūgh (البلوغ) and al-balāgh (البلاغ): reaching the farthest goal and terminus, whether it be a place, a time, or one of the determined matters;

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

    Al-bulūgh (البلوغ) and al-balāgh (البلاغ): reaching the farthest goal and terminus, whether it be a place, a time, or one of the determined matters; and it may sometimes be used to express approaching it even if one has not [actually] reached it. From [the sense of] reaching/culmination: "balagha ashuddahu wa-balagha arba'īna sanah" [until, when he reaches his full strength and reaches forty years] [46:15]; and His saying, Exalted is He: "fa-balaghna ajalahunna fa-lā ta'ḍulūhunna" [and when they have reached (balaghna) their term, do not prevent them] [2:232]; "wa mā hum bi-bālighīhi" [and they will not reach/attain it] [40:56]; "fa-lammā balagha ma'ahu al-sa'y" [and when he reached the age of working with him] [37:102]; "la'allī ablughu al-asbāb" [that I may reach the means] [40:36]; "aymānun 'alaynā bālighah" [oaths binding upon Us, utmost in force] [68:39], i.e., utmost in confirmation/emphasis. And al-balāgh (البلاغ) is the [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    البلوغ والبلاغ: الانتهاء إلى أقصى المقصد والمنتهى، مكانا كان أو زمانا، أو أمرا من الأمور المقدرة، وربما يعبر به عن المشارفة عليه وإن لم ينته إليه، فمن الانتهاء: بلغ أشده وبلغ أربعين سنة [الأحقاف/ 15] ، وقوله عز وجل: فبلغن أجلهن فلا تعضلوهن [البقرة/ 232] ، وما هم ببالغيه [غافر/ 56] ، فلما بلغ معه السعي [الصافات/ 102] ، لعلي أبلغ الأسباب [غافر/ 36] ، أيمان علينا بالغة [القلم/ 39] ، أي: منتهية في التوكيد. والبلاغ: الت

  • Lisān · 711Balagha (بلغ) the thing, yablughu (يبلغ), bulūgh (بلوغا) and balāgh (بلاغا): it arrived and came to its end (waṣala wa-ntahā);

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

    Balagha (بلغ) the thing, yablughu (يبلغ), bulūgh (بلوغا) and balāgh (بلاغا): it arrived and came to its end (waṣala wa-ntahā); and ablaghahu (أبلغه), ibalāgh (إبلاغا); and ballaghahu (بلغه), tablīgh (تبليغا). And the saying of Abū Qays ibn al-Aslat al-Sulamī: "She said — not intending obscene speech — 'Gently! You have already made my ears reach [their limit] (abalaghta asmā'ī)'" This is from that [root], meaning: 'you have reached your utmost in it and gone to excess.' Taballagha (تبلغ) with a thing: he reached his goal by means of it; and one says balagha (بلغ) mablagha (مبلغ, 'the extent/measure') of so-and-so and his mablaghah (مبلغته, 'his standing'). In the ḥadīth of the rain-prayer (istisqā'): 'And make what You have sent down for us a strength and a sustaining provision (balāghan) until a [set] time' — al-balāgh (البلاغ) is that by which one attains sufficiency and reaches the thing sought. Al-balāgh (البلاغ) is also 'what reaches you [i.e., news].' Al-balāgh (البلاغ) is [also] 'sufficiency'; from this is the saying of the rajaz poet: "She drives you from your worldly portion with mere sufficiency (bi-l-balāgh), and hastens the stomach with tanning (dabāgh)" And you say: 'He has, in this, balāgh (بلاغ)' and 'bulghah (بلغة)' and 'tabalugh (تبلغ),' meaning 'sufficiency.' And balaghtu (بلغت) the message [I delivered the message]. Al-balāgh (البلاغ) is [also] 'the act of conveying' (al-ibalāgh). In the Revelation: "illā balāghan min Allāhi wa-risālātihi" [except a communication (balāghan) from God and His messages] [72:23], meaning: 'I find no refuge except that I convey (uballighu) on God's behalf what I have been sent with.' Al-ibalāgh (الإبلاغ) is 'delivering/conveying' (al-īṣāl), and likewise al-tablīgh (التبليغ); the noun from it is al-balāgh (البلاغ); and balaghtu (بلغت) the message [means I conveyed it]. Al-Tahdhīb: it is said 'balaghtu (بلغت) the people, balāgh (بلاغا),' a noun standing in place of tablīgh (التبليغ). In the ḥadīth: 'Let every one who has raised [a report] to us from al-balāgh (البلاغ) convey it on our behalf' — transmitted both with fatḥah and kasrah on the bā'. It is said that what is meant is 'from the conveyers (al-muballighīn)'; and ablaghtuhu (أبلغته) and ballaghtuhu (بلغته) mean the same. If the transmission is 'min al-balāgh' with fatḥah on the bā', it has two interpretations: first, that al-balāgh (البلاغ) is what has reached [us] of the Qur'an and the [prophetic] traditions; second, 'from those possessing al-balāgh (ذوي البلاغ),' i.e., those who conveyed [things] to us, meaning those possessing tablīgh — thus the noun stands in place of the true verbal noun (maṣdar), just as one says 'a'ṭaytuhu 'aṭā'an' [I gave him a gift]. As for the kasrah [reading], al-Harawī said: 'I think it is from al-mubālighīn (المبالغين, 'those who exert themselves') in conveying'; bālagha (بالغ), yubālighu (يبالغ), mubālaghah (مبالغة), and balāgh (بلاغا) — used when one exerts effort in a matter. The meaning in the ḥadīth is: 'Let every group or individual who conveys on our behalf and broadcasts what we say, convey it and narrate it.' As for His saying, Exalted is He: "hādhā balāghun li-l-nāsi wa-li-yundharū bihi" [this is a message (balāghun) for mankind, that they may be warned thereby] [14:52], it means: 'We sent it down so that mankind might be warned by it.' Balagha (بلغ) the horseman: when he extends his hand with his horse's rein to increase its running. Balagha (بلغ) the boy: he reached puberty (iḥtalama) — as though he 'reached' the time when the [legal] obligation and prescription is written upon him; likewise balaghat (بلغت) the girl. Al-Tahdhīb: balagha (بلغ) the boy and the girl [means] they attained maturity, and both are called bāligh (بالغان). Al-Shāfi'ī said in the Book of Marriage: 'jāriyah bāligh (بالغ)' without the tā' marbūṭah — thus al-Azharī transmitted it from 'Abd al-Malik from al-Rabī' from him. Al-Azharī said: al-Shāfi'ī is eloquent and an authority in language; he said: 'I heard the eloquent Arabs say jāriyah bāligh, just as they say imra'ah 'āshiq [without tā'] and liḥyah nāṣil [without tā'].' He said: 'And if someone were to say jāriyah bālighah [with tā'], it would not be an error, since that is the [grammatical] origin.' And balaghtu (بلغت) the place, bulūgh (بلوغا): I arrived at it [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    بلغ الشيء يبلغ بلوغا وبلاغا: وصل وانتهى، وأبلغه هو إبلاغا وبلغه تبليغا؛ وقول أبي قيس بن الأسلت السلمي: قالت، ولم تقصد لقيل الخنى: ... مهلا فقد أبلغت أسماعي إنما هو من ذلك أي قد انتهيت فيه وأنعمت. وتبلغ بالشيء: وصل إلى مراده، وبلغ مبلغ فلان ومبلغته. وفي حديث الاستسقاء: واجعل ما أنزلت لنا قوة وبلاغا إلى حين ؛ البلاغ: ما يتبلغ به ويتوصل إلى الشيء المطلوب. والبلاغ: ما بلغك. والبلاغ: الكفاية؛ ومنه قول الراجز: تزج من دنياك بالبلاغ، ... وباكر المعدة بالدباغ وتقول: له في هذا بلاغ وبلغة وتبلغ أي كفاية، وبلغت الرسالة. والبلاغ: الإبلاغ. وفي التنزيل: إلا بلاغا من الله ورسالاته ، أي لا أجد منجى إلا أن أبلغ عن الله ما أرسلت به. والإبلاغ: الإيصال، وكذلك التبليغ، والاسم منه البلاغ، وبلغت الرسالة. التهذيب: يقال بلغت القوم بلاغا اسم يقوم مقام التبليغ. وفي الحديث: كل رافعة رفعت عنا «2» من البلاغ فليبلغ عنا ، يروى بفتح الباء وكسرها، وقيل: أراد من المبلغين، وأبلغته وبلغته بمعنى واحد، وإن كانت الرواية من البلاغ بفتح الباء فله وجهان: أحدهما أن البلاغ ما بلغ من القرآن والسنن، والوجه الآخر من ذوي البلاغ أي الذين بلغونا يعني ذوي التبليغ، فأقام الاسم مقام المصدر الحقيقي كما تقول أعطيته عطاء، وأما الكسر فقال الهروي: أراه من المبالغين في التبليغ، بالغ يبالغ مبالغة وبلاغا إذا اجتهد في الأمر، والمعنى في الحديث: كل جماعة أو نفس تبلغ عنا وتذيع ما تقوله فلتبلغ ولتحك. وأما قوله عز وجل: هذا بلاغ للناس ولينذروا به ، أي أنزلناه لينذر الناس به. وبلغ الفارس إذا مد يده بعنان فرسه ليزيد في جريه. وبلغ الغلام: احتلم كأنه بلغ وقت الكتاب عليه والتكليف، وكذلك بلغت الجارية. التهذيب: بلغ الصبي والجارية إذا أدركا، وهما بالغان. وقال الشافعي في كتاب النكاح: جارية بالغ، بغير هاء، هكذا روى الأزهري عن عبد الملك عن الربيع عنه، قال الأزهري: والشافعي فصيح حجة في اللغة، قال: وسمعت فصحاء العرب يقولون جارية بالغ، وهكذا قولهم امرأة عاشق ولحية ناصل، قال: ولو قال قائل جارية بالغة لم يكن خطأ لأنه الأصل. وبلغت المكان بلوغا: وصلت إليه وكذلك إذا شارفت عليه؛ ومنه قوله تعالى: فإذا بلغن أجلهن* ، أي قاربنه. وبلغ النبت: انتهى. وتبالغ الدباغ في الجلد: انتهى فيه؛ عن أبي حنيفة. وبلغت النخلة وغيرها من الشجر: حان إدراك ثمرها؛ عنه أيضا. وشيء بالغ أي جيد، وقد بلغ في الجودة مبلغا. ويقال: أمر الله بلغ، بالفتح، أي بالغ من قوله تعالى: إن الله بالغ أمره . وأمر بالغ وبلغ: نافذ يبلغ أين أريد به؛ قال الحرث بن حلزة: فهداهم بالأسودين وأمر الله ... بلغ يشقى به الأشقياء وجيش بلغ كذلك. ويقال: اللهم سمع لا بلغ وسمع لا بلغ، وقد ينصب كل ذلك فيقال: سمعا لا بلغا وسمعا لا بلغا، وذلك إذا سمعت أمرا منكرا أي يسمع به ولا يبلغ. والعرب تقول للخبر يبلغ واحدهم ولا يحققونه: سمع لا بلغ أي نسمعه ولا يبلغنا. وأحمق بلغ وبلغ أي هو من حماقته «1» يبلغ ما يريده، وقيل: بالغ في الحمق، وأتبعوا فقالوا: بلغ ملغ. وقوله تعالى: أم لكم أيمان علينا بالغة ؛ قال ثعلب: معناه موجبة أبدا قد حلفنا لكم أن نفي بها، وقال مرة: أي قد انتهت إلى غايتها، وقيل: يمين بالغة أي مؤكدة. والمبالغة: أن تبلغ في الأمر جهدك. ويقال: بلغ فلان أي جهد؛ قال الراجز: إن الضباب خضعت رقابها ... للسيف، لما بلغت أحسابها أي مجهودها «2» وأحسابها شجاعتها وقوتها ومناقبها. وأمر بالغ: جيد. والبلاغة: الفصاحة. والبلغ والبلغ: البليغ من الرجال. ورجل بليغ وبلغ وبلغ: حسن الكلام فصيحه يبلغ بعبارة لسانه كنه ما في قلبه، والجمع بلغاء، وقد بلغ، بالضم، بلاغة أي صار بليغا. وقول بليغ: بالغ وقد بلغ. والبلاغات: كالوشايات. والبلغن: البلاغة؛ عن السيرافي، ومثل به سيبويه. والبلغن أيضا: النمام؛ عن كراع. والبلغن: الذي يبلغ للناس بعضهم حديث بعض. وتبلغ به مرضه: اشتد. وبلغ به البلغين بكسر الباء وفتح اللام وتخفيفها؛ عن ابن الأعرابي، إذا استقصى في شتمه وأذاه. والبلغين والبلغين. الداهية: وفي الحديث: أن عائشة قالت لأمير المؤمنين علي، عليه السلام، حين أخذت يوم الجمل: قد بلغت منا البلغين [البلغين] ؛ معناه أن الحرب قد جهدتنا وبلغت منا كل مبلغ، يروى بكسر الباء وضمها مع فتح اللام، وهو مثل، معناه بلغت منا كل مبلغ. وقال أبو عبيد في قولها قد بلغت منا البلغين [البلغين]: أنه مثل قولهم لقيت منا البرحين والأقورين، وكل هذا من الدواهي، قال ابن الأثير: والأصل فيه كأنه قيل: خطب بلغ وبلغ أي بليغ، وأمر برح وبرح أي مبرح، ثم جمعا على السلامة إيذانا بأن الخطوب في شدة نكايتها بمنزلة العقلاء الذين لهم قصد وتعمد. وبالغ فلان في أمري إذا لم يقصر فيه. والبلغة: ما يتبلغ به من العيش، زاد الأزهري: ولا فضل فيه. وتبلغ بكذا أي اكتفى به. وبلغ الشيب في ر …

  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

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

    بُلُوغٌ

    1. بُلُوغٌ [inf. n. of بَلَغَ] and إِبْلَاغٌ [inf. n. of ابلغ, but it seems that ابلاغ is here a mistranscription for بَلَاغٌ, which is, like بُلُوغٌ, an inf. n. of بَلَغَ, and this observation will be found to be confirmed by a statement immediately following this sentence,] signify The reaching, attaining, arriving at, or coming to, the utmost point of that to which, or towards which, one tends or repairs or betakes himself, to which one directs his course, or which one seeks, pursues, endeavours to reach, desires, intends, or purposes; whether it be a place, or a time, or any affair or state or event that is meditated or intended or determined or appointed: and sometimes, the being at the point thereof: so says Abu-1-Kásim in the Mufradát. (TA: [in which it is said, in the supplement to the present art., that بَلَاغٌ signifies The reaching, attaining, arriving at, or coming to, a thing.]) You say, بَلَغَ المَكَانَ, (S, K,) and المَنْزِلَ, (Msb,) [aor. بَلُغَ ,] inf. n. بُلُوغٌ (S, K) [and بَلَاغٌ, as shown above], He reached, attained, arrived at, or came to, (S, Msb, K,) the place, (S, K,) and the place of abode: (Msb:) and (so in the S, but in the K “ or, ”) he was, or became, at the point of reaching it, attaining it, &c. (S, K.) فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَ, in the Kur [ii. 232], means And they have fully attained, or ended, their term. (Msb.) But فَإِذَا بَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ, in the same [lxv. 2], means And when they are near to attaining, or ending, their term: (S, TA:) or are at the point of accomplishing their term. (Msb, TA.) It has the first of the meanings explained above in the phrase, بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ [Kur xii. 22 &c., He attained his manly vigour, or full maturity, &c.]. (TA.) And in بَلَغَأَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً [Kur xlvii. 14, He attained the age of forty years]. (TA.) And in بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْىَ [Kur xxxvii. 100, He attained to working with him]. (TA.) In the Kur [iii. 35], occurs the phrase, وَقَدْ بَلَغَنِىَ الكِبَرُ [When old age hath come to me, or overtaken me]: and in another place [xix. 9], وَ قَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الكِبَرِ عُتِيًّا [And I have reached the extreme degree of old age: so explained in the Expos. of the Jel]: phrases like أَدْرَكَنِىَ الجَهْدُ and أَدْرَكْتُهُ. (Er-Rághib, TA.) You say also, مَا بَلَغَ لَزِمَهُ ذٰلِكَ بَالِغًا with the accus. case as a denotative of state; meaning [That clave to him, or adhered to him, &c.,] rising to its highest degree or point; from بَلَغَ المَنْزِلَ, explained above. (Msb.) [But مَا بَلَغَ بَالِغًا more frequently means Whatever point, degree, amount, sum, quantity, number, or the like, it may reach, attain, arrive at, come to, or amount to.] And بَلَغَ فُلَانٌ مَبْلَغَهُ and مَبْلَغَتُهُ [Such a one reached, or attained, his utmost point or scope or degree]. (TA.) And بَلَغَ فِى العِلْمِ المَبَالِغَ [He attained, in knowledge, or science, the utmost degrees of proficiency]. (TA.) And بَلَغَ فِى الجَوْدَةِ مَبْلَغًا [It reached a consummate degree in goodness]. (S, K, * TA.) And بَلَغَ مِنَ الجَوْدَةِ مَبْلَغًا [He attained a consummate degree of goodliness]: said of a boy that has attained to puberty. (O, TA.) And بَلَغَ غَايَتَهُ فِى الطَّلَبِ [He did his utmost, or used his utmost power or ability, in seeking to attain an object]. (Msb in art. جهد.) And بَلَغَ أَقْصَى مَجْهُودِ بَعِيرِهِ فِى السَّيْرِ [He exerted the utmost endeavour, or effort, or power, or strength, of his camel, in journeying]. (S in art. نكث.) And بَلَغَ جَهْدَ دَابَّتِهِ i. q. جَهَدَهَا [He jaded, harassed, distressed, fatigued, or wearied, his beast]: (K in art. جهد:) and in like manner, بَلَغَ مَشَقَّتَهُ and بَلَغَ مِنْهُ المَشَقَّةَ i. q. جَهَدَهُ [and شَقَّ عَلَيْهِ, i. e. He, or it, jaded him, harassed him, &c.; ditressed him, afflicted him, oppressed him, overpowered him: thus in each of these instances, as in many similar cases, the verb with the inf. n. that follows is equivalent to the verb of that inf. n.]. (Msb in art. جهد.) [And, elliptically, بَلَغَ مِنْهُ i. q. بَلَغَ مِنْهُ المشَقَّةَ, explained above: and often meaning It took, or had, an effect upon him; it affected him: frequently said of wine and the like: and of a saying; as in the Ksh and Bd in iv. 66, where يَبْلُغُ مِنْهُمْ is followed by وَيُؤَثِرُ فِيهِ as an explicative: see also بَلِيغٌ.] And بَلَغْتَ مِنَّا البُلَغِينَ, (S, K,) and البِلَغِينَ, and كُلَّ مَبْلَغٍ: (K:) see البُلَغِينَ below. And بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الأَمْرِ المَشَقَّةَ [I experienced distress from the affair, or event]. (TA in art. مض.) [See also an ex. voce إِبِدٌ. بَلَغَنِى also signifies It has come to my knowledge, or been related to me, or been told me; or it came to my knowledge, &c.: and in this case it is generally followed by أَنَّ, or by أَنْ as a contraction of أَنَّ: for exs., see these two particles. And in like manner, بَلَغَنِى عَنْهُ Information has come to me, or information came to me, from him, or concerning him, that such a thing has happened, or had happened.] And بَلَغَ said of a letter or writing, inf. n. بَلَاغٌ and بُلُوغٌ, It reached, arrived, or came. (Msb.) And said of a plant, or of herbage, It attained its full growth: (TA:) and of a tree, such as a palm-tree &c., its fruit became ripe: (AHn, TA:) and of fruit, it became ripe. (Msb.) Also, said of a boy, (T, S, M, &c.,) aor. بَلُغَ , inf. n. بُلُوغٌ, or, as IKoot says, بَلَاغٌ, (Msb,) He attained to puberty, virility, ripeness, or maturity; syn. أَدْرَكَ, (T, S, Msb, K,) and اِحْتَلَمَ; (M, Msb;) and attained a consummate degree of goodliness (بَلَغَ مِنَ الجَوْدَةِ مَبْلَغًا): (O, TA:) as though he attained the time of the writing of his marriage-contract, and of his having duties or obligations imposed upon him: (TA:) and in like manner one says of a girl, بَلَغَ, (T, TA,) or بَلَغَتْ. (TA.) بَلَغَ ٱللّٰهُ بِهِ [God caused him to reach, attain, arrive at, or come to, his appointed end, or term of life; أَجَلَهُ, or the like, being understood]. (TA.) You say, بَلَغَ ٱللّٰهُ بِكَ أَكْلَأَ العُمُرِ, i. e. [May God cause thee to reach, or attain,] the extreme, or most distant, period of life! (S and TA in art. كلأ.) And فَعَلْتُ بِهِ مَا بَلَغَ بِهِ الأَذَى وَ المَكْرُوهْ [I did with him that which caused him to come to what was annoying, or hurtful, and evil]. (TA.) And بَلَغَ بِهِ البِلَغِينَ: see the last word of this phrase below. بُلِغَ, like عُنِىَ, He (a man) was, or became, jaded, harasssed, distressed, fatigued, or wearied. (K.) بَلُغَ, [aor. بَلُغَ ,] (S, Msb, K,) inf. n. بَلَاغَةٌ, (S, Msb,) He was, or became بَلِيغ, i. e. فَصِيح [more properly signifying chaste, or perspicuous, in speech, but here meaning eloquent]; (S, * Msb, K;) and sharp, or penetrating, or effective, in tongue; (Msb;) attaining, by his speech, or diction, the utmost scope of his mind and desire. (K, * TA.) The difference between بَلَاغَةٌ and فَصَاحَةٌ is this: that the latter is an attribute of a single word and of speech and of the speaker; but the former is an attribute only of speech and the speaker: (Kull:) بلاغة in the speaker is A faculty whereby one is enabled to compose language suitable to the exigency of the case, i. e., to the occasion of speaking [or writing], with chasteness, or perspicuity, or eloquence, thereof: in language, it is suitableness to the exigency of the case, i. e., to the occasion of speaking [or writing], with chasteness or perspicuity, or eloquence, thereof. (KT.)

    تَبْلِيغٌ

    2. تَبْلِيغٌ and إِبْلَاغٌ [inf. ns. of بلّغ and ابلغ] signify The causing to reach, attain, arrive, or come; bringing, conveying, or delivering: (S, K, TA:) the former is the more common. (Er-Rághib, TA.) [You say, بلّغهُ المَكَانَ He caused him, or it, to reach, attain, arrive at, or come to, the place. And بلّغهُ مَقْصُودَهُ He caused him to attain his object of aim or endeavour &c.] And بَلَّغْتُ الرِّسَالَةَ [I brought, conveyed, or delivered, the message]. (S.) And بلّغهُ السَّلَامَ, (Msb,) and الخَبَرَ, (TA,) as also ابلغهُ, (Msb, TA,) He brought, conveyed, delivered, or communicated, to him the salutation, (Msb,) and he brought, &c., or told, to him the news, or information. (TA.) [And بَلَّغَنِى عَنْ فُلَانٍ He told me from such a one, or on the part of such a one, some piece of information, or that some event had happened, &c.] بلّغ الفَارِسُ, (S, A, K,) inf. n. تَبْلِيغٌ, (K,) The horseman stretched forth, or extended, his hand, or arm, with the rein of his horse, [or gave the rein to his horse,] in order that he might increase in his running. (S, A, K.) بلّغ الشَّيْبُ فِى رَأْسِهِ Hoariness began to appear on his head; accord. to IAar; as also بلّع, with the unpointed ع: the Basrees assert that the former is a mistranscription; but it is related as heard from Th, by Aboo-Bekr Es-Soolee. (TA.)

    بالغ

    3. بالغ, (S, Msb, K, &c.,) inf. n. مُبَالَغَةٌ (JK, K, &c.) and بِلَاغٌ, (K.) He exceeded the usual, or ordinary, or the just, or proper, bounds, or degree, in a thing; acted egregiously, or immoderately, or extravagantly, therein: (KL:) he strove, or laboured; exerted himself, or his power or efforts or endeavours or ability; employed himself vigorously, strenuously, laboriously, sedulously, earnestly, with energy or effectiveness; took pains, or extraordinary pains: (K, TA:) he did not fall short of doing what was requisite, or what he ought; did not flag, or was not remiss: (S, K, TA:) he exerted unsparingly his power or ability, or effort or endeavour, or the utmost thereof: (Msb:) he accomplished, or did, or attained, the utmost of his power or ability, or effort or endeavour; he did his utmost: (JK:) فِى أَمْرٍ [in an affair]: (S, K, TA:) or فِى كَذَا, meaning in the pursuit of such a thing. (Msb.) [بالغ فِى كَذَا may be rendered as above, or He did such a thing much, exceedingly, egregiously, extraordinarily, immoderately, extravagantly, excessively, vehemently, energetically, superlatively, excellently, consummately, thoroughly. Hence مُبَالَغَةٌ in explanations of words; meaning Intensiveness; muchness; extraordinariness; excessiveness; vehemence; energy; emphasis; hyperbole; &c.; and sometimes, frequentative signification. Thus, إِسْمُ مُبَالَغَةٍ means A noun of intensiveness; or an intensive epithet: as شَكُورٌ “ very thankful, ” or “ very grateful; ” and حَمَّادٌ “ a great praiser, ” or “ a frequent praiser. ”]

    ابلغ

    4. ابلغ, inf. n. إِبْلَاغٌ: see 2, in two places. [Hence,] ابلغ الأَمْرَ جَهْدَهُ [He brought his utmost power or ability, or effort or endeavour, to the performance, or accomplishment, of the affair]. (TA.) And أَبْلَغْتُ إِلَيْهِ i. e. فَعَلْتُ بِهِ مَا بَلَغَ بِهِ الأَذَى وَ المَكْرُوهَ [I did with him that which caused him to come to what was annoying, or hurtful, and evil]. (TA.) See also 1, first sentence; where it is said that إِبْلَاغٌ is syn. with بُلُوغٌ; but this is app. a mistake. [مَا أَبْلَغَهُ, and أَبْلِغْ بِهِ, How eloquent is he!].

    تبلّغ المَنْزِلَ

    5. تبلّغ المَنْزِلَ He constrained himself to reach, or attain, the place of abode, until, or so that, he did reach [it], or attain [it]. (K.) تبلّغ بِهِ He was satisfied, or content, with it, (S, Msb, K,) and attained his desire [thereby]. (TA.) تَبَلَّغَتْ بِهِ العِلَّةُ The disease, or malady, distressed him; afflicted him; became vehement, or severe, in him. (S, Z, Sgh, K.)

    تبالغ الدِّبَاغُ فِى الجِلْدِ

    6. تبالغ الدِّبَاغُ فِى الجِلْدِ The tan attained its utmost effect in the skin. (AHn.) And تبالغ فِيهِ الهَّمُ, and المَرَضَ, Anxiety, or disquietude of mind, or grief, attained its utmost degree in him, and so disease, or the disease. (TA.) [This verb seems properly to signify It reached, or attained, by degrees.] تبالغ فِى كَلَامِهِ He affected eloquence (بَلَاغَة) in his speech, not being of those characterized thereby: [whence] one says, مَا هُوَ بِبَلِيغٍ وَلٰكِنْ يَتَبَالِغُ [He is not eloquent, but he affects eloquence]. (TA.)

    بَلْغٌ

    بَلْغٌ: see what next follows, in three places: and see بَالِغٌ, in two places: and بَلِيغٌ, in two places.

    اللّٰهُمَ سِمْعٌ لَا بِلْغٌ

    اللّٰهُمَ سِمْعٌ لَا بِلْغٌ, and سَمْعٌ لَا بَلْغٌ, (Ks, Fr, S, K,) and سَمْعًا لَا بَلْغًا, (Ks, S, K,) and سِمْعًا لَا بِلْغًا, (K,) O God, may we hear of it (or may it be heard of, IB) but may it not be fulfilled; (Fr, S, K;) or, may it not reach us, or come to us: said on hearing of a displeasing, or hateful, or an evil, event: (L:) or on hearing tidings not pleasing to one: (Ks, S, K:) or on the coming of tidings not held to be true. (TA.) [See also art. سمع.] أَحْمَقُ بِلْغٌ, (S, K,) and بَلْغٌ, and بَلْغَةٌ, (K,) Stupid, or foolish, but, notwithstanding his stupidity, or foolishness, attaining his desire: (S, K:) or stupid, or foolish, in the utmost degree: (K, TA:) fem. حَمْقَآءُ بِلْغَةٌ. (TA.) رَجُلٌ بِلْغٌ مِلْغٌ (S, * K) A man who is bad, evil, or wicked, (Fr, K,) in the utmost degree. (Fr, TA.) See also بَلِيغٌ.

    بِلَغٌ

    بِلَغٌ: see بَلِيغٌ.

    بَلْغَةٌ

    بَلْغَةٌ: see بِلْغٌ.

    بُلْغَةٌ

    بُلْغَةٌ A sufficiency of the means of subsistence, (T, S, Msb, K,) such that nothing remains over and above it: (T, Msb:) and simply a sufficiency; enough; (JK, Msb, TA;) as also بَلَاغٌ, (JK, S, Msb, K,) meaning a thing that suffices, or contents, and enables one to attain what he seeks; (TA;) and تَبَلُّغٌ. (JK, Msb, TA.) You say, فِى هٰذَا بُلْغَةٌ, and بَلَاغٌ, and تَبَلُّغٌ, In this is a sufficiency, or enough. (Msb, TA.) And it is said in the Kur [xxi. 106], لِقَوْمٍ إِنَّ فِى هٰذَا لَبَلَاغًا عَابِدِينَ Verily in this is a sufficiency [for a people serving God]: (Bd, TA:) or a means of attaining the object sought after, or desired. (Bd.)

    بِلَغْنٌ

    بِلَغْنٌ: see بَلَاغَةٌ. Also A calumniator, or slanderer: (Kr, TA:) or one who conveys people's discourse to others. (TA.)

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗
Technical definitions2 · Ibn ʿArabī’s Iṣṭilāḥ, al-Jurjānī’s Taʿrīfāt
  • البلاغة في المتكلم

    ملكة يقتدر بها إلى تأليف كلام بليغ، فعلم أن كل بليغ؛ كلاما كان، أو متكلما، فصيح؛ لأن الفصاحة مأخوذة في تعريف البلاغة، وليس فصيح بليغا.

    Al-balāghah (البلاغة) in the speaker: a faculty by which one is enabled to compose eloquent speech (kalām balīgh). Hence it is known that everything baligh (بليغ, 'eloquent') — whether speech or a speaker — is faṣīḥ ('clear/correct in expression'), because faṣāḥah is taken up within the definition of balāghah; but not every faṣīḥ [thing] is baligh.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 926 ↗

  • البلاغة في الكلام

    مطابقته لمقتضى الحال. والمراد بالحال: الأمر الداعي إلى التكلم على وجه مخصوص مع فصاحته، أي فصاحة الكلام.

    Al-balāghah (البلاغة) in speech: its conformity to the requirement of the situation (muqtaḍā al-ḥāl). What is meant by 'the situation' (al-ḥāl) is the factor calling for speaking in a particular manner, together with its faṣāḥah, i.e., the faṣāḥah (clarity/correctness) of the speech.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 929 ↗

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

ب ل غ

الباء واللام والغين أصل واحد وهو الوصول إلى الشيء تقول بلغت المكان إذا وصلت إليه وقد تسمى المشارفة بلوغا بحق المقاربة

b-l-gh has one root, which is reaching a thing. You say balaghtu al-makān when you reached it, and approaching may be called bulūgh by virtue of nearness.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗al-Khalīl: used ↗Quran ×77

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

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 ↗

ل

ومن حافة اللسان من أدناها إلى منتهى طرف اللسان، من بينها وبين ما يليها من الحنك الأعلى، مما فويق الضاحك والناب والرباعية والثنية، مخرج اللام

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, just above the premolar, the canine, the lateral and the central incisor, is the place of the lām. Ibn Jinnī, lines 977–978 ↗

غ

وأدناها مخرجا من الفم: الغين والخاء

The nearest of them to the mouth in place: the ghayn and the khāʾ. Sībawayh, line 26549 ↗

ومما فوق ذلك مع أول الفم، مخرج الغين والخاء

From above that, at the start of the mouth, is the place of the ghayn and the khāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 971 ↗

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 ↗

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

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

ل

Level of existence: السماء الثالثة · the third heaven

Divine Name: القاهر · the Subduer (al-Qāhir)

Lunar mansion: العوا · al-ʿAwwā

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64654

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 7 line 2576 ↗

منها دون الألف فطبعها الحرارة واليبوسة

[Zāy and lām] of it, excluding alif: their nature is heat and dryness.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2577

غ

Level of existence: الجسم الكل · the Universal Body

Divine Name: الظاهر · al-Ẓāhir, the Outward

Lunar mansion: الميسان وهي الهقعة · al-Maysān, which is al-Haqʿa

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62077

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

Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ب

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.

فهي إشارة معها قبض.

It is an indication accompanied by contraction (qabḍ).

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

ل

فهي حصول المتكلم على شيء عظيم، وتكون إشارة إلى شيء عظيم.

It is the speaker's attaining of something great, and it serves as an indication of something great.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي لا نهاية له.

It is an indication of the thing that has no end.

فهي إشارة من المتكلم إلى وجود ذاته أو إلى ذاته.

It is an indication by the speaker of the existence of his self, or of his self.

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

غ

فهي اسم للنظر الذي يبلغ به حقيقة الشيء.

It is a name for the gaze by which one reaches the reality of a thing.

فهي اسم من أسمائه تعالى ويدل على الحنانة فيه.

It is one of the names of God (Exalted is He), and it denotes the tenderness in Him.

فهي سؤال مما يجهله ليجيبه بما يعلمه.

It is a question, from one who does not know, so that someone may answer him with what he knows.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
Two-letter nucleus11 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterب ل

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 3557 ↗

  • بلمالباء واللام والميم أصلان أحدهما ورم أو ما يشبهه والثاني نبتL3558
  • بلهالباء واللام والهاء أصل واحد وهو شبه الغرارة والغفلةL3567
  • بلخالباء واللام والخاء أصل واحد وهو التكبرL3650
  • بلدالباء واللام والدال أصل واحد يتقارب فروعه عند النظر في قياسه والأصل الصدر ويقال وضعت الناقة بلدتها بالأرض إذا بركتQ 19 · L3651
  • بلزالباء واللام والزاء ليس بأصل وفيه كليمات فالبلز المرأة القصيرة ويقولون البلأز القصير من الرجال والبلأزة الأكل وفي جميع ذلك نظرL3667
  • بلسالباء واللام والسين أصل واحد وما بعده فلا معول عليه فالأصل اليأسQ 5 · L3669
  • بلصالباء واللام والصاد فيه كلمات أكثر ظني أن لا معول على مثلها وهي مع ذلك تتقارب يقولون بلصت الغنم إذا قلت ألبانها وتبلصت الغنم الأرض إذا لم تدع فيها شيئL3676
  • بلطالباء واللام والطاء أصل واحد والأمر فيه قريب من الذي قبلهL3679
  • بلعالباء واللام والعين أصل واحد وهو ازدراد الشيء تقول بلعت الشيء أبلعه والبالوع من هذا لأنه يبلع الماء وسعد بلع نجم والبلع السم في قامة البكرة والقياس واQ 1 · L3690
  • بلغالباء واللام والغين أصل واحد وهو الوصول إلى الشيء تقول بلغت المكان إذا وصلت إليه وقد تسمى المشارفة بلوغا بحق المقاربةQ 77 · L3694
  • بلقالباء واللام والقاف أصل واحد منقاس مطرد وهو الفتحL3702
In the sister scriptsHebrew ב ל עSyriac ܒ ܠ ܥ
Arabicب ل غ
Hebrewב ל ע
Syriacܒ ܠ ܥ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩨 𐩡 𐩶
Phoenician𐤁 𐤋 𐤏

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 already gives the full semantic spread: rajulun baligh 'an eloquent man' (balāgha), balagha 'reached' (bulūgh), ablagha/ballagha 'conveyed' (of a message), and balāgh/tablīgh as kifāya 'sufficiency';well attested

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

    Al-Khalīl already gives the full semantic spread: rajulun baligh 'an eloquent man' (balāgha), balagha 'reached' (bulūgh), ablagha/ballagha 'conveyed' (of a message), and balāgh/tablīgh as kifāya 'sufficiency'; a thing that is bāligh is 'good, excellent'. Ibn Fāris reduces all this to one root-sense, al-wuṣūl ilā al-shayʾ (arrival at a thing), noting that mere approach (muqāraba) is by extension also called bulūgh, as in Q 2:234's 'fa-idhā balaghna ajalahunna'; he traces balāgha (eloquence) and bulgha (subsistence) to the same idea of a speech or a livelihood that 'reaches' what is required of it. Al-Rāghib sharpens this into a technical definition: bulūgh/balāgh is the arrival at the furthest point intended or sought — spatial, temporal, or notional — and he explicitly notes it is sometimes used for mere approach short of actual arrival, citing balagha ashuddahu, balagha arbaʿīna sanatan, fa-balaghna ajalahunna, and aymānun ʿalaynā bālighah ('oaths utmost in confirmation'). Ibn Manẓūr assembles the same range and adds the poetic witness of Abī Qays ibn al-Aslat ('qad ablaghat asmāʿī', glossed as intahayta fīhi wa anʿamt, 'you were thorough and exhaustive in it') and the ḥadīth of the rain-prayer where balāgh is glossed as 'that by which one attains and reaches what is sought'. Lane's summary distils the whole tradition: bulūgh and balāgh denote reaching, attaining, or coming to the utmost point of that towards which one directs his course or which one seeks or pursues.

    Draws on: al-Khalīl al-ʿAyn · al-Jawharī al-Ṣiḥāḥ · Ibn Fāris al-Maqāyīs · al-Rāghib al-Mufradāt · Ibn Manẓūr al-Lisān · Lane

    • al-Khalīl, al-ʿAyn, root بلغ
    • al-Jawharī, al-Ṣiḥāḥ, root بلغ
    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, root بلغ
    • al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt, root بلغ
    • Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, root بلغ
    • Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, root بلغ
  • Letters & soundIn the letters-in-the-Breath scheme, ب signifies the jinn, ل the third heaven, and غ the Universal Body — a triad that could be read as movement from the hidden (ب) through an intermediate celestial station (ل) to full corporeal actualization (غ), a pattern consonant with بلغ's sense of arriving at an end-point.speculative

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

    In the letters-in-the-Breath scheme, ب signifies the jinn, ل the third heaven, and غ the Universal Body — a triad that could be read as movement from the hidden (ب) through an intermediate celestial station (ل) to full corporeal actualization (غ), a pattern consonant with بلغ's sense of arriving at an end-point. Al-Dabbāgh's fatḥa-glosses describe ب as indicating a thing at the utmost of might or abasement, ل as the speaker's attaining of something great, and غ as the name for the gaze by which one reaches the reality of a thing — the ل and غ glosses in particular align closely with بلغ's ordinary sense of 'attaining/reaching'. This convergence is noteworthy but remains within the domain that mainstream linguistics regards as suggestive symbolism at most, not causal explanation of the word's meaning.

    Draws on: Ibn ʿArabī letters-in-the-Breath (akbari198) · al-Dabbāgh letter meanings

    • Ibn ʿArabī, letters in the Breath (akbari198 table)
    • al-Dabbāgh, letter meanings (fatḥa)
  • Root structureIbn Fāris lists بلغ among a run of ب-ل- roots (بلم swelling, بله dullness/heedlessness, بلخ arrogance, بلد settling/land, بلس despair, بلع swallowing) whose common thread is a body or substance coming to rest at, or being taken in to, a terminus — بلع 'to swallow' is the closest neighbour, arrival via the throat mirroring arrival at a goal.plausible

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

    Ibn Fāris lists بلغ among a run of ب-ل- roots (بلم swelling, بله dullness/heedlessness, بلخ arrogance, بلد settling/land, بلس despair, بلع swallowing) whose common thread is a body or substance coming to rest at, or being taken in to, a terminus — بلع 'to swallow' is the closest neighbour, arrival via the throat mirroring arrival at a goal. More striking is the permutation set: alongside بلغ (77 occurrences) stand بغل 'mule, bodily strength' (1), لغب 'fatigue, exhaustion' (2), and غلب 'to overcome, dominate' (31), all independently attested roots from the same three radicals. Read through Ibn Jinnī's greater derivation, this cluster juxtaposes reaching a goal (بلغ) with the effort that exhausts (لغب), the strength that endures it (بغل), and the domination that crowns it (غلب) — a suggestive but not demonstrated semantic family, since each root has its own independent Ibn Fāris chapter and etymology. This should be read as juxtaposition, not as an asserted derivational fact.

    Draws on: Ibn Fāris nucleus siblings · permutation attestation · Ibn Jinnī al-ishtiqāq al-akbar

    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, roots بلم / بله / بلخ / بلد / بلس / بلع / بلغ / بغل / لغب / غلب
  • Semitic kin & loanwordsA plausible cognate exists in Hebrew בלג (b-l-g), used in Amos 5:9 and Job 9:27/10:20 in senses of 'to gain strength, to brighten, to find relief' — a semantic field ('to attain a desired state') close to Arabic بلغ's 'to reach, attain'.plausible

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

    A plausible cognate exists in Hebrew בלג (b-l-g), used in Amos 5:9 and Job 9:27/10:20 in senses of 'to gain strength, to brighten, to find relief' — a semantic field ('to attain a desired state') close to Arabic بلغ's 'to reach, attain'. The correspondence is not fully regular (Hebrew ג for Arabic غ is not the expected reflex of Proto-Semitic *ġ, which normally surfaces in Hebrew as ע), so lexicographers who note the connection (e.g. BDB) do so cautiously rather than as an established sound law. No Aramaic, Akkadian, or Gəʿəz cognate can be identified with confidence. بلغ shows no signs of being a loanword; it is a productive, richly derived native Arabic root already in the earliest philology.

    Draws on: BDB Hebrew lexicon · comparative Semitic phonology

    • Brown–Driver–Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, entry בלג
  • Quranic exegesisThe exegetes give بلغ two major registers.well attested

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    The exegetes give بلغ two major registers. In legal-descriptive verses such as Q 2:231–232 ('fa-idhā balaghna ajalahunna'), al-Ṭabarī and al-Zamakhsharī debate — following the lexical point al-Rāghib makes explicit — whether balagha here means the actual completion of the ʿidda or only its approach (mushārafa), since the ruling (return or release) differs depending on which sense is meant; this ambiguity is treated as load-bearing for fiqh. In the prophetic-mission verses (Q 3:20, 5:67, 5:92) al-balāgh al-mubīn 'the clear conveyance' becomes a technical term for the Prophet's sole responsibility: al-Zamakhsharī and al-Rāzī stress that these verses exonerate the Messenger of any duty to compel belief, his task being only tablīgh, delivering the message, after which the response lies with the hearer. Al-Rāzī also treats innAllāha bālighu amrihi (Q 65:3) theologically, as an assertion that God's decree inevitably attains its object, unopposable by created causes — a proof-text in his discussions of divine power and the impossibility of frustrating God's will.

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

  • Akbarian readingThe opening of Faṣṣ Ādam uses بلغ negatively of a limit that cannot be reached: the Real's most beautiful Names are such that enumeration (al-iḥṣāʾ) 'cannot attain' them (lā yablughuhā al-iḥṣāʾ).plausible

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    The opening of Faṣṣ Ādam uses بلغ negatively of a limit that cannot be reached: the Real's most beautiful Names are such that enumeration (al-iḥṣāʾ) 'cannot attain' them (lā yablughuhā al-iḥṣāʾ). This sets up the whole chapter's logic — because the divine Names exceed any finite counting or grasp, the Real willed to see their entities (aʿyān) actualized outside Himself, in a cosmos and ultimately in the human being as polished mirror. Here بلغ marks the boundary of human comprehension against which the necessity of engendered existence (khalq) as a locus of self-disclosure is argued; the inexhaustibility of the Names, expressed through the negation of bulūgh, is what makes Adam's comprehensive receptivity (as barzakh and isthmus) required rather than incidental.

    Draws on: Faṣṣ Ādam

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