Mashrabaمشربة

جنبThe side/flank, extended to being distant, foreign, or set apart (root jnb)

الجيم والنون والباء أصلان متقاربان أحدهما الناحية والآخر البعد فأما الناحية فالجناب

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

جنب
Patterns computed · our data

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

46 words8 verbs7 verbal nouns5 participles2 places and instruments3 intensives and elatives12 other nouns7 plurals2 relatives and abstracts

  • جَانِبthe two sides of the nose
  • اِجْتَنَبَavoid
  • جَنبthe side, or half, or lateral half
  • جُنُوب—
  • جُنُبthe person who is one's neighbour, but who belongs to another people
The whole family8 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs8اجْنُبَ · اِجْتَنَبَ · جَنَّبَ

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

Verbal nouns7جَنَابَة · جَنَب · جُنُوب

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

  • جَنَابَةForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • جَنَبForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • جُنُوبForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • جِنَابcord tied to the head and neck of a beast, by which he is led, or drawnLaneForm III · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
Participles5جَانِب · مُجَنَّب · مُجَنِّب

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

  • جَانِبthe two sides of the noseLaneactive, Form IQurʾān ×9library ×20Lane
  • مُجَنَّبpassive, Form IILaneIbn Fāris
  • مُجَنِّبman whose sheep or goats have few young onesLaneactive, Form IILaneIbn Fāris
  • مُجْنِبactive, Form IVLaneIbn Fāris
  • مَجْنُوِبpassive, Form ILane
Place, time and instrument2مَجْنَب · مِجْنَب

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

  • مَجْنَبmuch of good and of evilLanenoun of place or timeLaneIbn Fāris
  • مِجْنَبshieldLanenoun of instrumentLaneIbn Fāris
Intensives, qualities and the elative3جَنُوب · أَجْنَب · جَنِيب

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

  • جَنُوبthe south windLaneintensive (faʿūl)library ×1LaneIbn Fāris
  • أَجْنَبelative or colour adjective (afʿal)Lane
  • جَنِيبone walking by the side of anotherLanequality (faʿīl)Lane
Other nouns12جَنب · جُنُب · جَنْبَة

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

Plurals7جُنُوب · جَوَانِب · أَجانِب

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

  • جُنُوبbroken plural of جَنبQurʾān ×5Ibn Fāris
  • جَوَانِبbroken plural of جَانِبlibrary ×2Lane
  • أَجانِبplural of foreignfrom the singularbroken plural of أَجْنَبِيّlibrary ×1
  • أَجْنَابbroken plural of جُنُبLane
Relative and abstract2أَجْنَبِيّ · جَنُوبِيّ

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

  • أَجْنَبِيّforeignautorelative adjective (-iyy)library ×3Lane
  • جَنُوبِيّrelative adjective (-iyy)Lane
Why this shape?What each of the 23 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.

مَفْعَلَةج ن بمَجْنَبَة

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 · 170Al-junūb (الجنوب) is the plural of al-janb (الجنب).

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

    Al-junūb (الجنوب) is the plural of al-janb (الجنب). Al-jānib (الجانب) and al-jawānib (الجوانب) are well-known [terms]. A man layyin al-jānib (لين الجانب, also al-janb) means 'easy to approach.' Janb (جنب) is used in place of jānib (side); it is said: "The people are on one side (janb) and the commander is on [another] side (janb)" — as if he equated him with all the people together. And His saying, Mighty and Exalted, relating Ibrāhīm's prayer to Him: "and keep me and my sons away (wa-jnubnī wa-baniyya) from worshipping idols" means 'save/deliver me.' Al-janābān (الجنابان): the two sides. Al-janbatān (الجنبتان): the two sides of anything, like the two sides of an army or a river; the plural is al-janabāt (الجنبات). Al-janība (الجنيبة): any animal that is led. Jannabtuhu ʿan kadhā fa-jtanaba (جنبته عن كذا فاجتنب) means he avoided it (ijtanaba). Allah, Mighty and Exalted, says: "and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols." Jannabtuhu also means 'I warded off from him a harm.' Al-jinba (الجنبة): the verbal noun of avoidance (ijtinab). Al-jinba: the side/direction of anything, as if likened to withdrawal from people. A man dhū jinba (ذو جنبة) is one who withdraws from people, avoiding them. Al-mujānib (المجانب): one who has severed ties with you, having withdrawn from closeness to you. Al-jānib (الجانب): the weak, despised one who is shunned. Al-ʿAjjāj said: "Neither one who is shunned (jānib) nor one who is watered from abundance." Al-junābā (الجنابى): a game in which two boys keep apart from each other (yatajānabān), each protecting himself from the other. A man is called ajnabī (أجنبي), and one says ajnaba (أجنب); masculine and feminine are alike in this. In one dialect it may be pluralized as al-ajnāb (الأجناب). Al-Khansāʾ said: "O eye, be generous with streaming tears, and weep for your brother when he dwells among strangers (ajnāban)." Al-jār al-janb (الجار الجنب) is the neighbor who lives beside you from another people, having no kinship (janāba) with you in dwelling or lineage. Allah, Mighty and Exalted, says: "and the near neighbor, and the distant/stranger neighbor (al-jār al-junub)" [an-Nisāʾ 4:36]. Al-janūb (الجنوب): a wind coming from the right of the qibla; its plural is al-janāʾib (الجنائب). One says janabati l-rīḥu tajnubu junūban (جنبت الريح تجنب جنوبا). Al-janab (الجنب) in an animal: something resembling a limp, though it is not a true limp. Al-janīb (الجنيب): a captive tied to the side of a mount. Janāb al-dār (جناب الدار): the courtyard of a house. Janāb al-qawm (جناب القوم): what is near a people's encampment. One says: 'the janāb of the people has become fertile (akhṣaba).' Al-jinba (الجنبة), with sukūn, is a term for plants/trees in general left [ungrazed] in summer. It is said: 'There is no janab in Islam' — referring to leading a spare, unmounted horse alongside the horse being raced, so that near the finish one mounts the fresh horse to overtake the others. Al-janīb (الجنيب): the stranger; also jānib. Al-janīb: that which is led (al-majnūb). Al-janīb: one who complains of pain in his side. Al-janīb: one who avoids you and does not mix with you... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الجنوب جمع الجنب. والجانب والجوانب معروفة. ورجل لين الجانب (والجنب) ، أي سهل القرب ويجيء الجنب في موضع الجانب، قال: الناس جنب والأمير جنب «1» كأنه عدله بجميع الناس. (وقوله- عز وجل- مخبرا عن دعاء إبراهيم إياه: واجنبني وبني أن نعبد الأصنام «2» ، أي نجني) «3» . والجنابان: الناحيتان. والجنبتان: ناحيتا كل شيء كجنبتي العسكر والنهر ونحوهما، والجميع الجنبات. والجنيبة: كل دابة تقاد. وجنبته عن كذا فاجتنب أي تجنبه، قال الله- عز وجل-: واجنبني وبني أن نعبد الأصنام وجنبته أي دفعت عنه مكروها. والجنبة: مصدر الاجتناب. والجنبة: الناحية من كل شيء، كأنه شبه الخلوة من الناس. ورجل ذو جنبة أي ذو اعتزال عن الناس، مجتنب لهم. والمجانب: الذي قاطعك، وقد اجتنب قربك. والجانب: المجتنب الضعيف المحقور، قال العجاج: لا جانب ولا مسقى بالغمر «1» والجنابى: لعبة لهم، يتجانب الغلامان فيعتصم كل واحد من الآخر. ورجل أجنبي، وقد أجنب، والذكر، والأنثى فيه سواء، وقد يجمع في لغة على الأجناب، قالت الخنساء: يا عين جودي بدمع منك تسكابا ... وأبكي أخاك إذا جاورت أجنابا «2» والجار الجنب الذي جاورك من قوم آخرين ذو جنابة لا قرابة له في الدار، ولا في النسب، قال الله- عز وجل-: والجار ذي القربى، والجار الجنب «3» والجنوب: ريح تجيء عن يمين القبلة، والجميع: الجنائب، وقد جنبت الريح تجنب جنوبا. والجنب في الدابة شبه ظلع، وليس بظلع. والجنيب: الأسير مشدود إلى جنب الدابة. وجناب الدار: ساحتها، وجناب القوم ما قرب من محلتهم. وأخصب «1» جناب القوم. والجنبة، مجزوم، اسم يقع على عامة الشجر يترك في الصيف. ويقال: لا جنب في الإسلام «2» ، وهو أن يجنب خلف الفرس الذي يسابق عليه فرس آخر عري، فإذا بلغ قريبا من الغاية يركب ذلك ليغلب الآخرين. والجنيب: الغريب، والجانب أيضا. والجنيب: المجنوب. والجنيب: الذي يشتكي جنبه. والجنيب: الذي يجتنبك فلا يختلط بك «3» . وأجنبنا منذ ثلاث، أي دخلنا في الجنوب. وجنبنا منذ أيام: أصابتنا ريح الجنوب. ويقال: أجنب فلان، إذا أخذته ذات الجنب، كأنها قرحة الجنب. وجنب فلان في حي فلان، إذا نزل فيهم غريبا، يجنب ويجنب. وجنب بنو فلان فهم مجنبون، إذا لم يكن في إبلهم لبن، قال الجميج: لما رأت إبلي قلت حلوبتها ... وكل عام عليها عام تجنيب «1» يريد عام ذهاب اللبن، ويقول: كل عام يمر بها هو عام تجنيب. ويقال: إن عند بني فلان لشرا مجنبا وخيرا مجنبا، أي كثيرا. والمجنب: الترس، قال ساعدة بن جؤية الهذلي: ضرب اللهيف لها السيوب بطغية ... تنبي العقاب كما يلط المجنب «2» ويقال: هذا رجل جنابي: منسوب لأهل جناب بأرض نجد. ويقال: لج فلان في جناب قبيح، أي في مجانفة وجنف. وأجنب الرجل، إذا أصابته الجنابة. (ويقال: اتق الله في جنب أخيك، ولا تقدح في شأنه، وأنشد: خليلي كنا واذكر الله في جنبي «3» أي في الوقيعة في. وضربه فجنبه، إذا أصاب جنبه. ويقال: مروا يسيرون جنابيه، وجنابتيه، أي ناحيتيه. وقعد فلان إلى جنب فلان، وإلى جانب فلان. والجأنب، بالهمز، الرجل القصير الجافي الخلقة، ورجل جأنب إذا كان كزا قبيحا. وقال أمرؤ القيس: ولا ذات خلق إن تأملت جأنب «1» ورجل أجنب، وهو البعيد منك في القرابة. وقال علقمة: فلا تحرمني نائلا عن جناية ... فاني امرؤ وسط القباب غريب «2» «3»

  • al-Jawharī · 393Al-janb (الجنب) is well known.

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

    Al-janb (الجنب) is well known. You say: qaʿadtu ilā janbi fulānin (قعدت إلى جنب فلان) and ilā jānibi fulānin (إلى جانب فلان), meaning the same. Janb (جنب) is [the name of] a tribe of Yemen. Muhalhil said: "His wife lost him among the Arāqim, in Janb (جنب), though the gift was of leather." Al-janb: 'side/direction.' Al-Akhfash cited: "The people are on one side (janb) and the commander is on [another] side (janb)." Al-ṣāḥib bi-l-janb (الصاحب بالجنب): your companion on a journey. As for al-jār al-janb (الجار الجنب), it is your neighbor from another people. Al-jānib (الجانب): 'side/direction,' and likewise al-jinba (الجنبة): you say 'fulānun lā yaṭūru bi-jinbatinā' (فلان لا يطور بجنبتنا) [so-and-so does not come near our vicinity]. Jānabahu, tajānabahu, tajannabahu, ijtanabahu (جانبه وتجانبه وتجنبه واجتنبه) all mean the same [to avoid]. A man is called ajnabī, ajnab, janab, jānib (أجنبي وأجنب وجنب وجانب) — all with the same meaning. Ḍarabahu fa-jannabahu (ضربه فجنبه) means 'he struck him and broke his side.' Jannabtu al-dābba (جنبت الدابة) means 'I led the animal at my side.' Likewise jannabtu al-asīr (جنبت الأسير) jannaban (with fatḥa). From this comes their saying khaylun mujannaba (خيل مجنبة), with doubling [of the middle radical] to indicate multiplicity. Jannabtuhu al-shayʾa and jannabtuhu (جنبته الشيء وجنبته) mean the same: 'I removed it from him.' Allah, Exalted is He, says: "and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols." Al-janāb (الجناب), with fatḥa: the courtyard (al-finā') and what is near a people's encampment; plural ajniba (أجنبة). One says: akhṣaba janābu l-qawmi (أخصب جناب القوم) [their vicinity grew fertile], fulānun khaṣību l-janāb or jadību l-janāb (خصيب الجناب / جديب الجناب). You say: marrū yasīrūna janābayhi (مروا يسيرون جنابيه), i.e., 'his two sides.' A horse ṭawʿ al-janāb (طوع الجناب), with kasra, means easy to lead. It is said: lajja fulānun fī janābin qabīḥ (لج فلان في جناب قبيح) when he persists in estrangement (mujānaba) from his family. Janiba l-qawmu (جنب القوم) means their camels' milk grew scarce. Al-Jumayḥ ibn Munqidh said, describing his wife: "When she saw my she-camels' milk had lessened, and every year upon them was a year of scarcity (tajnīb)..." Al-tajnīb (التجنيب) also denotes a curvature and tautness in a horse's hind leg, considered desirable. Abū Duwād said: "And in the forelegs, when water makes them move freely, there is slight bending, and in the hind legs there is tajnīb." Al-janība (الجنيبة): a led animal. Any obedient, led animal is janīb. Al-ajnab (الأجنب): one that cannot be led. Al-janība also means al-ʿalīqa (العليقة), a she-camel lent to you for bringing provisions. The rājiz said: "His mounts among the people are like led camels (janāʾib)" — i.e., wasted, unfit for his property. Al-janīb: the stranger. One says janaba fulānun fī banī fulānin yajnubu janāba (جنب فلان في بني فلان يجنب جنابة) when he settles among them as a stranger; he is called jānib (جانب), plural junnāb (جناب). One says: niʿma l-qawmu hum li-jāri l-janāba (نعم القوم هم لجار الجنابة) — 'excellent are they to the stranger-neighbor.' And the poet ʿAlqama ibn ʿAbada said: "Do not deny me a gift on account of janāba (distance), for I am a man, a stranger amid the tents," meaning 'because of distance.' Al-jinba (الجنبة): [pasture/] grass... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الجنب معروف. تقول: قعدت إلى جنب فلان وإلى جانب فلان بمعنى. وجنب: حى من اليمن. قال مهلهل: زوجها فقدها الاراقم في * جنب وكان الحباء من أدم والجنب: الناحية. وأنشد الاخفش: الناس جنب والامير جنب * والصاحب بالجنب: صاحبك في السفر. وأما الجار الجنب فهو جارك من قوم آخرين. والجانب: الناحية، وكذلك الجنبة (1) : تقول: فلان لا يطور بجنبتنا. وجانبه وتجانبه وتجنبه واجتنبه كله بمعنى. ورجل أجنبي وأجنب وجنب وجانب كله بمعنى. وضربه فجنبه، أي كسر جنبه. وجنبت الدابة، إذا قدتها إلى جنبك. وكذلك جنبت الأسير جنبا بالتحريك. ومنه قولهم خيل مجنبة، شدد للكثرة. وجنبته الشئ وجنبته بمعنى، أي نحيته عنه. قال الله تعالى: (واجنبني وبني أن نعبد الاصنام) . والجناب، بالفتح: الفناء، وما قرب من محلة القوم، والجمع أجنبة. يقال: أخصب جناب القوم، وفلان خصيب الجناب، وجديب الجناب. وتقول: مروا يسيرون جنابيه، أي ناحيتيه (1) . وفرس طوع الجناب بكسر الجيم، إذا كان سلس القياد. ويقال أيضا: لج فلان في جناب قبيح، إذا لج في مجانبة أهله. وجنب القوم، إذا قلت ألبان إبلهم. قال الجميح (2) بن منقذ يذكر امرأته: لما رأت إبلي قلت حلوبتها * وكل عام عليها عام تجنيب (3) والتجنيب أيضا: انحناء وتوتير في رجل الفرس، وهو مستحب. قال أبو دواد: وفي اليدين إذا ما الماء أسهلها (1) * ثني قليل وفي الرجلين تجنيب والجنيبة: بالدابة تقاد. وكل طائع منقاد جنيب. والاجنب: الذى لا ينقاد. والجنيبة: العليقة، وهي الناقة تعطيها القوم ليمتاروا لك عليها. قال الراجز (2) : ركابه في القوم كالجنائب * أي ضائعة لأنه ليس بمصلح لماله. والجنيب: الغريب. وجنب فلان في بني فلان يجنب جنابة، إذا انزل فيهم غريبا، فهو جانب، والجمع جناب. يقال: نعم القوم هم لجار الجنابة، أي لجار الغربة. وقول الشاعر علقمة بن عبدة: فلا تحرمني نائلا عن جنابة * فإني امرؤ وسط القباب غريب أي عن بعد. والجنبة: جلدة من جنب البعير. يقال أعطني جنبة أتخذ منها علبة. ونزل فلان جنبة أي ناحية واعتزل الناس. والجنبة: اسم لكل نبت يتربل في الصيف. يقال مطرنا مطرا كثرت منه الجنبة. ورجل جنب من الجنابة، يستوي فيه الواحد والجمع والمؤنث، وربما قالوا في جمعه أجناب وجنبون. تقول منه: أجنب الرجل وجنب أيضا بالضم. والجنوب: الريح التي تقابل الشمال. تقول: جنبت الريح، إذا تحولت جنوبا. وسحابة مجنوبة، إذا هبت بها الجنوب. والمجنوب: الذي به ذات الجنب، وهي قرحة تصيب الانسان داخل جنبه. وقد جنب وأجنب القوم، إذا دخلوا في ريح الجنوب. وجنبوا أيضا، إذا أصابهم الجنوب فهم مجنوبون. وكذلك القول في الصبا والدبور والشمال. والمجنب بالكسر: الترس. وقال ساعدة ابن جؤية الهذلى يصف مشتار العسل: صب اللهيف لها السبوب بطغية * تنبي العقاب كما يلط المجنب والمجنب أيضا: أقصى أرض العجم إلى أرض العرب، وأدنى أرض العرب إلى أرض العجم. قال الكميت (1) : بمعترك الطف فالمجنب * والمجنب، بالفتح: الشئ الكثير. يقال: إن عندنا لخيرا مجنبا وشرا مجنبا، أي كثيرا. والجنب بالتحريك الذي نهي عنه (2) : أن يجنب الرجل مع فرسه عند الرهان فرسا آخر لكي يتحول عليه أن خاف أن يسبق على الأول. والجنب أيضا: مصدر قولك جنب البعير بالكسر يجنب جنبا، إذا ظلع من جنبه. قال الاصمعي: هو أن تلتصق رئته بجنبه من شدة العطش. قال ابن السكيت: وقالت الاعراب هو أن يلتوى من شدة العطش. قال ذو الرمة يصف حمارا: كأنه مستبان الشك أو جنب (3) وقال أيضا: هاجت به جوع غضف مخصرة * شوازب لاحها التقريب (1) والجنب

  • Ibn Fāris · 395Jīm, nūn, and bāʾ (ج ن ب) form two closely related roots: one meaning 'side/direction' (al-nāḥiya) and the other 'distance' (al-buʿd).

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

    Jīm, nūn, and bāʾ (ج ن ب) form two closely related roots: one meaning 'side/direction' (al-nāḥiya) and the other 'distance' (al-buʿd). As for 'side' — it is janāb (الجناب); one says hādhā min dhālika l-janāb, i.e., 'that is from that direction.' And qaʿada fulānun jinbatan (قعد فلان جنبة) means 'so-and-so withdrew from people.' In the hadith: 'Hold to al-jinba (عليكم بالجنبة), for it is restraint (ʿafāf).' From this root also is al-janb (الجنب), the flank/side of a person or anything else. From this too is the al-janb forbidden in the hadith — that a man lead another horse alongside (yujnib) his own racing horse, fearing it might overtake and he could switch to it. Al-janb also describes a camel's thirst becoming so severe that its lung sticks to its side (janb); one says janiba yajnabu (جنب يجنب). He [the poet] said: "As if it were one whose doubt is uncertain, or one afflicted with janab..." Al-mujannib (المجنب) means 'abundant good,' as if it were at a person's side. Jannabtu al-dābba (جنبت الدابة) means 'I led the animal at my side,' likewise jannabtu al-asīr (جنبت الأسير) [the captive]. The shield (turs) is called mujannab because it stays at a person's side. As for 'distance' — it is al-janāba (الجنابة). The poet said: "Do not deny me a gift on account of janāba (distance), for I am a man, a stranger amid the tents." It is said that al-janb (the one requiring ritual purification after intercourse) is derived from this, because he becomes distant from what others may approach — prayer, the mosque, and so forth. Among what is anomalous (shādhdh) in this root is rīḥ al-janūb (ريح الجنوب), 'the south wind'; one says janiba l-qawmu (جنب القوم), 'the people were struck by the south wind,' and ajnabū (أجنبوا), 'they entered [a period of] south wind.' Their saying janiba l-qawmu when milk becomes scarce is likened to al-janāḥ (الجناح), part of a bird's body — al-jawāniḥ (الجوانح) being the ribs, because they slant. Janaḥa l-baʿīru (جنح البعير) means the camel's ribs broke from a heavy load, and janaḥati l-ibilu fī al-sayr (جنحت الإبل في السير) means the camels hastened in travel — from al-janāḥ (wing), as though they had put wings to use.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الجيم والنون والباء أصلان متقاربان أحدهما الناحية والآخر البعد فأما الناحية فالجناب يقال هذا من ذلك الجناب أي الناحية وقعد فلان جنبة إذا اعتزل الناس وفي الحديث ( عليكم بالجنبة فإنه عفاف ) ومن الباب الجنب للإنسان وغيره ومن هذا الجنب الذي نهي عنه في الحديث أن يجنب الرجل مع فرسه عند الرهان فرسا آخر مخافة أن يسبق فيتحول عليه والجنب أن يشتد عطش البعير حتى تلتصق رئته بجنبه ويقال جنب يجنب قال : — كأنه مستبان الشك أو جنب … والمجنب الخير الكثير كأنه إلى جنب الإنسان وجنبت الدابة إذا قدتها إلى جنبك وكذلك جنبت الأسير وسمي الترس مجنبا لأنه إلى جنب الإنسان وأما البعد فالجنابة قال الشاعر : — فلا تحرمني نائلا عن جنابة … فإني امرؤ وسط القباب غريب … ويقال إن الجنب الذي يجامع أهله مشتق من هذا لأنه يبعد عما يقرب منه غيره من الصلاة والمسجد وغير ذلك ومما شذ عن الباب ريح الجنوب يقال جنب القوم أصابتهم ريح الجنوب وأجنبوا إذا دخلوا في الجنوب وقولهم جنب القوم إذا قلت شبه بالجناح وهو طائفة من جسم الطائر والجوانح الأضلاع لأنها مائلة وجنح البعير إذا انكسرت جوانحه من حمل ثقيل وجنحت الإبل في السير أسرعت فهذا من الجناح كأنها أعملت الأجنحة

  • al-Rāghib · 502The original meaning of al-janb (الجنب) is the bodily limb;

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

    The original meaning of al-janb (الجنب) is the bodily limb; its plural is junūb (جنوب). Allah, Mighty and Exalted, says: "then their foreheads and their sides (junūbuhum) will be branded with it" [at-Tawba 9:35], and He, Exalted is He, says: "their sides (junūbuhum) forsake their beds" [as-Sajda 32:16], and He, Mighty and Exalted, says: "standing, sitting, and on their sides (junūbihim)" [Āl ʿImrān 3:191]. It is then used metaphorically for the direction adjacent to it, following their custom of metaphorically extending other bodily organs in this way — as with al-yamīn (right) and al-shimāl (left) — as in the poet's saying: [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    أصل الجنب: الجارحة، وجمعه: جنوب، قال الله عز وجل: فتكوى بها جباههم وجنوبهم [التوبة/ 35] ، وقال تعالى: تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع [السجدة/ 16] ، وقال عز وجل: قياما وقعودا وعلى جنوبهم [آل عمران/ 191] . ثم يستعار من الناحية التي تليها كعادتهم في استعارة سائر الجوارح لذلك، نحو: اليمين والشمال، كقول الشاعر:

  • Lisān · 711Al-janb (الجنب), al-janba (الجنبة), and al-jānib (الجانب): the side/flank of a human being or anything else.

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

    Al-janb (الجنب), al-janba (الجنبة), and al-jānib (الجانب): the side/flank of a human being or anything else. You say: qaʿadtu ilā janbi fulānin (قعدت إلى جنب فلان) and ilā jānibihi (إلى جانبه), the same meaning; the plural is junūb, jawānib, janāʾib (جنوب وجوانب وجنائب), the last being rare. In the hadith of Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, about the man afflicted by poverty: 'He went out to the open country and prayed, and then behold, the millstone was grinding and the oven was filled with junūb (جنوب) of roasted meat' — junūb being the plural of janb, meaning the side-cut of a sheep, i.e., there were many such cuts in the oven, not just one. Al-Liḥyānī relates: 'innahu la-muntafikhu l-jawānib' (إنه لمنتفخ الجوانب) — 'he is puffed up in his sides.' He said this comes from a singular that has been differentiated and treated as a plural. Janiba al-rajulu (جنب الرجل): he complained of pain in his side. Ḍarabahu fa-jannabahu (ضربه فجنبه) means 'he struck him and broke his side,' or 'struck his side.' A man called janīb (جنيب) is as though he walks bent to one side — according to Ibn al-Aʿrābī, who cited: "Hunger swelled within him until he seemed janīb; indeed al-janīb is janīb" — meaning he grew so hungry he walked bent to one side. They say: 'al-ḥarr jānibay Suhayl' (الحر جانبي سهيل), 'in its two directions,' referring to the most intense heat. Jānabahu, mujānabatan, janāban (جانبه مجانبة وجنابا): he came to be at his side. In the Noble Qurʾān: "lest a soul should say: Alas for me, for what I neglected in the janb of Allah (fī janbi Llāh)" [az-Zumar 39:56]. Al-Farrāʾ said: janb here means al-qurb (nearness), so the meaning is 'in what I neglected regarding nearness to Allah and His protection.' Al-janb also means 'the bulk/greater part of a thing,' as in their saying: 'this is little compared to the janb (bulk) of your affection.' Ibn al-Aʿrābī said, regarding 'fī janbi Llāh': it means 'nearness to Allah [leading] to Paradise.' Al-Zajjāj said: its meaning is 'concerning what I neglected of the path, the path of Allah to which He called me' — namely affirming Allah's oneness (tawḥīd) and acknowledging the prophethood of His Messenger, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Their saying: 'ittaqi Llāha fī janbi akhīka, wa-lā taqdaḥ fī sāqihi' (اتق الله في جنب أخيك ولا تقدح في ساقه) means 'do not kill him nor bring him to trial/tribulation' — this is figurative. He said janb here has been explained as meaning slander (al-waqīʿa wa-l-shatm). Ibn al-Aʿrābī cited: "My two friends, desist, and remember Allah regarding my janb (fī janbī)" — meaning 'regarding the slandering of me.' His saying, Exalted is He: "and the companion at the side (al-ṣāḥib bi-l-janb) and the wayfarer" [an-Nisāʾ 4:36] — refers to one who is close to you and stays at your side. Likewise jār al-janb (جار الجنب) means 'the one attached beside you.' It is also said: al-ṣāḥib bi-l-janb is your travel companion, and ibn al-sabīl is the guest. Sībawayh said: they say 'humā khaṭṭāni janābatay anfihā' (هما خطان جنابتي أنفها), meaning the two lines enclosing the two sides of the gazelle's nose. He said: this is how it occurs in Sībawayh's book, though in [the chapter on] al-Farkh it occurs as 'janbay anfihā' [instead of janābatay]. Al-mujannabatān (المجنبتان) of an army: the right flank and left flank. Al-mujannaba (المجنبة), with fatḥa: the vanguard. In the hadith of Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him: that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Khālid ibn al-Walīd on the day of the Conquest in charge of the... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الجنب والجنبة والجانب: شق الإنسان وغيره. تقول: قعدت إلى جنب فلان وإلى جانبه، بمعنى، والجمع جنوب وجوانب وجنائب، الأخيرة نادرة. وفي حديث أبي هريرة، رضي الله عنه، في الرجل الذي أصابته الفاقة: فخرج إلى البرية، فدعا، فإذا الرحى تطحن، والتنور مملوء جنوب شواء ؛ هي جمع جنب، يريد جنب الشاة أي إنه كان في التنور جنوب كثيرة لا جنب واحد. وحكى اللحياني: إنه لمنتفخ الجوانب. قال: وهو من الواحد الذي فرق فجعل جمعا. وجنب الرجل: شكا جانبه. وضربه فجنبه أي كسر جنبه أو أصاب جنبه. ورجل جنيب كأنه يمشي في جانب متعقفا، عن ابن الأعرابي، وأنشد: ربا الجوع في أونيه، حتى كأنه ... جنيب به، إن الجنيب جنيب أي جاع حتى كأنه يمشي في جانب متعقفا. وقالوا: الحر جانبي سهيل أي في ناحيتيه، وهو أشد الحر. وجانبه مجانبة وجنابا: صار إلى جنبه. وفي التنزيل العزيز: أن تقول نفس يا حسرتى على ما فرطت في جنب الله . قال الفراء: الجنب: القرب. وقوله: على ما فرطت في جنب الله أي في قرب الله وجواره. والجنب: معظم الشيء وأكثره، ومنه قولهم: هذا قليل في جنب مودتك. وقال ابن الأعرابي في قوله في جنب الله : في قرب الله من الجنة. وقال الزجاج: معناه على ما فرطت في الطريق الذي هو طريق الله الذي دعاني إليه، وهو توحيد الله والإقرار بنبوة رسوله وهو محمد، صلى الله عليه وسلم. وقولهم: اتق الله في جنب أخيك، ولا تقدح في ساقه، معناه: لا تقتله «2» ولا تفتنه، وهو على المثل. قال: وقد فسر الجنب هاهنا بالوقيعة والشتم. وأنشد ابن الأعرابي: خليلي كفا، واذكرا الله في جنبي أي في الوقيعة في. وقوله تعالى: والصاحب بالجنب وابن السبيل ، يعني الذي يقرب منك ويكون إلى جنبك. وكذلك جار الجنب أي اللازق بك إلى جنبك. وقيل: الصاحب بالجنب صاحبك في السفر، وابن السبيل الضيف. قال سيبويه وقالوا: هما خطان جنابتي أنفها، يعني الخطين اللذين اكتنفا جنبي أنف الظبية. قال: كذا وقع في كتاب سيبويه. ووقع في الفرخ: جنبي أنفها. والمجنبتان من الجيش: الميمنة والميسرة. والمجنبة، بالفتح: المقدمة. وفي حديث أبي هريرة، رضي الله عنه: أن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، بعث خالد بن الوليد يوم الفتح على المجنبة اليمنى، والزبير على المجنبة اليسرى، واستعمل أبا عبيدة على البياذقة، وهم الحسر. وجنبتا الوادي: ناحيتاه، وكذلك جانباه. ابن الأعرابي يقال: أرسلوا مجنبتين أي كتيبتين أخذتا ناحيتي الطريق. والمجنبة اليمنى: هي ميمنة العسكر، والمجنبة اليسرى: هي الميسرة، وهما مجنبتان، والنون مكسورة. وقيل: هي الكتيبة التي تأخذ إحدى ناحيتي الطريق. قال: والأول أصح. والحسر: الرجالة. ومنه الحديث في الباقيات الصالحات: هن مقدمات وهن مجنبات وهن معقبات. وجنب الفرس والأسير يجنبه جنبا. بالتحريك، فهو مجنوب وجنيب: قاده إلى جنبه وخيل جنائب وجنب، عن الفارسي. وقيل: مجنبة. شدد للكثرة. وفرس طوع الجناب، بكسر الجيم، وطوع الجنب، إذا كان سلس القياد أي إذا جنب كان سهلا منقادا. وقول مروان «3» بن الحكم: ولا نكون في هذا جنبا لمن بعدنا، لم يفسره ثعلب. قال: وأراه من هذا، وهو اسم للجمع. وقوله: جنوح، تباريها ظلال، كأنها، ... مع الركب، حفان النعام المجنب «4» المجنب: المجنوب أي المقود. ويقال جنب فلان وذلك إذا ما جنب إلى دابة. والجنيبة: الدابة تقاد، واحدة الجنائب، وكل طائع منقاد جنيب. والأجنب: الذي لا ينقاد. وجناب الرجل: الذي يسير معه إلى جنبه. وجنيبتا البعير: ما حمل على جنبيه. وجنبته: طائفة من جنبه. والجنبة: جلدة من جنب البعير يعمل منها علبة، وهي فوق المعلق من العلاب ودون الحوأبة. يقال: أعطني جنبة أتخذ منها علبة. وفي التهذيب: أعطني جنبة، فيعطيه جلدا فيتخذه علبة. والجنب، بالتحريك: الذي نهي عنه أن يجنب خلف الفرس فرس، فإذا بلغ قرب الغاية ركب. وفي حديث الزكاة والسباق: لا جلب ولا جنب ، وهذا في سباق الخيل. والجنب في السباق، بالتحريك: أن يجنب فرسا عريا عند الرهان إلى فرسه الذي يسابق عليه، فإذا فتر المركوب تحول إلى المجنوب، وذلك إذا خاف أن يسبق على الأول؛ وهو في الزكاة: أن ينزل العامل بأقصى مواضع أصحاب الصدقة ثم يأمر بالأموال أن تجنب إليه أي تحضر فنهوا عن ذلك. وقيل: هو أن يجنب رب المال بماله أي يبعده عن موضعه، حتى يحتاج العامل إلى الإبعاد في اتباعه وطلبه. وفي حديث الحديبية: كان الله قد قطع جنبا من المشركين. أراد بالجنب الأمر، أو القطعة من الشيء. يقال: ما فعلت في جنب حاجتي أي في أمرها. والجنب: القطعة من الشيء تكون معظمه أو شيئا كثيرا منه. وجنب الرجل: دفعه. ورجل جانب وجنب: غريب، والجمع أجناب. وفي حديث مجاهد في تفسير السيارة قال: هم أجناب الناس ، يعني الغرباء، جمع جنب، وهو الغريب، وقد يفرد في الجميع ولا يؤنث. وكذلك الجانب والأجنبي والأجنب. أنشد ابن الأعرابي: هل في القضية أن إذا استغنيتم ... وأمنتم، فأنا البعيد الأجنب وفي ال …

  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

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

    جَنَبَهُ

    1. جَنَبَهُ He broke his side: (S, K:) or he hit, or hurt, his side. (TA.) [The aor. of the verb in this sense is probably جَنُبَ , and the inf. n., accord. to the TK, is جَنْبٌ.] He led him by his side; (S, A, * Msb, K;) namely, a horse (S, A, Msb, TA) or the like, (S, A,) and a captive. (S, TA.) In this sense, its aor. is جَنُبَ , (A, Msb, TA,) and the inf. n. جَنَبٌ (S, A, Msb, K) and مَجْنَبٌ. (K.) Hence, طَوْعُ الجَنَبِ: see جَنَبٌ.جِنَابٌ which is forbidden (S, A, TA) in a trad., [in which it is said, لَا جَلَبَ وَلَا جَنَبَ] (A, TA) relating to horse-racing and to [the collecting of] the poor-rate, (TA,) means [in the former case] A man's leading, by the side of a horse that he rides in a race, another horse, (S, A, K,) without a rider, (TA,) and when the horse that he rides has become languid and weak, (K,) or when he fears that he will not outstrip upon it, (S,) or when he draws near to the goal, (A,) transferring himself to the other, (S, A, K,) in order that he may outstrip: (A:) and in relation to the poorrate, it means the collector's alighting in the most remote of the places whence the portion appointed for the poor-rate is to be collected, and then ordering that the camels or the like [that constitute that portion] shall be led to him: or the going of the owner of the property to a distance, [or aside, or out of the way,] with his property, so that the collector is obliged to go to a distance in quest of it. (K. See more in art. جلب, first paragraph.) He placed, or put, at a distance, or he put, or sent, away, or far away, or far off, or he removed far away, alienated, or estranged, him, or it; (K;) as though he put him, or it, aside, or as though he walked aside; as also جانبهُ (TA.) And He pushed, thrust, or drove, him, or it, away, aside, or to a distance. (K, * TA.) And جَنَبَهُ الشَّىْءَ (S, K, *) or الشَّرَّ (Fr, Zj, Msb,) aor. جَنُبَ ; (S, Msb, K;) and جنّبهُ, (Fr, Zj, S, A, Msb, K,) but this has an intensive signification; (Msb;) and اجنبهُ; (Fr, Zj, A, K;) He put aside, or away, or he warded off, from him, (S,) or he removed from him, (S, Msb, K,) or removed far from him, (Msb, K,) the thing, (S, K, *) or evil. (Fr, Zj, A, Msb.) It is said in the Kur [xiv. 38], وَٱجْنُبْنِى وَبَنِىَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الأَصْنَامَ [And put Thou away from me and my sons our worshipping of idols], (S,) or, accord. to one reading, وَأَجْنِبْنِى. (TA.) He yearned towards, longed for, or desired, him, or it. (K, * TA.) جَنَبَ بِهِ, aor. جَنُبَ , [He went aside, apart, out of the way, to a distance, or far away, with him, or it: or, like جَنَبَهُ, in a sense explained above,] he placed, or put, at a distance, or he put, or sent, away, or far away, or far off, him, or it. (K, TA.) جَنَبَ فِى بَنِى فُلَانٍ, (S, K, *) aor. جَنُبَ , inf. n. جَنَابَةٌ; (S;) and تجنّب; (so, app., in the TA;) He alighted, or descended and abode, or settled, as a stranger, among the sons of such a one. (S, K, * TA.) One says, نِعْمَ القَوْمُ هُمْ لِجَارِ الجَنَابَةِ [Excellent are the people, they,] to the neighbour who is a stranger. (S. [See also جُنُبٌ.]) And لَا تَحْرِمَنِّى عَنْ جَنَابَةٍ Do not thou by any means refuse me because of being remote (S, A, TA) in respect of relationship. (A, TA.) [See also جَنَابَةٌ mentioned below as a subst.] جَنَبَتِ الرِّيحُ, (S, A, K,) aor. جَنُبَ (TA,) inf. n. جُنُوبٌ; (K;) and اجنبت; (TA;) The wind was, or became, such as is termed جَنُوب [i. e. south, or southerly]; (K;) it blew in the direction of the wind thus called: (A, TA:) or the former, (S,) or جَنِبَت, (TA,) the wind changed, or veered, so as to become جَنُوب (S, TA.) [And hence, (see جَنُوبٌ,)] جَنَبَ إِلَيْهِ, (IAar, K,) or إِلَى لِقَائِهِ, (TA,) aor. جَنُبَ ; (K;) and جَنِبَ, aor. جَنَبَ ; (Th, K;) [inf. n., app., جَنْبٌ, for the verb is said in the K to be like نَصَرَ and سَمِعَ;] (assumed tropical:) He was, or became, disquieted by vehement desire to see him, or to meet him. (K, * TA.) جَنِبَ, aor. جَنَبَ , (S,) inf. n. جَنَبٌ, (S, K,) He (a camel) limped, or halted, by reason of [pain in] his side: (S:) or he had an affection resembling ظَلْع [i. e. limping, or halting], (K, TA,) but not the same as this: (TA:) and, (K,) or accord. to As, (S,) his lungs clave to his side by reason of vehement thirst: (S, K:) or, accord. to the Arabs of the desert, as ISk says, he became bent, or contorted, by reason of vehemence of thirst: (S:) and he (a camel) had a pain in his side from vehemence of thirst. (TA.) The epithet is جَنِبٌ; which is applied by Dhu-r-Rummeh to an ass. (S, TA.) جنبت الدَّلْوُ [app. جَنِبَت] The bucket inclined to one side in consequence of the breaking of one or two of the thongs attacking it to the cross-bars. (L, TA.) جَنِبَ and جَنُبَ and جَنَبَ are syn. with أَجْنَبَ in a sense explained below: see 4. جُنِبَ He had, or became affected by, the disease termed ذَاتُ الجَنْبِ [or pleurisy]: (S, Mgh, Msb:) he had a complaint of his side. (K.) جُنِبُوا They were, or became, affected by the [south, or southerly, wind called] جُنُوب. (S, A, K.) And also, [in allusion to the fertilizing effect attributed to the wind so called,] They were, or became, affected by that wind in their cattle. (L, TA.)

    جنّبهُ

    2. جنّبهُ: see 1: and see also 3. جنبّ, inf. n. تَجْنِيبٌ, He did not send the stallion-camel among his she-camels, nor the ram or he-goat among his ewes or she-goats. (K.) جنّب القَوْمُ The milk of the people's camels became little: (S:) or the people's milk ceased; (K, TA;) or became little: or the people's camels had no milk: and جنّب said of a man, his camels had no milk, nor had his sheep or goats. (TA.) Hence, عَامُ تَجْنِيبٍ [A year of little, or no, milk]. (S, TA.) جنّبت الأِبِلُ The camels, with the exception of one or two, brought forth no young. (AZ, TA.) The camels did not conceive, so as to have milk. (TA.) تَجْنِيبٌ [as an inf. n. of which the verb, if it have one in any of the following senses, is جُنِّبَ,] also signifies A bending, or curving, and tension [of the sinews] (تَوْتِيرٌ), of the hind leg of a horse; which is a quality approved: (S, K:) or, accord. to AO, a turning aside of his fore legs in raising them and putting them down: but accord. to As, it is in the kind legs, and تَحْنِيبٌ is in the back-bone and in the fore legs. (TA.) [See also 2 in art حنب; and see also مُجَنَّبٌ.]

    جانبهُ

    3. جانبهُ, (A, K,) inf. n. مُجَانَبَةٌ and جِنَابٌ, (K,) He was, or became, at, or by, his side: (A, K:) and he walked, or went, by his side. (A.) Also i. q. بَا عَدَهُ; (A, K;) i. e. He was, or became, [distant, remote, far off, or aloof, from him; or] apart from him; or in a part, quarter, or tract, different from that in which he (the other) was; (TA;) thus bearing two contr. significations. (A, K.) جانبهُ and تجانبهُ and تجنّبُهُ and اجتنبهُ all signify the same, (S, K,) i. e. He was, or became, distant, remote, far off, or aloof, or he went, or removed, or retired, or withdrew himself, to a distance, or far away, or far off, or he alienated, or estranged, himself, or he stood, or kept, aloof, from him, or it; he shunned, or avoided, him, or it; as also جِنّبه (K) [and مِنْهُ تجنّب]. You say, جَانِبِ اللِّئَامَ [Remove thyself far from the mean, or ignoble; stand, or keep, aloof from them; shun, or avoid, them]. (A.) And لَجَّ فِى جِنَابٍ قَبِيحٍ He persisted in removing himself to a distance, or estranging himself, from his family. (S, A, K. [In two copies of the S, I find جناب here written with fet-h to the ج; but it is expressly said in the TA to be with kesr.]) See also 1.

    اجنبهُ

    4. اجنبهُ: see 1, in the former half of the paragraph, in two places. اجنب, (S, IAth, Mgh, Msb, K, &c.,) inf. n. إِجْنَابٌ; (IAth, TA;) and جَنِبَ; (IB, K;) but the former is more common than the latter; and the latter, than the next here following; (IB, TA;) and جَنُبَ (S, Msb, K,) [inf. n. جَنَابَةٌ, agreeably with analogy;] and جَنَبَ, aor. جَنُبَ ; (L, TA;) and أُجْنِبَ, and استجنب, (K,) and تجنّب; (L, TA;) He was, or became, in the state of one who is termed جُنُب; (S, IAth, Mgh, L, Msb, K;) i. e., under the obligation of performing a total ablution, by reason of sexual intercourse and discharge of the semen. (IAth, TA.) لَا يُجْنِبُ, said by I' Ab, of a man, and of a garment, and of the ground, (TA,) and of water, (Mgh, TA,) means (tropical:) He, or it, will not become polluted (Mgh, TA) by the touch of him who is جُنُب so that one should need total ablution in consequence of the touching thereof. (TA.) اجنبوا They entered upon [a time in which blew] the [south, or southerly,] wind termed الجُنُوب. (S, A, K.) See also 1 in the latter half of the paragraph.

    تَجَنَّبَ

    5: see 1: and 3, in two places: and 4.

    تَجَاْنَبَ

    6: see 3.

    إِجْتَنَبَ

    8: see 3.

    إِسْتَجْنَبَ

    10: see 4.

    جَنْبٌ

    جَنْبٌ, a word of well-known meaning; (S;) The side, or half, or lateral half, syn. شِقٌّ, (A, K,) of a man &c.; as also جَانِبٌ and جَنَبَةٌ: (K:) or the part of a man that is beneath the arm-pit, extending to the flank; as also جَانِبٌ, because it is the side of the person: (Msb:) pl. (of the first, Msb) جُنُوبٌ (Msb, K) and [of the same, a pl. of pauc.,] أَجْنَابٌ (CK) and [of جَانِبٌ] جَوَانِبُ (Lh, ISd, K, but not in the CK) and [app. of جَنْبٌ (like as لَيَائِلُ is a pl. of لَيْلٌ) or of جَنَبَةٌ (like as حَوَائِجُ is pl. of حَاجَةٌ which is originally حَوَجَةٌ) or of both these] جَنائِبُ (M, K,) which is extr. (M, TA.) [Hence,] قَعَدْتُ إِلَى جَنْبِ فُلَانٍ and فلان الى جَانِبِ [I sat by the side of such a one]: both meaning the same. (S.) And إِنَّهُ لَمُنْتَفِخُ الجَوَانِبِ [Verily he is inflated in the side]: جوانب being here one of those words which are used in the sing. sense though in the pl. form. (Lh, TA.) And أَعْطَاهُ الجَنْبَ [lit. He gave him the side; meaning] he was, or became, submissive, manageable, easy, or tractable, to him. (A.) And جَارُ الجَنْبِ He who cleaves to one, keeping by one's side. (K. [Differing from جَارُ الجُنُبِ, q. v. infrà.]) And الصَّاحِبُ بِالجَنْبِ [in the Kur iv. 40] The travelling-companion; the companion in a journey: (S, K:) or he who is near one; or by one's side: or the companion in every good affair: or the husband: or the wife. (TA.) And ذَاتُ الجَنْبِ, (S, A, Mgh, Msb, K, &c.,) with which الجُنَابُ is syn., (K,) [and sometimes الجَنْبُ, as will be seen in what follows,] A well-known disease; (Mgh;) [the pleurisy; called by the first of these three appellations in the present day;] a severe disease, being an inflammatory tumour in the [pleura, or] membrane within the ribs: (Msb:) or an ulcer, or a purulent pustule, that comes within a man's side: (S, TA:) it is a severe disease in the side: accord. to El-Hejeree, it is in either side; and they assert that when it is in the left side, the patient perishes: accord. to ISh, the دُبَيْلَة; which is an ulcer that penetrates into the belly: or the ulcer (دُبَيْلَة and دُمَّل) that comes forth within the side, and discharges internally; the sufferer from which seldom recovers: he who suffers from it [and dies in consequence], or, as some say, he who is afflicted by a complaint of the side (absolutely) while warring in the cause of God, is reckoned a martyr: (TA:) [soldiers in a campaign are notoriously more subject to it than persons in most other circumstances; and it is app. for this reason that] it is termed دَآءُ الصَّنَادِيدِ [the disease of the courageous chiefs]. (A, TA.) ذُو الجَنْبِ, of which ذَاتُ الجُنْبِ is the fem., signifies Having a complaint of his side by reason of [the disease above mentioned, or what is termed] الدُّبَيْلَة. (TA. [See also مَجْنُوبٌ.]) A poet says, [The people are a side and the prince is a side]: (Akh, S, TA:) as though he reckoned the latter equal to all the people. (TA. [This is cited in the S and TA as though it were an ex. of جنب in the sense here next following: but it seems to be rather an ex. of this word in the sense first explained in the present paragraph.]) I. q. نَاحِيَةٌ [A side; meaning a lateral, or an outward or adjacent, part or portion, region, quarter, or tract; or a part, region, quarter, or tract, considered with respect to its collocation or juxtaposition or direction, or considered as belonging to a whole; a vicinage, or neighbourhood]; (S, K;) as also جَانِبٌ (S, Msb, K) and جَنَابٌ and جَنْبَةٌ (S, K) and جَنَبَةٌ (S) and جَنَابَةٌ. (L, TA.) It is said that the primary signification of جَنْبٌ is the part of the body mentioned in the beginning of this paragraph, and that its use in the sense of نَاحيَةٌ is metaphorical, as is the case of يَمِينٌ and شِمَالٌ; but نَاحِيَةٌ is mentioned in the Msb as the primary signification of جَانِبٌ; (MF, TA;) though its primary signification accord. to the K and ISd seems to be that first mentioned. (TA.) You say, مَشَوْا جَانِبَيْهِ and جَنَابَيْهِ and جَنْبَتَيْهِ and جَنَابَتَيْهِ [They walked, or went on foot, on either side of him]. (A, TA. *) And مَرُّوا يَسِيرُونَ جَنَابَيْهِ (S, L) and جَنْبَتَيْهِ and جَنَابَتَيْهِ (L, TA) They went along journeying on either side of him. (S, L.) And كُنَّا عَنْهُمْ جَنَا بَيْنِ and جَنَابًا We were apart from them [on two sides and on one side]. (TA.) And نَزَلُوا الوَادِى فِى جَنَابَاتِ [They alighted in the sides of the valley, or in the tracts beside the valley]. (A.) And فُلَانٌ لَا يَطُورُ بِجَنَبَتِنَا Such a one will not approach our quarter: (S:) thus accord. to AO; with fet-h to the ن: IJ, however, says, people are wont to say, أَنَا فِى ذَرَاكَ وَجَنَبَتِكَ [meaning I am under thy protection and in thy quarter]; but that the correct expression is جَنْبَتِكَ, with the ن quiescent. (IB, TA.) The Arabs also said, سُهَيْلٍ الحَرُّ جَانِبَىْ, meaning (assumed tropical:) The heat is on either side of Suheyl [or Canopus: i. e., during the period next before, and that next after, the auroral rising of Canopus; which rising began, in central Arabia, at the commencement of the era of the Flight, about the 4th of August, O. S.]: this is the greatest heat. (TA.) One also says, أَحَاطُوا بِهِ مِنْ جَانِبَيْهِ [meaning They surrounded him on all his sides; lit., on his two sides]; dividing the surrounding parts into two, but not meaning that any of these remained vacant. (Expos. of the exs. cited as testimonies by Sb, TA in art. حول.) Also, [and جَانِبٌ, which is thus used in the L in art. جنح, and by many authors,] A part, or portion, of a thing; (L;) the greater, or main, or chief, part or portion thereof; most thereof; (L, K;) or a great part or portion thereof; much thereof. (L.) Hence, [or perhaps from جَنْبٌ in the second of the senses assigned to it above, conveying the idea of juxtaposition, and thus of comparison,] هٰذَا قَلِيلٌ جَنْبِ مَوَدَّتِكَ [This is little in comparison with the magnitude of thy love; or simply, in comparison with thy love]. (TA.) يَا حَسْرَتَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْتُ فِى جنْبِ ٱللّٰهِ [in the Kur xxxix. 57] means فى جَانِبِه, i. e. (assumed tropical:) [O my grief, or regret, for my negligence, or remissness,] in respect of that which is the right, or due, of God! (A, Bd, TA,) i. e., (Bd,) in respect of obedience to God! (Bd, Jel:) or, in respect of [the means of attaining] nearness to God! (Fr, TA;) or, nearness to God in Paradise! (IAar, TA:) or, in respect of the way of God, to which He hath called me! i. e., the profession of his unity, and the confession of the prophetic office of Mohammad. (Zj, TA.) The saying of the Arabs, اِتَّقِ ٱللّٰهَ فِى جَنْبِهِ وَلَا تَقْدَحْ فِى سَاقِهِ [may be rendered (assumed tropical:) Fear God in respect of his (thy brother's) right, or due, and impugn not his honour, or reputation: or] means, accord. to the copies of the K, لَا تَقْتُلْهُ [slay him not], or, as in the L, and in the original draught of the author [of the K] لا تَغْتَلْهُ [slay him not clandestinely, or on an occasion of inadvertence], from الغِيلَةُ, and throw him not into trouble, or trial: (TA:) or, accord. to some, فى جنبه means in detracting from his reputation, or reviling him. (K, TA. [See also Freytag's Arab. Prov. i. 240.]) A poet, cited by IAar, says, (assumed tropical:) [O my two friends, refrain, and be mindful of God in respect of my reputation; (see also جَانِبٌ;)] meaning, in detracting from my reputation, or reviling me: or, accord. to MF, in my case. (TA.) And one says, مَا فَعَلْتَ فِى جَنْبِ حَاجَتِى (assumed tropical:) What didst thou, or what hast thou done, in the case of the thing that I want? (L, TA.)

    جَنَبٌ

    جَنَبٌ: see جَنِيبٌ. طَوْعُ الجَنَبِ: see جِنَابٌ. جَنَبٌ also signifies Short; (K;) applied to a man. (TA.)

    جَنِبٌ

    جَنِبٌ: see جَنِبَ. It is also applied as an epithet to a wolf, because he pretends to halt, from guile, or cunning. (L, TA.) Also A man who goes aside, or to a distance, from the beaten way, for fear of guests' coming to him for entertainment. (K, TA.)

    جُنُبٌ

    جُنُبٌ, (El-Fárábee, S, A, Msb, K,) which is sometimes used in the sing. form as pl., and has no fem. form, (TA,) and جَانِبٌ and أَجْنَبِىٌّ, (El-Fárábee, S, Msb, K,) which is said by Az in art. روح to be seldom or never used by the Arabs, but is mentioned by him in its proper art., (Msb,) and أَجْنَبُ, (Az, S, Msb, K,) are syn., (El-Fárábee, S, Msb, K,) signifying A stranger; (K;) as also جَنِيبٌ: (S:) or a man who is distant, or remote: (Msb:) or distant, or remote, in respect of relationship: (Az and Msb in explanation of the third and fourth:) [or not a relation; as will be seen from what follows:] and جَانِبٌ [as an act. part. n.] signifies one alighting, or descending and abiding, or settling, as a stranger, among a tribe: (S:) pl. of the first أَجْنَابٌ, (A, TA,) and of the second جُنَّابٌ, (S, TA,) and of the fourth أَجَانِبُ. (Msb.) الجَارُ الجُنُبُ [occurring in the Kur iv. 40] (T, S, A, Msb, K) and جَارُ الجُنُبِ (TA) The person who is one's neighbour, but who belongs to another people; (T, S, A, Msb, K;) who is not of one's family nor of one's lineage; (A;) who is of another lineage than he of whom he is a neighbour; (T, TA;) who is not a relation: (MF:) or one who is distant, or remote, in an absolute sense: (TA:) or the person who is not a relation to another, and who comes to him, and asks him to protect him, and abides with him: such has the title to respect that belongs to him as neighbour of the other, and to his protection, and as relying upon his safeguard and promise. (TA in art. جور. [Differing from جَارُ الجَنْبِ, q. v. suprà.]) It is said in a trad., هُمْ أَجْنَابُ النَّاسِ They are the strangers of mankind, or of the people. (TA.) And in another trad., قَالَ لِجَارِيّةٍ هَلْ مِنْ مُغَرِبَةِ الخَبَرُ خَبَرٍ قَالَتْ عَلَى جَانِبٍ [He said to a girl, Is there any news from abroad? She answered,] It is for a stranger coming from a journey [to give such news]. (TA.) And one says, هُوَ مِنِّى أَجْنَبِىٌّ [He is a person not related to me]. (A.) Also, ↓the same four words, (of which only the last is mentioned in this sense in the S,) That will not be led; intractable. (K.) جُنُبٌ is also an epithet from الجَنَابَةُ; (S, Mgh, Msb, K;) signifying A man under the obligation of performing a total ablution, by reason of sexual intercourse and discharge of the semen: (IAth, TA: [see 4:]) and is used alike as masc. and fem. (S, Mgh, Msb) and sing. (S, A, Mgh, Msb, K) and dual (Msb, TA) and pl.; (S, A, Mgh, Msb, K;) being regarded as quasi-coordinate to the class of inf. ns.; for the inf. n., when used as an epithet, must remain, in form, sing. and masc.: (MF in art. عفت:) or one may use the dual form جُنُبَانِ; (K;) and sometimes they used the pl. أَجْنَابٌ (S, Msb, K *) and جُنُبُونَ, (S, Msb,) and the fem. pl. جُنُبَاتٌ; (Msb;) but not جُنُبَةٌ, (K, TA,) applied to a female. (TA.) It is said in a trad., لَا تَدْخُلُ المَلَائِكَةُ بِيْتًا فِيهِ جُنُبٌ, meaning [The angels will not enter a house, or chamber, or tent, in which is] one who usually neglects the total ablution when under an obligation to perform it for the cause above mentioned. (IAth, TA.)

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

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

ج ن ب

الجيم والنون والباء أصلان متقاربان أحدهما الناحية والآخر البعد

j-n-b has two close roots: one is the side, and the other is distance.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗al-Khalīl: used ↗Quran ×33

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

ج

ومن وسط اللسان بينه وبين وسط الحنك الأعلى مخرج الجيم والشين والياء

From the middle of the tongue, between it and the middle of the upper palate, is the place of the jīm, the shīn and the yāʾ. Sībawayh, line 26553 ↗

ومن وسط اللسان بينه وبين وسط الحنك الأعلى، مخرج الجيم والشين والياء

From the middle of the tongue, between it and the middle of the upper palate, is the place of the jīm, the shīn and the yāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 974 ↗

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 ↗

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 ↗

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

ج

Level of existence: الفلك الأطلس فلك البروج · the Atlas (starless) sphere, the sphere of the zodiacal signs

Divine Name: الغني · al-Ghanī, the Independent

Lunar mansion: الطرف · al-Ṭarf

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62085

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

ن

Level of existence: السماء الرابعة · the fourth heaven

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

Lunar mansion: السماك · al-Simāk

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64663

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

الثمانية فحروفها حارة يابسة

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

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

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

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ج

فهي نبوة أو ولاية إذا كان قبلها أو بعدها ما يدل على ذلك، وإلا فهي للخير الذي لا يزول أبدا.

It is prophethood or sainthood (walāya) if something before or after it indicates that. Otherwise it is for the good that never ceases.

فهي الخير الذي يؤكل أو ينتفع الناس منه.

It is the good that is eaten, or from which people derive benefit.

فهي الخير القليل الذي في الذات من نور الإيمان.

It is the small good within the self from the light of faith.

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

ن

فهي الخير الساكن في الذات الشاعل فيها.

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

فهي إشارة إلى الخير الكامل أو النور الساطع.

It is an indication of perfect good or radiant light.

فهي إشارة إلى شيء يدركه المتكلم أو هو له.

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

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

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
Two-letter nucleus6 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterج ن

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 5929 ↗

  • جنهالجيم والنون والهاء ليس أصلا ولا هو عندي من كلام العرب إلا أن ناسا زعموا أن الجنة الخيزران وأنشدوا : — في كفه جنهي ريحه عبق … بكف أروع في عرنينه شمم —L5930
  • جنأالجيم والنون والهمزة أصل واحد وهو العطف على الشيء والحنو عليهL5935
  • جنبالجيم والنون والباء أصلان متقاربان أحدهما الناحية والآخر البعد فأما الناحية فالجنابQ 33 · L5939
  • جنذالجيم والنون والذال يدل على التجمع والنصرةL5955
  • جنزالجيم والنون والزاء كلمة واحدةL5959
  • جنفالجيم والنون والفاء أصل واحد وهو الميل والميلQ 2 · L5970
In the sister scriptsHebrew ג נ בSyriac ܓ ܢ ܒ
Arabicج ن ب
Hebrewג נ ב
Syriacܓ ܢ ܒ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩴 𐩬 𐩨
Phoenician𐤂 𐤍 𐤁

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 (al-ʿAyn) treats al-janb/al-jānib as the well-known side (pl.well attested

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

    Al-Khalīl (al-ʿAyn) treats al-janb/al-jānib as the well-known side (pl. jawānib), janabtuhu ʿan kadhā as keeping harm from someone, and cites Ibrāhīm's prayer 'ujnubnī wa-banīyya an naʿbuda al-aṣnām' (keep me and my sons far from worshipping idols) for this averting sense. Al-Jawharī (al-Ṣiḥāḥ) fixes janb as the side and jānib as direction (citing 'al-nās janb wal-amīr janb'), and distinguishes al-jār al-junub (a stranger-neighbor, from another tribe) from al-jār al-janīb, and al-ṣāḥib bi-l-janb (a travel companion); ajnabī, ajnab, janib and jānib are given as synonyms for 'foreigner.' Ibn Fāris (Maqāyīs) organizes the root under two related origins, al-nāḥiya (the quarter/direction) and al-buʿd (distance, hence estrangement), covering jinba (withdrawing from people, praised in a ḥadīth as ʿafāf), the forbidden racing practice of jinab (leading a spare horse beside one's own), and janīb (a thirst-stricken camel whose lung sticks to its side). Al-Rāghib (al-Mufradāt) makes the bodily flank the root sense, citing Qurʾān 9:35, 32:16 and 3:191, and explains the extension to 'the adjacent quarter' as parallel to how yamīn and shimāl are likewise borrowed from bodily terms. Ibn Manẓūr (Lisān) compiles the same material, adding the ḥadīth image of junūb (roasted sides of sheep) filling an oven and darabahu fa-janabahu (he struck and broke his side); Lane confirms janaba as 'to hit or break the side' and 'to lead [a horse or captive] by the side,' with jinab forbidden in racing.

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

    • Wiktionary, Arabic root ج-ن-ب (link not verified)
  • Letters & soundAl-Akbarī's cosmological letter-values put jīm at the Atlas (starless) sphere, nūn at the fourth heaven, and bāʾ at the jinn;speculative

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

    Al-Akbarī's cosmological letter-values put jīm at the Atlas (starless) sphere, nūn at the fourth heaven, and bāʾ at the jinn; al-Dabbāghī reads jīm as prophecy or sainthood (or an unceasing good), nūn as an inward good kindling within the self, and bāʾ as an indicator of utmost might or utmost abasement. None of this evidently motivates 'side, direction, foreignness' as a meaning; the correspondence looks like an independently applied cosmological scheme rather than an explanation of this root. This kind of analysis is speculative and not endorsed by mainstream historical linguistics.

    Draws on: al-Akbarī · al-Dabbāgh

  • Root structureIbn Fāris's chapter neighbors are suggestive: janaʾa (to bend or lean over something compassionately) and janafa (to deviate, incline) sit beside janaba, all involving lateral orientation, though he treats them as separate roots rather than derivations of one another.plausible

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

    Ibn Fāris's chapter neighbors are suggestive: janaʾa (to bend or lean over something compassionately) and janafa (to deviate, incline) sit beside janaba, all involving lateral orientation, though he treats them as separate roots rather than derivations of one another. Among the permutations, jabn (cheese; cowardice; the temple, jabīn) is attested but bundles unrelated senses; najaba (nobility, excellence, selecting the choice one) and nabaja (a loud voice) are attested with unrelated senses; bajn is unattested; banj (a stupefying plant) appears as a fixed word rather than a productive root, likely itself a borrowing. Any resonance between janaba's 'side/distance' and najaba's 'selecting out' remains a juxtaposition of letters, not an argued derivation.

    Draws on: Ibn Fāris - nucleus siblings · permutations

  • Semitic kin & loanwordsNo confident Semitic cognate for this root is available: Hebrew and Aramaic express 'side' with different roots (e.g.plausible

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

    No confident Semitic cognate for this root is available: Hebrew and Aramaic express 'side' with different roots (e.g. Hebrew ṣad, ʿēver), and standard comparative lexica record no cognate for jnb meaning side or flank elsewhere in Semitic. The productive Arabic derivational family — janb, jānib, junub, ijtanaba, tajannaba — looks native rather than borrowed. It is not a loanword.

    Draws on: Hebrew · Aramaic

  • Quranic exegesisAt Qurʾān 4:36 the exegetes debate al-jār al-junub, generally the neighbor who is a stranger or distant in kinship (as opposed to dhī al-qurbā, the near kinsman-neighbor), and al-ṣāḥib bi-l-janb, read as a travel companion, a spouse, or simply whoever is beside you.well attested

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    At Qurʾān 4:36 the exegetes debate al-jār al-junub, generally the neighbor who is a stranger or distant in kinship (as opposed to dhī al-qurbā, the near kinsman-neighbor), and al-ṣāḥib bi-l-janb, read as a travel companion, a spouse, or simply whoever is beside you. At 3:191, 'those who remember God standing, sitting, and on their sides' is read as covering every bodily posture, including the sick or reclining, so remembrance is not tied to one physical state. Junub as the post-coital state requiring ghusl (4:43, 5:6) is the standard exegetical-legal sense, taken literally as ritual impurity. Most debated is 39:56, 'lest a soul say, alas for what I neglected in janb Allāh' — al-Ṭabarī glosses janb Allāh as amr Allāh or ḥaqq Allāh (God's command or due), and al-Rāzī defends this figurative reading explicitly to avoid attributing a bodily side to God, following the idiom 'fī jānib fulān' (concerning so-and-so's affair).

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

  • Akbarian readingIn Faṣṣ Ādam, Ibn ʿArabī writes of divine comprehensiveness (al-jamʿiyya al-ilāhiyya) returning 'ilā al-janāb al-ilāhī' (to the Divine Presence/Threshold) and 'ilā jānib ḥaqīqat al-ḥaqāʾiq' (to the side of the Reality of realities);plausible

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    In Faṣṣ Ādam, Ibn ʿArabī writes of divine comprehensiveness (al-jamʿiyya al-ilāhiyya) returning 'ilā al-janāb al-ilāhī' (to the Divine Presence/Threshold) and 'ilā jānib ḥaqīqat al-ḥaqāʾiq' (to the side of the Reality of realities); janāb is the honorific Sufi term for the divine court, and jānib marks the relational orientation of the human configuration (nashʾa) toward that Reality. The human being's comprehensiveness is thus described spatially, facing two 'sides' — the Divine Presence and the Reality of realities — within the single receiving constitution that carries these attributes. This use of janāb as 'presence, threshold' is a standing Sufi idiom that Ibn ʿArabī deploys here to locate Adam/the Perfect Human relative to God.

    Draws on: Faṣṣ Ādam

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