Mashrabaمشربة

Root · 8 in the Quran · 57 in 11 texts of the library

ختمa single root meaning reaching the end of a thing; sealing is included because a thing is … (root khtm)

الخاء والتاء والميم أصل واحد وهو بلوغ آخر الشيء

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

ختم

The family of the root

Patterns computed · our data

The words of خ ت م that our sources attest: the root's letters in green, the added letters in gold.

24 words4 verbs2 verbal nouns4 participles14 other nouns

  • خَاتَمring; seal
  • خَتَمَhe sealed, stamped, imprinted, or impressed, it
  • خَتْمseal; stamp
  • مَخْتُومsealed, or stamped
  • خِتَام—
The whole family4 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs4خَتَمَ · خَتَّمَ · تَخَتَّمَ

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 يَفْعِلُ (a – i; the imperfect from Lane's “aor.”)

  • خَتَمَhe sealed, stamped, imprinted, or impressed, itLaneForm IQurʾān ×5library ×4LaneIbn Fāris
  • خَتَّمَhe sealed it, stamped it, , muchLaneForm IILaneIbn Fāris
  • تَخَتَّمَForm VLane
  • اِخْتَتَمَLane: see Form IForm VIIILane
Verbal nouns2خَتْم · تَخْتِيم

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

  • خَتْمseal; stampautoForm I · Lane: inf. n.library ×13LaneIbn Fāris
  • تَخْتِيمForm II · Lane: inf. n.Lane
Participles4مَخْتُوم · خَاتِم · مُخْتَتَم

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

  • مَخْتُومsealed, or stampedLanepassive, Form IQurʾān ×1Lane
  • خَاتِمactive, Form ILaneIbn Fāris
  • مُخْتَتَمpassive, Form VIIILane
  • مُخْتَّمsealed, or stamped, , muchLanepassive, Form IILane
Other nouns14خَاتَم · خِتَام · خَاتَام

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

Reference

Why this shape?What each of the 10 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.

مَفْعَلَةخ ت ممَخْتَمَة

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

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

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

The grammarians on this pattern (4)

  • ما يكون مفعلة لازمة لها الهاء والفتحة … وذلك إذا أردت أن تكثر الشيء بالمكان، وذلك قولك: أرض مسبعة، ومأسدة

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

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

  • و نحو المظنة و المقبرة فتحا و ضما ليس بقياس

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

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

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

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

The dictionaries

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170Khatama, yakhtimu, khatman (ختم يختم ختما) means 'he stamped/sealed,' so he is khātim (خاتم).

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

    Khatama, yakhtimu, khatman (ختم يختم ختما) means 'he stamped/sealed,' so he is khātim (خاتم). Al-khātam (الخاتم) is what is placed upon the clay [to make a seal-impression], a noun like al-ʿālam (العالم). Al-khitām (الختام) is the clay with which a document is sealed. It is also said that al-khatm (الختم) itself means the clay used for sealing. Khitām al-wādī (ختام الوادي) is the farthest extent of a valley. It is recited [in the Qurʾān]: 'khātamuhu misk' (خاتمه مسك), i.e. khitāmuhu (ختامه), meaning its final outcome is the scent of musk; it is also said that what is meant by khātamuhu (خاتمه) is its sealed conclusion (khitāmuhu al-makhtūm); and it is also said that al-khitām (الختام) and al-khātam (الخاتم) here refer to that upon which it was sealed. Khātimat al-sūra (خاتمة السورة) is its end. Khātam al-ʿamal (خاتم العمل) and of anything is its end. Khatamtu zarʿī (ختمت زرعي) means 'I gave my crop its first watering,' this being called al-khatm (الختم); al-khitām (الختام) is a noun [for this], because once watered it has been 'sealed' with hope [of harvest]. Khatamū ʿalā zarʿihim khatman (ختموا على زرعهم ختما) means they watered it while it was still being tilled afterward.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    ختم يختم ختما أي: طبع فهو خاتم. والخاتم: ما يوضع على الطينة، أسم مثل العالم، والختام: الطين الذي يختم به على كتاب «4» . ويقال: هو الختم يعني: الطين الذي يختم به. وختام الوادي: أقصاه. ويقرأ: خاتمه مسك «1» أي ختامه، يعني عاقبته ريح المسك، ويقال: بل أراد به خاتمه يعني ختامه المختوم، ويقال: بل الختام والخاتم ها هنا ما ختم عليه. وخاتمة السورة: آخرها. وخاتم العمل وكل شيء: آخره. وختمت زرعي إذا سقيته أول سقية، فهو الختم، والختام اسم لأنه إذا سقي فقد ختم بالرجاء. وختموا على زرعهم ختما أي سقوه وهو كراب بعد.

    al-Khalīl · 170 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 4, p. 241) ↗
  • al-Jawharī · 393Khatamtu al-shayʾ khatman (ختمت الشيء ختما), so it is makhtūm (مختوم);

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

    Khatamtu al-shayʾ khatman (ختمت الشيء ختما), so it is makhtūm (مختوم); and mukhattam (مختم), with doubling, is for intensification. Khatama Allāhu lahu bi-khayr (ختم الله له بخير) 'God sealed [his end] for him with good.' Khatamtu al-Qurʾān (ختمت القرآن) means 'I reached its end.' Ikhtatamtu al-shayʾ (اختتمت الشيء) is the opposite of iftataḥtuhu (افتتحته) 'I began/opened it.' Al-khātam (الخاتم) and al-khātim (الخاتم), with kasra or fatḥa on the tāʾ [both valid]. Al-khaytām (الخيتام) and al-khātām (الخاتام) all bear the same meaning, plural al-khawātīm (الخواتيم). Takhattamtu (تختمت) means 'I wore it [a ring].' Khātimat al-shayʾ (خاتمة الشيء) is its end. Muḥammad (peace be upon him) is Khātam al-Anbiyāʾ (خاتم الأنبياء), peace and blessings be upon them. Al-khitām (الختام) is the clay used for sealing. His saying, Most High: 'khitāmuhu misk' (ختامه مسك) means its end, because the last thing they find is the scent of musk. And the saying of al-Aʿshā: 'and he brought it forth, and upon it was a seal (khatm)' — meaning upon it was sealed clay, like nafḍ (نفض) meaning manfūḍ (منفوض) and qabḍ (قبض) meaning maqbūḍ (مقبوض).

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    ختمت الشئ ختما فهو مختوم، ومختم شدد للمبالغة. وختم الله له بخير. وختمت القرآن: بلغت آخره. واختتمت الشئ: نقيض افتتحته. والخاتم والخاتم، بكسر التاء وفتحها. والخيتام والخاتام كله بمعنى، والجمع الخواتيم. وتختمت، إذا لبسته. وخاتمة الشئ: آخره. ومحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم الأنبياء عليهم الصلاة والسلام. والختام: الطين الذي يختم به. وقوله تعالى: (ختامه مسك) أي آخره، لأن آخر ما يجدونه رائحة المسك. وقول الاعشى: وأبرزها وعليها ختم (1) * أي عليها طينة مختومة، مثل نفض بمعنى منفوض، وقبض بمعنى مقبوض.

    al-Jawharī · 393 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 5, p. 1908) ↗
  • Ibn Fāris · 395Khāʾ, tāʾ, and mīm form one root, meaning to reach the end of a thing.

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

    Khāʾ, tāʾ, and mīm form one root, meaning to reach the end of a thing. One says khatamtu al-ʿamal (ختمت العمل) 'I finished the work,' and khatama al-qāriʾ al-sūra (ختم القارئ السورة) 'the reciter completed the sura.' As for al-khatm (الختم), meaning to stamp/imprint something, this too belongs to this root, because imprinting upon something only occurs after reaching its final [surface] in places of safekeeping. Al-khātam (الخاتم) 'the seal-ring' is derived from it, because with it one seals. One says khātam (الخاتم), khātām (الخاتام), and khaytām (الخيتام). He [a poet] said: 'I took my ring (khātāmī) without right...' And the Prophet (peace be upon him) is Khātam al-Anbiyāʾ (خاتم الأنبياء) 'the Seal of the Prophets,' because he is the last of them. And khitām (ختام) of every drink is its final part. God Almighty said: 'khitāmuhu misk' (ختامه مسك) [Q83:26] 'its seal is musk,' meaning the last thing they find of it when drinking it is the scent of musk.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الخاء والتاء والميم أصل واحد وهو بلوغ آخر الشيء يقال ختمت العمل وختم القارىء السورة فأما الختم وهو الطبع على الشيء فذلك من الباب أيضا لأن الطبع على الشيء لا يكون إلا بعد بلوغ آخره في الأحراز والخاتم مشتق منه لأن به يختم ويقال الخاتم والخاتام والخيتام قال : — أخذت خاتامي بغير حق … والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم الأنبياء لأنه آخرهم وختام كل مشروب آخره قال الله تعالى ( ختامه مسك المطففين26 ) أي إن آخر ما يجدونه منه عند شربهم إياه رائحة المسك

    Ibn Fāris · 395 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 2, p. 245) ↗
  • al-Rāghib · 502Al-khatm (الختم) and al-ṭabʿ (الطبع) are used in two senses: (1) as the verbal noun of khatamtu and ṭabaʿtu, meaning the act of imprinting something, like the engraving of a seal (khātam) or stamp (ṭābiʿ);

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

    Al-khatm (الختم) and al-ṭabʿ (الطبع) are used in two senses: (1) as the verbal noun of khatamtu and ṭabaʿtu, meaning the act of imprinting something, like the engraving of a seal (khātam) or stamp (ṭābiʿ); (2) as the resulting mark left by the imprint. This is used figuratively at times for securing something and preventing [access to] it, by analogy with the prevention achieved by sealing letters and doors, as in: 'God has set a seal upon their hearts' [al-Baqara 2:7], and 'He has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart' [al-Jāthiya 45:23]. At other times it is used figuratively for producing an effect upon something, by analogy with the resulting engraving; and at other times what is meant by it is reaching the end, whence it is said 'I have sealed [completed] the Qurʾān,' meaning 'I have reached its end.' So His saying 'God has set a seal upon their hearts' [al-Baqara 2:7], and His saying, Most High: 'Say, have you considered: if God should take away your hearing and your sight and seal your hearts...' [al-Anʿām 6:46], point to what God has made customary: that when a person persists utterly in a false belief or the commission of a forbidden act — without any turning whatsoever toward the truth — this produces in him a disposition that trains him to regard sins as good, as though his heart were thereby sealed. In accordance with this: 'those are the ones upon whose hearts, hearing, and sight God has set a seal' [al-Naḥl 16:108]. In the same vein is the metaphor of 'making heedless' in His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance' [al-Kahf 18:28]; the metaphor of 'covering' in His saying, Most High: 'and We have placed coverings over their hearts, lest they understand it' [al-Anʿām 6:25]; and the metaphor of 'hardness' in His saying, Most High: 'and We made their hearts hard' [al-Māʾida 5:13]. Al-Jubbāʾī said: God places a seal upon the hearts of the disbelievers so that it may serve as a sign to the angels of their disbelief, so that the angels do not pray for them; but this is worthless, for if this 'writing' were something perceptible by the senses, then those skilled in dissection ought to be able to perceive it, and if it were something intelligible and not sense-perceptible, then the angels, through their direct awareness of [the disbelievers'] beliefs, would have no need of [such] an indicator. Some have said: his 'sealing' is God's testimony, Most High, against him that he will not believe. His saying, Most High: 'Today We seal over their mouths' [Yā Sīn 36:65], means: We prevent them from speaking. 'The Seal of the Prophets' [al-Aḥzāb 33:40] — because he sealed prophethood, i.e., completed it by his coming. His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'its seal (khitāmuhu) is musk' [al-Muṭaffifīn 83:26] — it has been said this means that with which it is sealed, i.e., stamped; but rather its meaning is its terminus and the end of its being drunk, i.e., its last remaining trace has the scent of musk. As for the view of one who says it means 'it is sealed/stamped with musk,' i.e., imprinted — this is worthless, for the drink itself must be fragrant in itself; sealing it with a fragrance does not benefit it, and the fragrance of its seal does not profit it if it is not fragrant in itself.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الختم والطبع يقال على وجهين: مصدر ختمت وطبعت، وهو تأثير الشيء كنقش الخاتم والطابع. والثاني: الأثر الحاصل عن النقش، ويتجوز بذلك تارة في الاستيثاق من الشيء، والمنع منه اعتبارا بما يحصل من المنع بالختم على الكتب والأبواب، نحو: ختم الله على قلوبهم [البقرة/ 7] ، وختم على سمعه وقلبه [الجاثية/ 23] ، وتارة في تحصيل أثر عن شيء اعتبارا بالنقش الحاصل، وتارة يعتبر منه بلوغ الآخر، ومنه قيل: ختمت القرآن، أي: انتهيت إلى آخره، فقوله: ختم الله على قلوبهم [البقرة/ 7] ، وقوله تعالى: قل أرأيتم إن أخذ الله سمعكم وأبصاركم وختم على قلوبكم [الأنعام/ 46] ، إشارة إلى ما أجرى الله به العادة أن الإنسان إذا تناهى في اعتقاد باطل، أو ارتكاب محظور- ولا يكون منه تلفت بوجه إلى الحق- يورثه ذلك هيئة تمرنه على استحسان المعاصي، وكأنما يختم بذلك على قلبه، وعلى ذلك: أولئك الذين طبع الله على قلوبهم وسمعهم وأبصارهم [النحل/ 108] ، وعلى هذا النحو استعارة الإغفال في قوله عز وجل: ولا تطع من أغفلنا قلبه عن ذكرنا [الكهف/ 28] ، واستعارة الكن في قوله تعالى: وجعلنا على قلوبهم أكنة أن يفقهوه [الأنعام/ 25] ، واستعارة القساوة في قوله تعالى: وجعلنا قلوبهم قاسية [المائدة/ 13] ، قال الجبائي «1» : يجعل الله ختما على قلوب الكفار، ليكون دلالة للملائكة على كفرهم فلا يدعون لهم «2» ، وليس ذلك بشيء فإن هذه الكتابة إن كانت محسوسة فمن حقها أن يدركها أصحاب التشريح، وإن كانت معقولة غير محسوسة فالملائكة باطلاعهم على اعتقاداتهم مستغنية عن الاستدلال. وقال بعضهم: ختمه شهادته تعالى عليه أنه لا يؤمن، وقوله تعالى: اليوم نختم على أفواههم [يس/ 65] ، أي: نمنعهم من الكلام، وخاتم النبيين [الأحزاب/ 40] ، لأنه ختم النبوة، أي: تممها بمجيئه. وقوله عز وجل: ختامه مسك [المطففين/ 26] ، قيل: ما يختم به، أي: يطبع، وإنما معناه: منقطعه وخاتمة شربه، أي: سؤره في الطيب مسك، وقول من قال يختم بالمسك «3» أي: يطبع، فليس بشيء، لأن الشراب يجب أن يطيب في نفسه، فأما ختمه بالطيب فليس مما يفيده، ولا ينفعه طيب خاتمه ما لم يطب في نفسه.

    al-Rāghib · 502 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 1, p. 274) ↗
  • Lisān · 711Khatamahu yakhtimuhu khatman wa khitāman (ختمه يختمه ختما وختاما) — the latter form is from al-Liḥyānī — meaning: he stamped/sealed it;

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

    Khatamahu yakhtimuhu khatman wa khitāman (ختمه يختمه ختما وختاما) — the latter form is from al-Liḥyānī — meaning: he stamped/sealed it; so it is makhtūm (مختوم) and mukhattam (مختم) [with doubling] for intensification, and al-khātim (الخاتم) is the active participle [one who seals]. Al-khatm ʿalā al-qalb (الختم على القلب), 'the sealing of the heart,' means that it understands nothing and nothing comes out of it, as though it were stamped shut. In the Noble Revelation: 'khatama Allāhu ʿalā qulūbihim' (ختم الله على قلوبهم) 'God has set a seal upon their hearts' — this is like His saying 'ṭabaʿa Allāhu ʿalā qulūbihim' (طبع الله على قلوبهم), meaning they do not comprehend or perceive anything. Abū Isḥāq said: the meaning of khatm (ختم) and ṭabʿ (طبع) in the language is one: covering a thing and securing it so that nothing may enter it, as He, Glorified and Exalted, said: 'Or are there locks upon [their] hearts?', and: 'Nay, rather what they used to earn has covered (rāna) their hearts,' meaning what they used to earn overpowered and covered their hearts. And His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'fa-in yashaʾ Allāhu yakhtim ʿalā qalbik' (فإن يشإ الله يختم على قلبك) — Qatāda said its meaning is: 'if God wills, He will erase what He has given you'; and al-Zajjāj said its meaning is: 'if God wills, He will steady your heart with patience against their harm and against their claim that [Muḥammad] has forged a lie against God.' Al-khātam (الخاتم) is what is placed upon the clay [to make an impression], a noun like al-ʿālam (العالم). Al-khitām (الختام) is the clay with which a letter is sealed; and the words of al-Aʿshā: 'and a reddish wine whose Jewish keeper circled round it... and brought it forth, and upon it was a seal (khatm)' — meaning upon it was sealed clay, like nafḍ (نفض) meaning manfūḍ (منفوض) and qabḍ (قبض) meaning maqbūḍ (مقبوض). Al-khatm (الختم) also means prevention. Al-khatm (الختم) also means preserving the contents of a document by the marking of the clay [seal]. In the ḥadīth: 'Āmīn is the seal (khātam) of the Lord of the Worlds upon His believing servants' — it is said this means His stamp and His mark that wards off afflictions and defects from them, because the seal on a letter protects it and prevents onlookers from [knowing] its contents; its tāʾ may be pronounced with fatḥa or kasra, both being valid dialectal forms. Al-khatm (الختم), al-khātam (الخاتم), al-khātim (الخاتم), al-khātām (الخاتام), and al-khaytām (الخيتام) [also denote] an item of jewelry, as though at first it was used for sealing and thus entered the category of a stamp, then its use for this [ornament] became widespread even though a ring may be made for purposes other than sealing. Ibn Barrī cited, regarding al-khaytām (الخيتام): 'O Hind, owner of the torn stocking, you took my ring (khaytāmī) without right' — also transmitted as khātāmī (خاتامي). He said: and another poet said: 'He threatens us with the ring (khaytām) of the commander.' He said: and the evidence for al-khātām (الخاتام) is what al-Farrāʾ cited from one of Banū ʿUqayl: 'If what he told me today is true, I will be deafened at midday, exposed to the sun, and I will ride a donkey between a saddle and a sheepskin, and I will be stripped of the smallest ring (khātām) on my left [hand]' — plural forms khawātim (خواتم) and khawātīm (خواتيم). Sībawayh said: those who said khawātīm (خواتيم) made it the broken plural of the pattern fāʿāl (فاعال), even though this pattern is not [otherwise] attested in their speech; this indicates that Sībawayh was unfamiliar with [the form] khātām (خاتام). One says takhattama bihi (تختم به) meaning 'he wore it [as a ring].' The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade wearing a ring of gold (al-takhattum bi-l-dhahab). In the ḥadīth: 'Wearing a ring of ruby (al-takhattum bi-l-yāqūt) wards off poverty' — meaning [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    ختمه يختمه ختما وختاما؛ الأخيرة عن اللحياني: طبعه، فهو مختوم ومختم، شدد للمبالغة، والخاتم الفاعل، والختم على القلب: أن لا يفهم شيئا ولا يخرج منه شيء كأنه طبع. وفي التنزيل العزيز: ختم الله على قلوبهم ؛ هو كقوله: طبع الله على قلوبهم*، فلا تعقل ولا تعي شيئا؛ قال أبو إسحاق: معنى ختم وطبع في اللغة واحد، وهو التغطية على الشيء والاستيثاق من أن لا يدخله شيء كما قال جل وعلا: أم على قلوب أقفالها؛ وفيه: كلا بل ران على قلوبهم؛ معناه غلب وغطى على قلوبهم ما كانوا يكسبون، وقوله عز وجل: فإن يشإ الله يختم على قلبك ؛ قال قتادة: المعنى إن يشإ الله ينسك ما آتاك، وقال الزجاج: معناه إن يشإ الله يربط على قلبك بالصبر على أذاهم وعلى قولهم افترى على الله كذبا. والخاتم: ما يوضع على الطينة، وهو اسم مثل العالم. والختام: الطين الذي يختم به على الكتاب؛ وقول الأعشى: وصهباء طاف يهوديها، ... وأبرزها وعليها ختم أي عليها طينة مختومة، مثل نفض بمعنى منفوض وقبض بمعنى مقبوض. والختم: المنع. والختم أيضا: حفظ ما في الكتاب بتعليم الطينة. وفي الحديث: آمين خاتم رب العالمين على عباده المؤمنين ؛ قيل: معناه طابعه، وعلامته التي تدفع عنهم الأعراض والعاهات، لأن خاتم الكتاب يصونه ويمنع الناظرين عما في باطنه، وتفتح تاؤه وتكسر، لغتان. والختم والخاتم والخاتم والخاتام والخيتام: من الحلي كأنه أول وهلة ختم به، فدخل بذلك في باب الطابع ثم كثر استعماله لذلك وإن أعد الخاتم لغير الطبع؛ وأنشد ابن بري في الخيتام: يا هند ذات الجورب المنشق، ... أخذت خيتامي بغير حق ويروى: خاتامي؛ قال: وقال آخر: أتوعدنا بخيتام الأمير قال: وشاهد الخاتام ما أنشده الفراء لبعض بني عقيل: لئن كان ما حدثته اليوم صادقا، ... أصم في نهار القيظ للشمس باديا وأركب حمارا بين سرج وفروة، ... وأعر من الخاتام صغرى شماليا والجمع خواتم وخواتيم. وقال سيبويه: الذين قالوا خواتيم إنما جعلوه تكسير فاعال، وإن لم يكن في كلامهم، وهذا دليل على أن سيبويه لم يعرف خاتاما، وقد تختم به: لبسه؛ ونهى النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، عن التختم بالذهب. وفي الحديث: التختم بالياقوت ينفي الفقر ؛ يريد أنه إذا ذهب ماله باع خاتمه فوجد فيه غنى؛ قال ابن الأثير: والأشبه، إن صح الحديث، أن يكون لخاصة فيه. وفي الحديث: أنه نهى عن لبس الخاتم إلا لذي سلطان أي إذا لبسه لغير حاجة وكان للزينة المحضة، فكره له ذلك ورخصها للسلطان لحاجته إليها في ختم الكتب. وفي الحديث: أنه جاءه رجل عليه خاتم شبه فقال: ما لي أجد منك ريح الأصنام؟ لأنها كانت تتخذ من الشبه، وقال في خاتم الحديد: ما لي أرى عليك حلية أهل النار؟ لأنه كان من زي الكفار الذين هم أصحاب النار. ويقال: فلان ختم عليك بابه أعرض عنك. وختم فلان لك بابه إذا آثرك على غيرك. وختم فلان القرآن إذا قرأه إلى آخره. ابن سيده. ختم الشيء يختمه ختما بلغ آخره، وختم الله له بخير. وخاتم كل شيء وخاتمته: عاقبته وآخره. واختتمت الشيء: نقيض افتتحته. وخاتمة السورة: آخرها؛ وقوله أنشده الزجاج: إن الخليفة، إن الله سربله ... سربال ملك، به ترجى الخواتيم إنما جمع خاتما على خواتيم اضطرارا. وختام كل مشروب: آخره. وفي التنزيل العزيز: ختامه مسك ، أي آخره لأن آخر ما يجدونه رائحة المسك، وقال علقمة: أي خلطه مسك، ألم تر إلى المرأة تقول للطيب خلطه مسك خلطه كذا؟ وقال مجاهد: معناه مزاجه مسك، قال: وهو قريب من قول علقمة؛ وقال ابن مسعود: عاقبته طعم المسك، وقال الفراء: قرأ علي، عليه السلام، خاتمه مسك؛ وقال: أما رأيت المرأة تقول للعطار اجعل لي خاتمه مسكا، تريد آخره؟ قال الفراء: والخاتم والختام متقاربان في المعنى، إلا أن الخاتم الاسم، والختام المصدر؛ قال الفرزدق: فبتن جنابتي مصرعات، ... وبت أفض أغلاق الختام وقال: ومثل الخاتم والختام قولك للرجل: هو كريم الطابع والطباع، قال: وتفسيره أن أحدهم إذا شرب وجد آخر كأسه ريح المسك. وختام الوادي: أقصاه. وختام القوم وخاتمهم وخاتمهم: آخرهم؛ عن اللحياني؛ ومحمد، صلى الله عليه وسلم، خاتم الأنبياء، عليه وعليهم الصلاة والسلام. التهذيب: والخاتم والخاتم من أسماء النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم. وفي التنزيل العزيز: ما كان محمد أبا أحد من رجالكم ولكن رسول الله وخاتم النبيين ؛ أي آخرهم، قال: وقد قرئ وخاتم ؛ وقول العجاج: مبارك للأنبياء خاتم إنما حمله على القراءة المشهورة فكسر، ومن أسمائه العاقب أيضا ومعناه آخر الأنبياء. وأعطاني ختمي أي حسبي، قال دريد بن الصمة: وإني دعوت الله، لما كفرتني، ... دعاء فأعطاني على ماقط ختمي وهو من ذلك لأن حسب الرجل آخر طلبه. وختم زرعه يختمه ختما وختم عليه: سقاه أول سقية، وهو الختم، والختام اسم له لأنه إذا سقي ختم بالرجاء، وقد ختموا على زروعهم أي سقوها وهي كراب بعد؛ قال الطائفي: الختام أن تثار الأرض بالبذر حتى يصير البذر تحتها ث …

    Lisān · 711 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 12, p. 163) ↗
  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

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

    خَتَمَهُ

    1. خَتَمَهُ, (S, Mgh, Msb, K,) aor. خَتِمَ , (Msb, K,) inf. n. خَتْمٌ (S, Mgh, Msb, K) and خِتَامٌ, (Lh, K, TA,) with kesr, (TA,) [in the CK, erroneously, خَتَام,] i. q. طَبَعَهُ [He sealed, stamped, imprinted, or impressed, it]: (Msb, K:) or he put the خَاتَم [or signet] upon it: (Mgh:) namely, a thing, (S, Mgh,) or a writing or book and the like: and خَتَمَ عَلَيْهِ signifies the same [or he put a seal, or the impression of a signet, upon it]. (Msb.) Accord. to Er-Rághib, خَتْمٌ and طَبْعٌ signify The impressing a thing with the engraving of the signet and stamp: and the former [as is indicated, but not plainly expressed, as distinguished from the latter,] is tropically used, sometimes, as meaning the securing oneself from a thing, and protecting [oneself] from it; in consideration of protection by means of sealing upon writings and doors: and sometimes as meaning the producing an impression, or effect, upon a thing from another thing; in consideration of the impress produced [by the signet]: and sometimes it is used as relating to (assumed tropical:) the reaching the end [of a thing]: (TA:) or the primary signification of خَتْمٌ is the act of covering over [a thing]: (Az, TA:) accord. to Zj, the proper meaning of خَتْمٌ and طَبْعٌ is the covering over a thing, and securing oneself from a thing's entering it: some say that the former signifies the concealing a notification of a thing, [as] by putting one's fingers over it, by way of guarding oneself thereby. (TA.) Hence, خَتْمُ الشَّهَادَةِ [The sealing of the testimony]; which is thus described by El-Hulwánee: the witness, when he wrote his name upon a صَكّ [q. v.], caused his written name to be beneath a piece of lead, [i. e. covered it with a piece of lead,] and put upon it the impress of his signet, in order that there might be no falsification of it or substitution for it. (Mgh.) As to خَتْمُ الأَعْنَاقِ [The sealing of the necks], the case is related, in the “Risáleh Yoosufeeyeh,” to have been this: 'Omar sent Ibn-Honeyf to seal the عُلُوج [or unbelievers] of the Sawád; and he sealed five hundred thousand of them, in classes; that is, he marked them twelve dirhems, and twenty-four, and forty-eight; tying a thong upon the neck of each, and putting upon the knot a seal of lead. (Mgh.) خَتْمٌ also signifies The protecting what is in a writing by marking [or stamping] a piece of clay [upon it, or by means of a seal of any kind]. (TA.) And you say, of a man, خَتَمَ عَلَيْكَ بَابَهُ [He sealed his door against thee]; meaning (tropical:) he turned away from thee, avoided thee, or shunned thee. (TA.) And خَتَمَ لَكَ بَابَهُ [He sealed for thee his door]; meaning (tropical:) he preferred thee to others. (TA.) خَتَمَ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ [which may be rendered He sealed his heart] means (tropical:) he made him to be such that he understood not, and such that nothing proceeded from him; or he made his heart, or mind, to be such that it understood not, &c. (K, TA.) خَتَمَ ٱللّٰهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ, in the Kur [ii. 6], is like the phrase in the same [xvi. 110 and xlvii. 18] طَبَعَ ٱللّٰهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ: (TA:) it points to what God has made to be usually the case when a man has ended in believing what is false and in committing that which is forbidden, so that he turns not his face to the truth; this occasioning, as its result, his becoming inured to the approval of acts of disobedience, so that he is as though this habit were impressed upon his heart: the assertion of ElJubbáee, that it means God hath put a seal upon their hearts, as a sign, to the angels, of their infidelity, is nought: (Er-Rághib, TA:) الخَتْمُ is explained by IAar as meaning the preventing of the heart from believing. (L in art. خدع.) [See also طَبَعَ.] خَتَمَ الشَّىْءَ, inf. n. خَتْمٌ, also signifies [as indicated above] (assumed tropical:) He reached the end of the thing. (K.) And الشَّىْءَ اِخْتَتَمْتُ (assumed tropical:) [I ended, or finished, the thing,] contr. of اِفْتَتَحْتُهُ. (S, TA.) You say, خَتَمَ القُرْآنَ (assumed tropical:) He reached the end of the Kur-án [in reciting it]; (S, Er-Rághib;) [he recited the whole of the Kur-án;] he completed [the recital of] the Kur- án: (Mgh:) [and] he retained in his memory the last portion of the Kur-án; meaning he retained the whole of it in his memory. (Msb.) It is said of Suleymán El-Aamash, كَانَ يَقْرَأُ خَتْمًا, meaning (assumed tropical:) He used to recite the whole of the Kur-án; at one time, according to the reading of Ibn-Mes'ood; at another time, from the edition of 'Othmán. (Mgh.) You say also, خَتَمَ ٱللّٰهُ لَهُ بِخَيْرٍ (assumed tropical:) [May God make his end to be good]. (S.) خَتَمَ البَذْرَ (assumed tropical:) He covered over the sown seed: (Az, TA:) or خَتَمُوا عَلَى البَذْرِ (assumed tropical:) they turned up the earth over the sown seed, and then watered it: (Et-Táïfee, TA:) or خَتَمَ الزَّرْعَ, (JK, K, TA,) aor. خَتِمَ , inf. n. خَتْمٌ, (TA,) (tropical:) he watered the seed-produce, or sown field, the first time; (JK, K, TA;) because, when it is watered, it is finished (خُتِمَ) with the رحا [app. رَحَا, which here seems to mean the “roller,” as being likened to a mill-stone, though I find no authority for this meaning]; (TA;) as also خَتَمَ عَلَيْهِ: (K:) or خَتَمُوا عَلَى زُرُوعِهِمْ means (assumed tropical:) they watered their sown fields while these were as yet كِرَاب [app. meaning clear of vegetation]. (JK, TA.) خَتَمَ النَّحْلُ (tropical:) The bees filled with honey the place in which they deposited it: (JK, A, TA:) or خَتْمٌ signifies bees' collecting some thin wax, thinner than the wax of the comb, and smearing with it the orifices of their خَلَايَا [or hives]. (M, K, TA.)

    ختّمهُ

    2. ختّمهُ, inf. n. تَخْتِيمٌ, He sealed it, stamped it, &c., much. (TA.) [In modern Arabic, He put a خَاتَم, or signet-ring, upon his (another's) finger.]

    تختّم

    5. تختّم, or تختّم خَاتَمًا, (accord. to different copies of the S,) or تختّم بِخَاتَمٍ, (K, [agreeably with a trad. cited in the TA,]) He put on [i. e. put on his own finger] a خاتم [or signet-ring]. (S, K.) And تختّم (tropical:) He put on a turban: (K, TA:) or تختّم بِعِمَامَتِهِ he put on his turban in the manner of a نِقَاب [q. v.]; syn. تَنَقَّبَ بِهَا. (Z, TA.) The subst. [signifying the act or mode, of doing so] is تَخْتِمَةٌ [q. v. infrà]. (K.) تختّم بِأَمْرِهِ (assumed tropical:) He concealed his affair, or case. (Z, K.) تختّم عَنْهُ (tropical:) He feigned himself heedless of him, and was silent [to him]. (K, TA.)

    إِخْتَتَمَ

    8: see 1, in the latter half of the paragraph.

    خَتْمٌ

    خَتْمٌ inf. n. of 1 [q. v.]. (S, Mgh, Msb, K.) Also The impress produced by the engraving of a signet. (Er-Rághib, TA.) See also خَاتَمٌ. أَعْطَانِى خَتْمِى means (tropical:) He gave me my sufficiency, or what sufficed me: because what suffices a man is the last [or utmost] of his desire, or demand. (TA.) Also (tropical:) Honey. (K, TA.) And (tropical:) The orifices of the خَلَايَا [or hives] of bees. (K, TA.)

    خَتَمٌ

    خَتَمٌ: see خَاتَمٌ. Also A sealed piece of clay [or wax]: like نَفَضٌ in the sense of مَنْفُوضٌ, and قَبَضٌ in the sense of مَقْبُوضٌ: so in the saying of El-Aashà, [And a jar of reddish-coloured wine, the Jew -vender whereof came, and brought it out, with a sealed piece of clay upon it]. (S.) [See also خِتَامٌ.]

    خَتْمَةٌ

    خَتْمَةٌ [an inf. n. of un. of 1, (assumed tropical:) A recitation of the whole of the Kur-án: used in this sense in the present day: pl. خَتَمَاتٌ. And also] vulgarly used as meaning (assumed tropical:) A copy of the Kur-án: and so خِتْمَةٌ. (TA.)

    خِتْمَةٌ

    خِتْمَةٌ: see what next precedes.

    خَتَامٌ

    خَتَامٌ: see the last sentence of the next paragraph.

    خِتَامٌ

    خِتَامٌ an inf. n. of 1 [q. v.]. (Lh, K.) And a subst. signifying The first watering of seedproduce, or of a sown field: (JK, TA:) or the turning up the earth over sown seed, and then watering it. (Et-Táïfee, TA.) See also خَاتِمٌ. Also The clay, (JK, S, K,) and the wax, (TA,) with which one seals, or stamps, (JK, S, K,) upon a writing, (JK,) or upon a thing: (K:) or which is sealed, or stamped, upon a writing. (Msb.) [See also خَتَمٌ. And see an ex. in a verse of Lebeed cited in art. دكن.] (tropical:) [The hymen; as being the seal of virginity; as also خَاتَمٌ.] You say, زُفَّتْ إِلَيْكَ بِخِتَامِهَا (tropical:) [She was conducted as a bride to thee with her seal of virginity], and رَبِّهَا بِخَاتَمِ [with the seal of her Lord]. (TA.) And [hence, app.,] سِيقَتْ هَدِيَّتُهُمْ إِلَيْهِ بِخِتَامِهَا (tropical:) [if it mean, as I suppose it to do, Their present was sent to him with what rendered it perfect or complete, or with what appertained to it]. (TA.) (assumed tropical:) The furthest part of a valley. (JK, TA.) (assumed tropical:) The last of a company of men; (Lh, TA;) as also خَاتَمٌ and خَاتِمٌ: (K:) whence النَّبِيِّينَ خَاتَمُ (assumed tropical:) [The last of the prophets], in the Kur [xxxiii. 40]; accord. to one reading, خَاتُم, with damm to the ت; (TA;) or خاتمُ الأَنْبِيَآءِ, i. e. Mohammad; (S;) also called الخَاتَمُ and الخَاتِمُ. (TA.) And (assumed tropical:) The last portion of anything that is drunk [&c.]. (TA.) خِتَامُهُ مِسْكٌ, in the Kur [lxxxiii. 26], means (assumed tropical:) The last that they will perceive thereof will be the odour of musk: (S, TA:) or, accord. to 'Alkameh and Mujáhid, its admixture shall be musk: accord. to Ibn-Mes'ood, its result shall be the taste of musk: Fr says, خَاتَمٌ and خَاتِمٌ and خِتَامٌ are nearly the same in meaning; whence the reading of 'Alee, مِسْكٌ خَاتَمُهُ: and the explanation is this; that when any one shall drink thereof, he will find the last cup thereof to have the odour of musk: Er-Rághib says that the meaning is, the end, and the last draught, i. e. what shall remain, thereof shall be in perfume [like] musk: and that the assertion that it means it shall be sealed with musk is nought. (TA.) [See also خَاتَمٌ and خَاتِمَةٌ.] Also, (IAar, K,) and خَاتِمٌ, (K,) or, accord. to IAar, خَتَامٌ, (TA,) sings. of خُتُمٌ, which signifies (assumed tropical:) The places of separation (فُصُوص [q. v.]) of the joints (مَفَاصِل) of horses. (IAar, K.) خَاتَمٌ (JK, S, Msb, K) and خَأْتَمٌ (TA) and خَاتِمٌ, (S, Msb, K,) which is more commonly known than خَاتَمٌ, (Msb, [but see what follows,]) and خَاتَامٌ and خِيتَامٌ (JK, S, K, the last in the CK and TA خَيْتَام) and خِتَامٌ (K and TA but omitted in the CK) and خَتَمٌ (ISd, IHsh, K) and خَتْمٌ (Ez-Zeyn El-'Irákee, TA) and خَيْتَمْ (Ibn-Málik, TA) and خَيْتُومٌ (EzZeyn El-'Irákee, TA) and خَاتِيَامٌ (K) signify the same; (JK, S, Msb, K, TA;) [A signet; generally a signet-ring; i. e.] a certain ornament (حَلْىٌ, M, K) for the finger, (K,) app., at the first, used for sealing, or stamping, therewith; so that the word is of the same class as طَابَعٌ: afterwards, in consequence of frequency of usage, applied to one not used for that purpose: (ISd, TA:) or a ring having a فَصّ of a substance different therefrom [set in it; i. e., having a stone, or gem, set in it]: if without a فَصّ, it is called فَتَخَةٌ: (Msb:) or خَاتِمٌ signifies the agent [i. e. the person sealing, or stamping]: (JK, Az, Msb:) خَاتَمٌ, the thing that is put upon the piece of clay [or wax, for the purpose of sealing, or stamping]: (Az, Msb, K:) the pl. [of خَاتَمٌ and خَاتِمٌ] is خَوَاتِمٌ (K) and [properly of خَاتَامٌ] خَوَاتِيمُ: (S, in which the former pl., though more common, is not mentioned, and K:) Sb says that those who use the latter pl. make it to be pl. of a sing. of the measure فَاعَالٌ, though it be not in their language; which shows that he knew not خَاتَامٌ: the pl. of خَتْمٌ is خُتُومٌ. (TA.) خَاتَمٌ also signifies A seal, or stamp, and a mark: so in a trad., in which it is said, آمِينَ خَاتَمُ رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ المُؤْمِنِينَ, i. e. [آمِينَ (or Amen) is] the seal, or stamp, and the mark, [of the Lord of the beings of the whole world upon his servants the believers,] which removes from them accidents, and causes of mischief; for the seal of the writing protects it, and precludes those who look from [seeing] what is within it. (TA.) See also خِتَامٌ, in seven places. [It is nearly syn. with خِتَامٌ, as Fr says: and thus,] it signifies also, (JK, K,) and so does خَاتِمَةٌ, (S, K,) (assumed tropical:) The end, or last part or portion, (JK, S, K,) and result, or issue, (K,) of a thing (JK, S, K) of any kind: (JK, K:) ↓the latter [particularly] signifies (assumed tropical:) the last part or portion (JK, Msb) of a chapter of the Kur-án, (JK,) and of the Kur-án itself: (Msb:) [and (assumed tropical:) a concluding chapter or section: an epilogue: and an appendix:] and مُخْتَتَمٌ signifies [in like manner] the contr. of مُفْتَتَحٌ; as in the saying, التَّحْمِيدُ مُفْتَتَحُ ٱلْقُرْآنِ وَ ٱلِاسْتِعَاذَةُ مُخْتَتَمُهُ (assumed tropical:) [The declaration of the praises of God is the opening portion of the Kur-án, and the prayer for the protection of God is its closing portion]; (A, TA;) and it is a chaste word, of frequent occurrence, though the contr. has been asserted. (TA.) One says also, الأَعْمَالُ بِخَوَاتِيمِهَا [Actions are characterized, or to be judged, as good or evil, by their results]. (TA.) Also, i. e. خَاتَمٌ, of a mare, (tropical:) The lower ring (الحَلْقَةُ الدُّنْيَا [app. meaning the extremity, in which is the orifice, see حَلْقَتَا الرَّحِمِ and حَلْقَةُ الدُّبُرِ, in art. حلق,]) of the طُبْيَة [evidently here used as a dial. var. of طُبْى, i. e. the teat, though I do not find it mentioned in its proper art. in any lexicon; unless مِنْ طُبْيَتِهَا be a mistranscription for من طُبْيِهَا]: (K, TA:) so called by way of comparison [to a signet or seal]. (TA.) And (tropical:) The hollow (نُقْرَة) of the back of the neck; (JK, K, TA;) which is the cuppingplace. (TA.) And (assumed tropical:) The least وَضَح [or whiteness] of the legs (JK, K, TA) of horses; (JK, TA;) i. e. a slight whiteness in the parts next the hoof, less than what is termed تَخْدِيمٌ. (TA.)

    خَاتُمٌ

    خَاتُمٌ: see خِتَامٌ.

    خَاتِمٌ

    خَاتِمٌ: see خَاتَمٌ, in two places: and see also خِتَامٌ, in five places.

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

  • الختم

    علامة الحق على القلوب من العارفين.

    Al-khatm (الختم): the sign of the Truth (al-ḥaqq) upon the hearts, [placed there] by the gnostics (al-ʿārifīn).

    Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥ al-Ṣūfiyya, line 328 ↗

  • الخاتمة

    جملة هذه الالفاظ مائة وثمان وتسعونألفه المؤلف رضى الله عنه بمدينة ملطية فى عشر صفر سنة خمس عشرة وستمائة وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليما كثيرا،

    Al-khātima (الخاتمة, 'the conclusion'): The total number of these terms/expressions is one hundred and ninety-eight. The author — may God be pleased with him — composed it in the city of Malaṭya during the first ten days of Ṣafar in the year six hundred and fifteen. And may God send abundant blessings and peace upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and companions.

    Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥ al-Ṣūfiyya, line 404 ↗

Look this root up elsewhere:Doha Historical Dictionary ↗Quranic Arabic Corpus ↗Arabic Almanac ↗Hawramani Arabic Lexicon ↗

The same letters, turned

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

خ ت م

الخاء والتاء والميم أصل واحد وهو بلوغ آخر الشيء

kh-t-m: one root, which is reaching the end of a thing.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗al-Khalīl: used ↗Quran ×8

an entry in Ibn Fārislater sources onlyin none of them

Do these six share one core meaning?

Reference

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letters & sound

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

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

16 more

Reference

How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

خ

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 ↗

ت

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

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

ومما بين طرف اللسان وأصول الثنايا، مخرج الطاء والدال والتاء

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

م

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

خ

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

ت

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

Nature (ch. 2)

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

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

م

Level of existence: الإنسان · the human being

Divine Name: الجامع · al-Jāmiʿ, the Gatherer

Lunar mansion: المؤخر · al-Muʾakhkhar

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62119

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

Nature (ch. 2)

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582
Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

خ

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي طول إلى النهاية مع رقة.

It is length to the utmost, together with fineness/thinness.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي اسم لكمال في الحيوانات.

It is a name for a perfection in animals.

With kasra ـِ

فهي اسم لكمال في الجمادات.

It is a name for a perfection in inanimate things.

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

ت

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي اسم للخير الكثير العظيم.

It is a name for abundant, great good.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي اسم للقليل البارز.

It is a name for the small, protruding/manifest thing.

With kasra ـِ

فهي اسم لما صنع وأبرز.

It is a name for what has been made and brought forth.

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

م

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي جميع المكونات.

It is all created beings.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي العزيز القليل كماء العين، ومنه قيل مومو.

It is the precious, scarce thing, like the water of the eye; from it comes the expression 'mūmū'.

With kasra ـِ

فهي نور الذات ظاهرا كما في العين، وباطنا كما في القلب.

It is the light of the self, outwardly as in the eye and inwardly as in the heart.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
Two-letter nucleus3 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterخ ت

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 9470 ↗

  • خترالخاء والتاء والراء أصل يدل على توان وفتورQ 1 · L9471
  • ختعالخاء والتاء والعين أصل واحد يدل على الهجوم والدخول فيما يغيب الداخل فيه فيقولون ختع الرجل ختوعا إذا ركب الظلمة ومن الباب الخيتعة قطعة من أدم يلفها الL9474
  • ختمالخاء والتاء والميم أصل واحد وهو بلوغ آخر الشيءQ 8 · L9483
In the sister scriptsHebrew ח ת מSyriac ܚ ܬ ܡ
Arabicخ ت م
Hebrewח ת מ
Syriacܚ ܬ ܡ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩭 𐩩 𐩣
Phoenician𐤇 𐤕 𐤌

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

Lenses

  • Classical lexiconAl-Khalīl glosses khatama as ṭabaʿa 'stamped'.well attested

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

    Al-Khalīl glosses khatama as ṭabaʿa 'stamped'. He defines the khātam as what is pressed on the clay and khitām as the sealing clay, and he extends the root to endings: the khitām of a valley is its farthest part, the khātima of a sūra is its end, and khatm of crops is their first watering. Al-Jawharī adds the intensive mukhattam, 'God sealed for him with good', khatamtu al-Qurʾān 'I reached its end', ikhtatama as the opposite of iftataḥa, the ring-forms khātim, khātam, khaytām and khātām, and Muḥammad as khātam al-anbiyāʾ; he reads 'its khitām is musk' as 'its end'. Ibn Fāris makes 'reaching the end' the single aṣl and derives stamping from it. Al-Rāghib separates the act of impressing from the impress left behind and lists three extensions: securing and barring (Q 2:7, 45:23), producing a trace, and reaching the end. Ibn Manẓūr, following al-Zajjāj, equates khatm and ṭabʿ as covering a thing and making sure nothing enters, so that a sealed heart neither understands nor lets anything out; Lane gives 'sealed, stamped, imprinted' and cites al-Rāghib.

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

  • Letters & soundNo Akbarian letter entries are supplied for khāʾ, tāʾ or mīm.speculative

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

    No Akbarian letter entries are supplied for khāʾ, tāʾ or mīm. Al-Dabbāgh reads khāʾ as length carried to its limit together with fineness, tāʾ as abundant great good, and mīm as all created beings. A reader might hear in 'length to its utmost' a match for Ibn Fāris's 'reaching the end', and in mīm 'all creatures' an echo of the seal set over the world's treasuries in Faṣṣ Ādam. These are associations the sources do not draw themselves, and mainstream linguistics treats sound symbolism of this kind as suggestive at most.

    Draws on: al-Dabbāgh (al-Ibrīz) · no Akbarian letter data supplied

  • Root structureIbn Fāris's kh-t chapter has only two other roots: kh-t-r, 'slackness and languor', and kh-t-ʿ, 'plunging into what hides the one who enters' (e.g.uncertain

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

    Ibn Fāris's kh-t chapter has only two other roots: kh-t-r, 'slackness and languor', and kh-t-ʿ, 'plunging into what hides the one who enters' (e.g. riding into darkness). Among the permutations, t-kh-m gives tukhūm, the boundary-marks of land, which Ibn Fāris calls a single non-branching word. Kh-m-t and m-t-kh are attested but not glossed in the data, and t-m-kh and m-kh-t are not attested. Set side by side, khatm 'end, seal' and tukhūm 'limits' both concern a terminus, an alignment that could be read in the manner of Ibn Jinnī's greater derivation. Ibn Jinnī is not cited as drawing it, so this remains juxtaposition only.

    Draws on: Maqāyīs chapter siblings · permutations

    • Ibn Jinnī, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, bāb al-ishtiqāq al-akbar (link not verified)
  • Semitic kin & loanwordsThe root is well attested across West Semitic.plausible

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

    The root is well attested across West Semitic. Hebrew has ḥātam 'to seal' and ḥōtām 'seal, signet', Aramaic and Syriac have ḥtm 'to seal', and Geʿez has ḫatama 'to seal'. Many scholars take the noun 'seal' to go back to Egyptian ḫtm, borrowed into Northwest Semitic. For Arabic, the fāʿal pattern of khātam has been read as a sign of borrowing the noun from Aramaic, with the verb then used natively. That point is argued rather than settled, and Jeffery discusses it.

    Draws on: Hebrew ḥātam/ḥōtām · Aramaic/Syriac ḥtm · Geʿez ḫatama · Egyptian ḫtm

    • Wiktionary, חותם (link not verified)
    • Leslau, Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez, s.v. ḫatama
    • Jeffery, Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (1938), s.v. khatama
  • Quranic exegesisOn Q 2:7, 'God has sealed their hearts', al-Ṭabarī relates the seal to sins accumulating on the heart until it is closed, citing the ḥadīth on rān (Q 83:14).plausible

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    On Q 2:7, 'God has sealed their hearts', al-Ṭabarī relates the seal to sins accumulating on the heart until it is closed, citing the ḥadīth on rān (Q 83:14). Al-Zamakhsharī, on Muʿtazilī grounds, treats the sealing as figurative, a description of hearts that behave as if sealed, attributed to God by extension. Al-Rāzī sets out the dispute over whether the verse implies divine compulsion at length. On Q 33:40 the exegetes take khātam al-nabiyyīn, in both the khātam and khātim readings, to mean that prophethood was closed with Muḥammad. On Q 83:25-26 they explain raḥīq makhtūm as a sealed wine and report both 'its end is musk' and 'its mixture is musk' for khitāmuhu misk.

    Draws on: Q 2:7 · Q 6:46 · Q 33:40 · Q 83:25-26 · al-Ṭabarī · al-Zamakhsharī · al-Rāzī

  • Akbarian readingFaṣṣ Ādam places the Perfect Man in the world as the bezel (faṣṣ) sits in the signet ring (khātam).well attested

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    Faṣṣ Ādam places the Perfect Man in the world as the bezel (faṣṣ) sits in the signet ring (khātam). He is the place of the engraving and the mark with which the King seals His treasuries. For this reason God calls him khalīfa, since God guards His creation through him as the seal guards storehouses, and no one dares open them while the King's seal is on them. The title Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam draws on the same image. In the Iṣṭilāḥāt, al-khatm is defined as the mark of the Real on the hearts of the gnostics; the entry al-khātima is the treatise's colophon, not a definition. The root also carries his doctrine of the seal of prophecy and the seal of sainthood (khatm al-walāya).

    Draws on: Faṣṣ Ādam contexts · Iṣṭilāḥ definition · khatm al-walāya

    • Ibn ʿArabī, Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Faṣṣ Ādam
    • Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥāt al-ṣūfiyya, s.v. al-khatm
    • Chodkiewicz, The Seal of the Saints (1993)

Reference

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