Mashrabaمشربة

سررa single root gathering two branches — concealment of a thing, and what is pure/choice … (root srr)

السين والراء يجمع فروعه إخفاء الشيء وما كان من خالصه ومستقره لا يخرج شيء منه عن هذا فالسر خلاف الإعلان

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

سرر
Patterns computed · our data

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

25 words7 verbs5 verbal nouns1 participle2 intensives and elatives10 other nouns

  • أَسَرَّhe concealed it
  • سُرُر—
  • سَرِيرَةconscience
  • سُرُورhappiness, or joy, or gladness
  • مَسْرُورhappy, or joyful, or glad
The whole family5 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs7سَرَّ · أَسَرَّ · سَرَّرَ

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

Verbal nouns5سُرُور · إِسْرَار · سَرَر

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

  • سُرُورhappiness, or joy, or gladnessLaneForm I · Lane: inf. n.Qurʾān ×1library ×6LaneIbn Fāris
  • إِسْرَارForm IV · Lane: inf. n.Qurʾān ×2LaneIbn Fāris
  • سَرَرsecret discourse, or a secret communication, between two persons or partiesLaneForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • سِرَارForm III · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • تَسْرِيرForm II · Lane: inf. n.Lane
Participles1مَسْرُور

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

  • مَسْرُورhappy, or joyful, or gladLanepassive, Form IQurʾān ×2Lane
Intensives, qualities and the elative2سَرُور · سَرِير

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

Other nouns10سُرُر · سَرِيرَة · أَسارِير

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

Why this shape?What each of the 13 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.

مَفْعَلَةس ر رمَسْرَرَة

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • و نحو المظنة و المقبرة فتحا و ضما ليس بقياس

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

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

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

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

About thisWhat “attested” means here; the sources

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

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170As-sirr (السر): what you keep secret.

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

    As-sirr (السر): what you keep secret. As-sarīrah (السريرة): a secret deed, whether good or bad; one says, 'his sarīrah is better than his outward conduct.' Asrartu ash-shay' (أسررت الشيء) [can mean] I made it manifest, and asrartuhu (أسررته) [can mean] I concealed it. The poet said: 'When al-Ḥajjāj saw him draw his sword, the Ḥarūrī revealed (asarra) what he had concealed.' Among instances of [asrara meaning] 'to reveal' is also His saying, mighty and exalted: 'wa asarrū an-nadāmata lammā ra'aw al-ʿadhāb' (وأسروا الندامة لما رأوا العذاب) — 'and they revealed regret when they saw the punishment.' As-sirār (السرار) is the day on which the new moon is hidden, the last day of the month or the day before it; it may sometimes be hidden two nights if the month is complete. Al-asirrah (الأسرة): pathways within the womb; it is said in a proverb: 'A calamity that makes the pathways (asirrah) of the wombs bleed.' [A poet] said: 'They killed eight over the suspicion regarding one — that is what made the pathways of her womb bleed.' As-sirr and as-sirār (السر والسرار): a low tract of land in which fine wild herbs grow, found in the depths of valleys and the edges of flat plains; [a poet] said: 'to the sirār of the earth or its lowest part...' As-sirr and as-sirār (السر والسرار), plural al-asrār (الأسرار): the lines of the palm of the hand; asārīr (أسارير) is the plural of the plural. [A poet] said: 'with a thrust that the palm and its lines (sirar) did not betray.'

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السر: ما أسررت. والسريرة: عمل السر من خير أو شر، ويقال: سريرته خير من علانيته. وأسررت الشيء: أظهرته، وأسررته: كتمته، قال الشاعر: فلما رأى الحجاج جرد سيفه ... أسر الحروري الذي كان أضمرا «15» ومن الاظهار أيضا قوله- عز وجل-: وأسروا الندامة لما رأوا العذاب «16» *. والسرار: يوم يستسر فيه الهلال آخر يوم من الشهر أو قبله، وربما استسر ليلتين اذا تم الشهر. والأسرة: طرائق في الرحم، ويقال في المثل: داهية تفطر أسرة الأرحام الدم «17» ، قال «18» : قتلوا ثمانية بظنة واحد ... تلك المفطر من أسرتها الدم والسر والسرار بطن من الأرض تنبت فيه أحرار البقول، ويكون في بحر الأودية وأسلاق القيعان، قال: إلى سرار الأرض أو قعوده «19» والسر والسرار، والجميع الأسرار: خطوط راحة الكف، وأسارير جمع الجمع، قال: بطعنة لم تخنها الكف والسرر «20»

  • al-Jawharī · 393As-sirr (السر): that which is kept concealed;

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

    As-sirr (السر): that which is kept concealed; plural al-asrār (الأسرار). As-sarīrah (السريرة) is likewise, plural as-sarā'ir (السرائر). In the proverb: 'Mā yawm Ḥalīmata bi-sirr' (ما يوم حليمة بسر), 'The day of Ḥalīma is no secret' — said of any matter that is well known and public. She was Ḥalīma bint al-Ḥārith b. Abī Shamir al-Ghassānī: when her father sent an army against al-Mundhir b. Mā' as-Samā', she brought out perfume in a basin and perfumed them with it, so the day was named after her. As-sirr (السر): coitus. Ru'bah said: 'He abstained from her sirr (union) after nightfall...' As-sirr (السر): the male member. Al-Afwah al-Awdī said: 'When she saw my sirr change and turn away, short of [fulfilling] her desire, when it turned away...' Sirr an-nasab (سر النسب): its pure essence and best part; its verbal-noun form is as-sarārah (السرارة), with fatḥa. One says: huwa fī sirri qawmihi (هو في سر قومه), 'he is among the best/central part of his people.' Sirr al-wādī (سر الوادي): the best spot in it; plural asirrah (أسرة), like qinn/aqinnah. Ṭarafa said: 'She spent the summer at al-Qafayn in Shawwāl, grazing the gardens of the choicest spots (mawlā al-asirrah), a graceful gazelle...' Likewise sarārat al-wādī (سرارة الوادي), plural sirār (سرار). The poet said: 'If I take pride in the glory of Banū Sulaym, I shall be counted among its border-lands and its choicest part (as-sirār)...' As-sirr (السر), with ḍamma: what the midwife cuts from a child's navel. One says: 'I knew that before your sirr (سرك) was cut,' and one should not say 'sirratuka' (سرتك), since the surrah (navel) itself is not what is cut, but rather the place from which the sirr was cut. As-sarar and as-sirr (السرر والسرر), with fatḥa or kasra on the sīn, are dialectal variants of as-sirr. One says: quṭiʿa sarar aṣ-ṣabī (قطع سرر الصبي) and sirruhu (سرره); its plural is asirrah (أسرة), according to Yaʿqūb. The plural of as-surrah (السرة) is surar and surāt (سرر وسرات); the middle letter is left unvoweled because it was originally doubled/assimilated. One says sararta aṣ-ṣabiyya asurruhu sarran (سررت الصبي أسره سرا) when you cut his sirr. As for the saying of Abū Dhu'ayb: 'By the sign at which the mount and I stopped, between al-Ḥujūn and as-Sirar...' he means by it the place where the prophets had their umbilical cords cut, four miles from Mecca. In some accounts it is [said to be] at al-Ma'zimayn of Minā, where there was a great tree; Ibn ʿUmar, God be pleased with him, said: 'Seventy prophets had their sirr cut beneath it,' meaning their umbilical cords were cut there. As-surrah (السرة): the middle of a valley. As-sarīyah (السرية): the female slave whom you have housed in a dwelling; it is a faʿīlah-form word derived from as-sirr, meaning either coitus or concealment, because a man often keeps her secret and conceals her from his free wife. Its sīn takes ḍamma because word-patterns sometimes change specifically in the nisbah (relational) form, just as they said, in relation to ad-dahr (الدهر), 'dahrī' (دهري), and to al-arḍ as-sahlah (الأرض السهلة), 'sahlī' (سهلي). Its plural is as-sarārī (السراري). Al-Akhfash used to say... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السر: الذي يكتم، والجمع الأسرار. والسريرة مثله، والجمع السرائر. وفى المثل. " ما يوم حليمة بسر "، يضرب لكل أمر متعالم مشهور، وهى حليمة بنت الحارث ابن أبي شمر الغساني، لان أباها لما وجه جيشا إلى المنذر بن ماء السماء أخرجت لهم طيبا في مركن فطيبتهم به، فنسب اليوم إليها. والسر: الجماع. قال رؤبة: فعف عن أسرارها بعد الغسق (1) * والسر: الذكر. قال الافوة الاودى: لما رأت سرى تغير وأنثنى * من دون نهمة بشرها (2) حين انثنى - وسر النسب: محضه وأفضله. ومصدره: السرارة بالفتح. يقال: هو في سر قومه، أي في أوسطهم. وسر الوادي: أفضل موضع، فيه والجمع أسرة، مثل قن وأقنة. قال طرفة: تربعت القفين (3) في الشوال ترتعي * حدائق مولى الاسرة أغيد - وكذلك سرارة الوادي، والجمع سرار. قال الشاعر: فإن أفخر بمجد بنى سليم * وأكن منها تخومة (4) والسرارا - والسر بالضم: ما تقطعه القابلة من سرة الصبي. يقال: عرفت ذاك قبل أن يقطع سرك، ولا تقل سرتك، لأن السرة لا تقطع، وإنما هي الموضع الذي قطع منه السر. والسرر والسرر بفتح السين وكسرها لغة في السر. يقال: قطع سرر الصبي وسرره، وجمعه أسرة، عن يعقوب. وجمع السرة سرر وسرات، لا يحركون العين لانها كانت مدغمة. وسررت الصبي أسره سرا، إذا قطعت سره. وأما قول أبى ذؤيب. بآية ما وقفت والركا * ب بين الحجون وبين السرر - فإنما يعنى به الموضع الذى سر فيه الانبياء، وهو على أربعة أميال من مكة. وفى بعض الحديث أنها بالمأزمين من منى، كانت فيه دوحة قال ابن عمر رضى الله عنه: " سر تحتها سبعون نبيا "، أي قطعت سررهم. والسرة: وسط الوادي. والسرية: الأمة التي بوأتها بيتا، وهو فعلية منسوبة إلى السر، وهو الجماع أو الاخفاء، لان الانسان كثيرا ما يسرها ويسترها عن حرته، وإنما ضمت سينه لان الابنية قد تغير في النسبة خاصة، كما قالوا في النسبة إلى الدهر دهري، وإلى الارض السهلة سهلى. والجمع السرارى. وكان الاخفش يقول: إنها مشتقة من السرور، لانه يسر بها. يقال: تسررت جارية، وتسريت أيضا، كما قالوا: تظننت وتظنيت. والسرور: خلاف الحزن. تقول: سرني فلان مسرة. وسر هو، على ما لم يسم فاعله. والسرير، جمعه أسرة وسرر. قال الله تعالى: (على سرر متقابلين) *. إلا أن بعضهم يستثقل اجتماع الضمتين مع التضعيف، فيرد الاولى منهما إلى الفتح لخفته فيقول سرر. وكذلك ما أشبهه من الجمع، مثل ذليل وذلل ونحوه. والسرير أيضا: مستقر الرأس في العنق. وقد يعبر بالسرير عن الملك والنعمة. قال الشاعر: وفارق منها عيشة دغفلية (1) * ولم يخش يوما أن يزول سريرها - وسرر الشهر بالتحريك: آخر ليلة منه، وكذلك سراره وسراره. وهو مشتق من قولهم: استسر القمر، أي خفي ليلة السرار، فربما كان ليلة وربما كان ليلتين. والسرر بالكسر: ما على الكمأة من القشور والطين، والجمع أسرار، مثل عنب وأعناب. والسرر (1) أيضا: واحد أسرار الكف والجبهة، وهى خطوطها. قال الأعشى: فانظر إلى كف وأسرارها * هل أنت إن أو عدتني ضائري - وجمع الجمع أسارير. وفي الحديث: " تبرق أسارير وجهه ". وكذلك السرار لغة في السرر، وجمعه أسرة، مثل خمار وأخمرة. قال عنترة: بزجاجة صفراء ذات أسرة * قرنت بأزهر في الشمال مفدم - وسره: طعنه في سرته. قال الشاعر: نسرهم إن هم أقبلوا * وإن أدبروا فهم من نسب - أي نطعن في سبتهم. وسررت الزند أسره سرا، إذا جعلت في طرفه عويد تدخله في قلبه لتقدح به. يقال: سر زندك فإنه أسر، أي أجوف. ومنه قيل: قناة سراء، أي جوفاء بينة السرر. والاسر: الدخيل. قال لبيد: وجدي فارس الرعشاء منهم * رئيس لا أسر ولا سنيد - ويروى: " ألف ". وبعير أسر، إذا كانت بكر كرته دبرة، بين السرر. قال الشاعر …

  • Ibn Fāris · 395Sīn and rā' (س ر) — its branches converge on: concealing a thing, and what belongs to its pure essence and its place of settling;

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

    Sīn and rā' (س ر) — its branches converge on: concealing a thing, and what belongs to its pure essence and its place of settling; nothing derived from it falls outside this. Thus sirr (السر) is the opposite of iʿlān ('announcing'); one says asrartu ash-shay' isrāran (أسررت الشيء إسرارا), the opposite of 'I announced it.' From this chapter also is as-sirr (السر), meaning 'coitus/marriage' (النكاح), so named because it is a matter not announced. From this too are as-sirār and as-sirār (السرار والسرار), the night on which the new moon is hidden; it may be one night or two, when the month is complete. From this is the hadith in which he asked a man, 'Did you fast any of the sirār of the month?' The man said no, so he [the Prophet] said, 'If you break your fast in Ramadan, then fast two days.' Concerning as-sirār a poet said: 'We came upon ʿĀmir at dawn in her abode, bare [steeds] contesting the two edges of her day, on the eve of the new moon or its concealment (sirār).' Muḥammad b. Hārūn ath-Thaqafī told me, from ʿAlī b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, from Abū al-Ḥasan al-Athram, from Abū ʿUbayda, who said: asrartu ash-shay' (أسررت الشيء) means I concealed it, while asrartuhu (أسررته) means I made it public. He read [the Qur'anic verse]: 'wa asarrū an-nadāmata lammā ra'aw al-ʿadhāb' (وأسروا الندامة لما رأوا العذاب) — 'and they revealed regret when they saw the punishment' — saying it means 'they made it manifest,' and cited the line of Imru' al-Qays: 'If they were to reveal (yusirrūna) my slaying...' meaning: if they were to make it manifest. Then some scholars told me, on the authority of Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAbdallāh b. Sufyān an-Naḥwī, that al-Farrā' said Abū ʿUbayda erred in the interpretation and made a scribal error in his citation. As for the interpretation: he said 'asarrū an-nadāmah' means they concealed it out of fear of gloating. As for the scribal error: Imru' al-Qays actually said: 'If they were to sell/display (yushirrūna) my slaying...' meaning: if they were to make it manifest — for one says ashrartu ash-shay' (أشررت الشيء) when you expose it, whence their saying ashrartu al-laḥma lish-shams (أشررت اللحم للشمس), 'I spread the meat out for the sun' (this has been discussed in its own chapter). As for what we mentioned regarding the pure essence of a thing and its place of settling: as-sirr (السر) is the pure essence of a thing; from this comes as-surūr (السرور, 'joy'), because it is a state free of sorrow. And as-surrah (السرة) of a person is the purest, softest part of his body. One says: 'the child's sirar (سرره) was cut,' called as-sirr (السر), plural asirrah (أسرة). Abū Zayd said: as-sarar (السرر) is a line among the lines of the palm. Sarārat al-wādī (سرارة الوادي) and sirruhu (سره) [mean] its best part. The poet said: 'Would that the horsemen of Raḥraḥān had been satirized by you — ten [verses] that echo in the best part (sarārah) of a valley —' meaning: they have appearance but no substance. As-sarar (السرر) is also a disease afflicting a camel in its navel; one says a camel is asarr (أسر). As-sirr (السر) is likewise the verbal noun of sararta az-zand (سررت الزند, 'I hollowed the fire-stick'), meaning it remains asarr — i.e. hollow — and thus fit for use; one says: 'Hollow (sirr) your fire-stick, for it is hollow (asarr).' One also says qanāh sarrā' (قناة سراء), 'a hollow reed/shaft.' All this derives from as-surrah and as-sarar, already discussed. As for al-asārīr (الأسارير), the creases of the forehead, these are named by analogy with the asārīr of the navel, i.e. its wrinkling. In the hadith: 'The Prophet, peace be upon him, came in to ʿĀʾisha, the asārīr of his face beaming [with joy].' Likewise, by the same analogy, are al-asrār (الأسرار), the lines on the palm, singular sirr (سر); the root of all this is one. Al-Aʿshā said: 'So look at the hand and its lines (asrār) — will you, if you threaten me, harm me?' As for the tips of sweet basil, they may be called surūr (سرور) because they are the moistest, tenderest part of it, as in his saying: 'like the Bardī reed amid the thicket, when water mingles with its tender tips (surūr)...' As for what we mentioned regarding settling/repose: as-sarīr (السرير, 'throne/bed'), plural surur (سرر) and asirrah (أسرة), is so named for representing the ease of life, since a person settles upon it in comfort. And sarīr ar-ra's (سرير الرأس) is its resting place. [A poet] said: 'A striking blow that removes the skull-crown from its resting place (sarīr)...' Some transmit the line of al-Aʿshā differently: 'idhā khālaṭa al-mā'...' [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السين والراء يجمع فروعه إخفاء الشيء وما كان من خالصه ومستقره لا يخرج شيء منه عن هذا فالسر خلاف الإعلان يقال أسررت الشيء إسرارا خلاف أعلنته ومن الباب السر وهو النكاح وسمي بذلك لأنه أمر لا يعلن به ومن ذلك السرار والسرار وهو ليلة يستسر الهلال فربما كان ليلة وربما كان ليلتين إذا تم الشهر ومن ذلك الحديث : ( أنه سال رجلا هلا صمت من سرار الشهر شيئا ) فقال لا فقال ( إذا أفطرت رمضان فصم يومين ) قال في السرار : — نحن صبحنا عامرا في دارها … جردا تعادى طرفي نهارها … عشية الهلال أو سرارها … وحدثني محمد بن هارون الثقفي عن علي بن عبد العزيز عن أبي الحسن الأثرم عن أبي عبيدة قال أسررت الشيء أخفيته وأسررته أعلنته وقرأ ﴿ وأسروا الندامة لما رأوا العذاب ﴾ قال أظهروها وأنشد قول امرئ القيس : — لو يسرون مقتلي … أي لو يظهرون ثم حدثني بعض أهل العلم عن أبي الحسن عبد الله بن سفيان النحوي قال قال الفراء أخطأ أبو عبيدة التفسير وصحف في الاستشهاد أما التفسير فقال أسروا الندامة أي كتموها خوف الشماتة وأما التصحيف فإنما قال امرؤ القيس : — لو يشرون مقتلي … أي لو يظهرون يقال أشررت الشيء إذا أبرزته ومن ذلك قولهم أشررت اللحم للشمس وقد ذكر هذا في بابه وأما الذي ذكرناه من محض الشيء وخالصه ومستقره فالسر خالص الشيء ومنه السرور لأنه أمر خال من الحزن والسرة سرة الإنسان وهو خالص جسمه ولينه ويقال قطع عن الصبي سرره وهو [ السر ] وجمعه أسرة قال أبو زيد والسرر الخط من خطوط بطن الراحة وسرارة الوادي وسره أجوده وقال الشاعر : — هلا فوارس رحرحان هجوتهم … عشرا تناوح في سرارة واد … يقول لهم منظر وليس لهم مخبر والسرر داء يأخذ البعير في سرته يقال بعير أسر والسر مصدر سررت الزند وذلك أن يبقى أسر أي أجوف فيصلح يقال سر زندك فإنه أسر ويقال قناة سراء أي جوفاء وكل هذا من السرة والسرر وقد ذكرناه فأما الأسارير وهي الكسور التي في الجبهة فمحمولة على أسارير السرة وذلك تكسرها وفي الحديث : ( أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم دخل على عائشة تبرق أسارير وجهه ) ومنه أيضا مما هو محمول على ما ذكرناه الأسرار خطوط باطن الراحة واحدها سر والأصل في ذلك كله واحد قال الأعشى — فانظر إلى كف وأسرارها … هل أنت إن أوعدتني ضائري … فأما أطراف الريحان فيجوز أن تسمى سرورا لأنها أرطب شيء فيه وأغضه وذلك قوله : — كبردية الغيل وسط الغريف … إذا خالط الماء منها السرورا … وأما الذي ذكرناه من الاستقرار فالسرير وجمعه سرر وأسرة والسرير خفض العيش لأن الإنسان يستقر عنده وعند دعته وسرير الرأس مستقره قال : — ضربا يزيل الهام عن سريره … وناس يروون بيت الأعشى : — إذا خالط الماء منها السريرا … بالياء فيكون حينئذ تأويله أصلها الذي استقرت عليه وأنشدوا قول القائل : — وفارق منها عيشة دغفلية … ولم تخش يوما أن يزول سريرها … والسرر من الصبي والسرر ما يقطع والسرة ما يبقى ومن الباب السري ما على الأكمة من الرمل ومن الباب الأول سر النسب وهو محضه وأفضله قال ذو الأصبع : — وهم من ولدوا أشبوا … بسر النسب المحض … ويقال السرسور العالم الفطن وأصله من السر كأنه اطلع على أسرار الأمور فأما السرية فقال الخليل هي فعلية ويقال يتسرر ويقال يتسرى قال الخليل ومن قال يتسرى فقد أخطأ لم يزد الخليل على هذا وقال الأصمعي السرية من السر وهو النكاح لأن صاحبها اصطفاها للنكاح لا للتجارة فيها وهذا الذي قاله الأصمعي وذكر ابن السكيت في كتابه فأما ضم السين في السرية فكثير من الأبنية يغير عند النسبة فيقال في النسبة إلى الأرض السهلة سهلي وينسب إلى طول العمر وامتداد الدهر فيقال دهري ومثل ذلك كثير والله أعلم

  • al-Rāghib · 502Al-isrār (الإسرار): the opposite of al-iʿlān ('making public').

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

    Al-isrār (الإسرار): the opposite of al-iʿlān ('making public'). He, exalted, said: 'sirran wa ʿalāniyatan' (سرا وعلانية) — 'secretly and openly' [Q. 14:31]; and He, exalted, said: 'wa yaʿlamu mā tusirrūna wa mā tuʿlinūn' (ويعلم ما تسرون وما تعلنون) — 'and He knows what you conceal and what you disclose' [Q. 64:4]; and He, exalted, said: 'wa asirrū qawlakum aw ijharū bihi' (وأسروا قولكم أو اجهروا به) — 'whether you conceal your speech or proclaim it' [Q. 67:13]. It is used with reference to both concrete things and abstract meanings. As-sirr (السر) is speech kept hidden within oneself. He, exalted, said: 'yaʿlamu as-sirra wa akhfā' (يعلم السر وأخفى) — 'He knows the secret and what is even more hidden' [Q. 20:7]; and He, exalted, said: 'anna Allāha yaʿlamu sirrahum wa najwāhum' (أن الله يعلم سرهم ونجواهم) — 'that God knows their secret talk and their private conversation' [Q. 9:78]. Sārrahu (ساره): he confided a matter to him, charging him to keep it secret; tasārra al-qawm (تسار القوم): the people whispered secretly to one another. Regarding His saying 'wa asarrū an-nadāmah' (وأسروا الندامة) [Q. 10:54]: it means 'they concealed it.' It is also said its meaning is 'they revealed it,' on the strength of His saying, exalted: 'yā laytanā nuraddu wa lā nukadhdhiba bi-āyāti Rabbinā' (يا ليتنا نرد ولا نكذب بآيات ربنا) — 'Would that we might be returned and would not deny the signs of our Lord!' [Q. 6:27] — but this is not so, for the regret they concealed does not refer to what they revealed in that saying. Asrartu ilā fulānin ḥadīthan (أسررت إلى فلان حديثا): I confided a matter to him secretly. He, exalted, said: 'wa idh asarra an-nabiyyu' (وإذ أسر النبي) — 'and when the Prophet confided [something]' [Q. 66:3]; and His saying, 'tusirrūna ilayhim bi-l-mawaddah' (تسرون إليهم بالمودة) — 'you secretly show them affection' [Q. 60:1] — meaning: you let them know, in secret, of the affection you harbor. [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الإسرار: خلاف الإعلان، قال تعالى: سرا وعلانية [إبراهيم/ 31] ، وقال تعالى: ويعلم ما تسرون وما تعلنون [التغابن/ 4] ، وقال تعالى: وأسروا قولكم أو اجهروا به [الملك/ 13] ، ويستعمل في الأعيان والمعاني، والسر هو الحديث المكتم في النفس. قال تعالى: يعلم السر وأخفى [طه/ 7] ، وقال تعالى: أن الله يعلم سرهم ونجواهم [التوبة/ 78] ، وساره: إذا أوصاه بأن يسره، وتسار القوم، وقوله: وأسروا الندامة [يونس/ 54] ، أي: كتموها «2» وقيل: معناه أظهروها بدلالة قوله تعالى: يا ليتنا نرد ولا نكذب بآيات ربنا [الأنعام/ 27] ، وليس كذلك، لأن الندامة التي كتموها ليست بإشارة إلى ما أظهروه من قوله: يا ليتنا نرد ولا نكذب بآيات ربنا [الأنعام/ 27] ، وأسررت إلى فلان حديثا: أفضيت إليه في خفية، قال تعالى: وإذ أسر النبي [التحريم/ 3] ، وقوله: تسرون إليهم بالمودة [الممتحنة/ 1] ، أي: يطلعونهم على ما يسرون من مودتهم، وقد ف

  • Lisān · 711As-sirr (السر): among the asrār (secrets) that are kept hidden.

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

    As-sirr (السر): among the asrār (secrets) that are kept hidden. As-sirr (السر): what you have concealed; plural asrār (أسرار). A man is sirrī (سري) if he does things secretly, from a people who are sirriyyūn (سريون). As-sarīrah (السريرة): like as-sirr, plural as-sarā'ir (السرائر). Al-Layth: as-sirr is what you keep secret with. As-sarīrah: a secret deed, whether good or bad. Asarra ash-shay' (أسر الشيء): he concealed it, and [also] he revealed it — it is among words of opposite meanings (aḍdād): sarartuhu (سررته) [can mean] I concealed it, and sarartuhu [can mean] I made it public. Both senses are given in explaining His saying, exalted: 'wa asarrū an-nadāmah' — it is said to mean 'they revealed it,' while Thaʿlab said its meaning is 'they concealed it from their leaders'; Ibn Sīdah said the first [interpretation] is more correct. Al-Jawharī said: likewise in the verse of Imru' al-Qays: 'law yusirrūna maqtalī' (لو يسرون مقتلي); he said al-Aṣmaʿī used to transmit it as 'law yushirrūna' (لو يشرون), with the letter shīn, meaning 'they would reveal.' Asarra ilayhi ḥadīthan (أسر إليه حديثا): he confided [it] to him. Asrartu ilayhi al-mawaddah (أسررت إليه المودة) and bi-l-mawaddah (بالمودة). Sārahu fī udhnihi musārratan wa sirāran (ساره في أذنه مسارة وسرارا): he whispered to him in his ear. Tasārū (تساروا): they whispered to one another. Abū ʿUbayda: asrartu ash-shay' (أسررت الشيء): I hid it; and asrartuhu (أسررته): I made it public. Among instances of [asrara meaning] 'to reveal' is His saying, exalted: 'wa asarrū an-nadāmata lammā ra'aw al-ʿadhāb' (وأسروا الندامة لما رأوا العذاب), meaning 'they revealed it'; and he cited [a verse] attributed to al-Farazdaq: 'When al-Ḥajjāj saw him draw his sword, the Ḥarūrī revealed (asarra) what he had concealed.' Shamir said: I have not found this verse attributed to al-Farazdaq, and no one but Abū ʿUbayda has said, regarding 'wa asarrū an-nadāmah,' that it means 'they revealed it'; he said, I have not heard this from anyone else. Al-Azharī said: the scholars of language rejected Abū ʿUbayda's statement most strongly; and it is said 'asarrū an-nadāmah' means: the leaders among the polytheists concealed their regret from the common folk whom they had led astray; and asarrūhā (أسروها) means 'they hid it' — this is also what az-Zajjāj said, and it is the view of the [Qur'an] commentators. Sārahu musārratan wa sirāran (ساره مسارة وسرارا): he informed him of his secret; the noun [for it] is as-sirr (السرر); and as-sirār (السرار) is the verbal noun of sārartu ar-rajula sirāran (ساررت الرجل سرارا). Istasarra al-hilāl (استسر الهلال) at the end of the month: it became hidden. Ibn Sīdah said: it is used only in this augmented form, its analogue being their saying istaḥjara aṭ-ṭīn (استحجر الطين), 'the clay hardened into stone.' As-sarar, as-sirr, as-sirār, and as-sarār (السرر والسرر والسرار والسرار) — all mean: the night in which the moon is hidden. [A poet] said: 'We came upon ʿĀmir at dawn in her abode, bare [steeds] contesting the two edges of her day, on the eve of the new moon or its concealment (sirār).' Others [say]: sarar ash-shahr (سرر الشهر), with the fatḥa-vocalization, is the last night of the month, derived from their saying istasarra al-qamar (استسر القمر), 'the moon became hidden,' on the night of as-sirār; it may be one night or two. In the hadith: 'Fast the month and its sirr (سره)' — meaning its beginning, or, it is said, its onset, or its middle; and sirr kulli shay' (سر كل شيء) is its inner hollow, so as if he meant the 'white [middle] days.' Ibn al-Athīr said: al-Azharī said, 'I do not know as-sirr with this meaning; rather one says sarār ash-shahr, sarāruhu, and sararuhu' — which is the last night when the crescent moon is hidden by the light of the sun. And in the hadith... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السر: من الأسرار التي تكتم. والسر: ما أخفيت، والجمع أسرار. ورجل سري: يصنع الأشياء سرا من قوم سريين. والسريرة: كالسر، والجمع السرائر. الليث: السر ما أسررت به. والسريرة: عمل السر من خير أو شر. وأسر الشيء: كتمه وأظهره، وهو من الأضداد، سررته: كتمته، وسررته: أعلنته، والوجهان جميعا يفسران في قوله تعالى: وأسروا الندامة* ؛ قيل: أظهروها، وقال ثعلب: معناه أسروها من رؤسائهم؛ قال ابن سيده: والأول أصح. قال الجوهري: وكذلك في قول امرئ القيس: لو يسرون مقتلي؛ قال: وكان الأصمعي يرويه: لو يشرون، بالشين معجمة، أي يظهرون. وأسر إليه حديثا أي أفضى؛ وأسررت إليه المودة وبالمودة وساره في أذنه مسارة وسرارا وتساروا أي تناجوا. أبو عبيدة: أسررت الشيء أخفيته، وأسررته أعلنته؛ ومن الإظهار قوله تعالى: وأسروا الندامة لما رأوا العذاب* ؛ أي أظهروها؛ وأنشد للفرزدق: فلما رأى الحجاج جرد سيفه، ... أسر الحروري الذي كان أضمرا قال شمر: لم أجد هذا البيت للفرزدق، وما قال غير أبي عبيدة في قوله: وأسروا الندامة* ، أي أظهروها، قال: ولم أسمع ذلك لغيره. قال الأزهري: وأهل اللغة أنكروا قول أبي عبيدة أشد الإنكار، وقيل: أسروا الندامة* ؛ يعني الرؤساء من المشركين أسروا الندامة في سفلتهم الذين أضلوهم. وأسروها: أخفوها، وكذلك قال الزجاج وهو قول المفسرين. وساره مسارة وسرارا: أعلمه بسره، والاسم السرر، والسرار مصدر ساررت الرجل سرارا. واستسر الهلال في آخر الشهر: خفي؛ قال ابن سيده: لا يلفظ به إلا مزيدا، ونظيره قولهم: استحجر الطين. والسرر والسرر والسرار والسرار، كله: الليلة التي يستسر فيها القمر؛ قال: نحن صبحنا عامرا في دارها، ... جردا تعادى طرفي نهارها، عشية الهلال أو سرارها غيره: سرر الشهر، بالتحريك، آخر ليلة منه، وهو مشتق من قولهم: استسر القمر أي خفي ليلة السرار فربما كان ليلة وربما كان ليلتين. وفي الحديث: صوموا الشهر وسره ؛ أي أوله، وقيل مستهله، وقيل وسطه، وسر كل شيء: جوفه، فكأنه أراد الأيام البيض؛ قال ابن الأثير: قال الأزهري لا أعرف السر بهذا المعنى إنما يقال سرار الشهر وسراره وسرره، وهو آخر ليلة يستسر الهلال بنور الشمس. وفي الحديث: أن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، سأل رجلا فقال: هل صمت من سرار هذا الشهر شيئا؟ قال: لا. قال: فإذا أفطرت من رمضان فصم يومين. قال الكسائي وغيره: السرار آخر الشهر ليلة يستسر الهلال. قال أبو عبيدة: وربما استسر ليلة وربما استسر ليلتين إذا تم الشهر. قال الأزهري: وسرار الشهر، بالكسر، لغة ليست بجيدة عند اللغويين. الفراء: السرار آخر ليلة إذا كان الشهر تسعا وعشرين، وسراره ليلة ثمان وعشرين، وإذا كان الشهر ثلاثين فسراره ليلة تسع وعشرين؛ وقال ابن الأثير: قال الخطابي كان بعض أهل العلم يقول في هذا الحديث: إن سؤاله هل صام من سرار الشهر شيئا سؤال زجر وإنكار، لأنه قد نهى أن يستقبل الشهر بصوم يوم أو يومين. قال: ويشبه أن يكون هذا الرجل قد أوجبه على نفسه بنذر فلذلك قال له: إذا أفطرت ، يعني من رمضان، فصم يومين ، فاستحب له الوفاء بهما. والسر: النكاح لأنه يكتم؛ قال الله تعالى: ولكن لا تواعدوهن سرا ؛ قال رؤبة: فعف عن إسرارها بعد الغسق، ... ولم يضعها بين فرك وعشق والسرية: الجارية المتخذة للملك والجماع، فعلية منه على تغيير النسب، وقيل: هي فعولة من السرو وقلبت الواو الأخيرة ياء طلب الخفة، ثم أدغمت الواو فيها فصارت ياء مثلها، ثم حولت الضمة كسرة لمجاورة الياء؛ وقد تسررت وتسريت: على تحويل التضعيف. أبو الهيثم: السر الزنا، والسر الجماع. وقال الحسن: لا تواعدوهن سرا ، قال: هو الزنا، قال: هو قول أبي مجلز، وقال مجاهد: لا تواعدوهن هو أن يخطبها في العدة؛ وقال الفراء: معناه لا يصف أحدكم نفسه للمرأة في عدتها في النكاح والإكثار منه. واختلف أهل اللغة في الجارية التي يتسراها مالكها لم سميت سرية فقال بعضهم: نسبت إلى السر، وهو الجماع، وضمت السين للفرق بين الحرة والأمة توطأ، فيقال للحرة إذا نكحت سرا أو كانت فاجرة: سرية، وللمملوكة يتسراها صاحبها: سرية، مخافة اللبس. وقال أبو الهيثم: السر السرور، فسميت الجارية سرية لأنها موضع سرور الرجل. قال: وهذا أحسن ما قيل فيها؛ وقال الليث: السرية فعلية من قولك تسررت، ومن قال تسريت فإنه غلط؛ قال الأزهري: هو الصواب والأصل تسررت ولكن لما توالت ثلاث راءات أبدلوا إحداهن ياء، كما قالوا تظنيت من الظن وقصيت أظفاري والأصل قصصت؛ ومنه قول العجاج: تقضي البازي إذا البازي كسر إنما أصله: تقضض. وقال بعضهم: استسر الرجل جاريته بمعنى تسراها أي تخذها سرية. والسرية: الأمة التي بوأتها بيتا، وهي فعلية منسوبة إلى السر، وهو الجماع والإخفاء، لأن الإنسان كثيرا ما يسرها ويسترها عن حرته، وإنما ضمت سينه لأن الأبنية قد تغير في النسبة خاصة، كما قالوا في النسبة إلى الدهر دهري، وإلى الأرض السهلة سهلي، والجم …

  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

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

    سَرَّهُ

    1. سَرَّهُ, accord. to the TA, has two contr. significations: for it is there stated that “ one says سَرَرْتُهُ meaning كَتَمْتُهُ and سَرَرْتُهُ meaning أَعْلَنْتُهُ: ” and it is added that “ it will occur again soon: ” but it does not again occur in that work, nor have I found it in any other lexicon: I therefore think that it is a mistranscription, for أَسْرَرْتُهُ, first pers. of أَسَرَّهُ, q. v.] سَرَّهُ, (S, O, Msb, K, &c.,) aor. سَرُرَ , (MS,) inf. n. مَسَرَّةٌ (S, O, K) and سُرُورٌ [which latter, from the explanations of it which will be found below, seems to be generally, if not only, as an inf. n., that of سُرَّ,] and سُرٌّ [which is also syn. with سُرُورٌ in the senses assigned to the latter below] and سُرَّى and تَسِرَّةٌ [which last may be also an inf. n. of سرّرهُ expl. by Freytag as syn. with سَرَّهُ in the sense here following, but without an indication of any authority], (O, K,) He, or it, rejoiced him; gladdened him; or made him happy; syn. أَفْرَحَهُ: (Msb, K:) [or made him to experience a pleasure, or delight, and dilatation of the heart, of which there was no external sign: see سُرُورٌ, below.] And سُرَّ, [inf. n. سُرُورٌ, (see above,)] He rejoiced; was joyful, or glad; or was happy: (S, * A, * K:) [or he experienced a pleasure, or delight, and dilatation of the heart, of which there was no external sign; accord. to an explanation of سُرُورٌ:] you say, سُرَّ بِهِ and اِسْتَسَرَّ [He rejoiced, was joyful or glad, or was happy, by reason of him, or it]. (A.) سَرَّهُ, (K,) aor. as above, (TA,) also signifies He saluted him with [the offering of what are termed] المَسَرَّة, i. e. the extremities of sweet-smelling plants. (K.) Also سَرَّهُ, (S, M,) aor. as above, inf. n. سَرٌّ, (S,) or سِرٌّ, (so in a copy of the M,) He cut his (a child's) سِرَر, or سُرّ, i. e. navel-string. (S, M.) And سُرَّ He (a child) had his navel-string cut. (K.) And سَرَّهُ, aor. as above, He pierced him, or thrust him, [with a spear or the like,] in his سُرَّة [or navel]: a poet says, [We pierce them in the navel if they advance; and if they retreat, they are those who are pierced in the podex; يُسَبْ being for يُسَبُّ]. (S.) سَرَّ الزَّنْدَ, aor. as above, inf. n. سَرٌّ, He put a piece of wood, (M, K,) or a little piece of wood, (S,) in the interior of the زند [or piece of stick, or wood, for producing fire], (M,) or in its extremity, (S, K,) inserting it in its interior, (S,) in order that he might produce fire with it. (S, M, K.) One says, سُرَّ زَنْدَكَ فَإِنَّهُ أَسَرُّ Fill up the interior of thy زند, that it may produce fire, (AHn, M,) for it is [worn] hollow. (S, K.) سَرَّ, [sec. pers. سَرِرْتَ,] aor. يَسَرُّ, (IAar, Sgh, L, K,) inf. n. سَرَرٌ, remarked upon by MF as extr., [though it is agreeable with a general rule,] said of a man, (TA,) He had a complaint of the سُرَّة [or navel]. (IAar, Sgh, L, K.) Also, aor. and inf. n. as in the next preceding case, said of a camel, He had the pain, or disorder, termed سَرَرٌ [q. v.]. (IAar, M.)

    سَرََّّ

    2: see 1, second sentence. سَرَّرْتُهُ in the phrase سَرَّرْتُهُ سُرِّيَّةً I gave him, or caused him to take, a concubine slave, doubly trans., is [said to be] changed to سَرَّيْتُهُ for alleviation of the pronunciation. (Msb.) سرّرهُ, inf. n. تَسْرِيرٌ, said of water, It reached his سُرَّة [or navel]. (K.)

    سارّهُ

    3. سارّهُ, inf. n. مُسَارَّةٌ and سِرَارٌ, (S, M,) [He spoke, or discoursed, secretly to him or with him;] he acquainted him with a secret. (M.) You say, سارّهُ فِى أُذُنِهِ He spoke secretly to him in his ear. (S, * K, * TK.) And كَانَ يُحَدِّثُهُ كَأَخِى السِّرَارِ occurs in a trad., meaning He (Mohammad) used to talk to him ('Omar) in a low voice, like him who is telling a secret. (TA.) بَيْعُ السِّرَارِ is The selling in which one says, “ I will put forth my hand and thou shalt put forth thy hand, and if I produce my signet-ring before thee, it is a sale for such a price; and if thou produce thy signet-ring before me, for such a price: ” if they produce together, or do not both produce, they do thus again. (Mgh.)

    اسرّهُ

    4. اسرّهُ, (S, M, A, Mgh, Msb, K,) inf. n. إِسْرَارٌ; (Msb;) [and accord. to the TA سَرَّهُ; but see the first sentence of this art.;] He concealed it; suppressed it; kept it secret; (S, M, A, Mgh, Msb, K;) namely, a story, or the like: (A, Mgh, Msb:) and, contr., he manifested it; revealed it; published it; made it known. (S, M, Msb, K.) Both of these significations have been assigned to the verb in the phrase وَأَسَرُّوا ٱلنَّدَامَةَ, in the Kur [x. 55 and xxxiv. 32]: (S:) some say, that the meaning is They will manifest repentance: Th says, they will conceal it from their chiefs: the former [says ISd] is the more correct: (M:) the former meaning is also given on the authority of AO; but Sh says, I have not heard it on the authority of any other; and Az says that the lexicologists most strongly disapprove of the saying of AO; and it is said that the meaning is, they, the chiefs of the polytheists, will conceal repentance from the lower class of their people, whom they shall have caused to err; and in like manner say Zj and the [other] expositors. (TA.) In like manner also the two contr. significations are assigned to the verb in the saying of Imra-el- Keys, [in his Mo'allakah,] لَوْ يُسِرُّونَ مَقْتَلِى, which As used to quote with ش, thus, لَوْ يُشِرُّونَ مَقْتَلِى, meaning that they might publish, or make known, my slaughter. (S.) You say also, أَسَرَّ إِلَيْهِ حَدِيثًا He revealed unto him a story (S, K) secretly. (TA.) An ex. occurs in the Kur lxvi. 3. (TA.) And أَسْرَرْتُ إِلَيْهِ المَوَدَّةَ, and بِالمَوَدَّةِ, I showed, or manifested, to him love, or affection. (S.) It is said in the Kur [lx. 1], تُسِرُّونَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِٱلْمَوَدَّةِ, meaning, Ye reveal to them the news of the Prophet by reason of the love that is between you and them; the objective complement of the verb being suppressed: or المودّة may be an objective complement, the ب being a redundant corroborative, as in أَخَذَ الخِطَامَ and أَخَذَ بِهِ: (Msb:) and this interpretation is correct; for إِسْرَارٌ to a person necessarily implies revealing a secret to him and at the same time concealing it from another. (B.) وَأَسَرُّوهُ بِضَاعَةً, in the Kur xii. 19, signifies And they concealed, or kept secret, his case, making him as an article of merchandise: (Jel:) or they conjectured in their minds that they should obtain, by selling him, merchandise. (TA.) [See also an ex. voce اِرْتَغَى, in art. رغو.] اسرّ الفَاتِحَةَ, and بِالفَاتِحَةِ, He recited the Fátihah [or First Chapter of the Kur-án] secretly, or inaudibly: (Msb:) or the latter form of expression is a mistake. (Mgh.) أَسْرَرْتُهُ also signifies نَسَبْتُهُ إِلَى السِّرِّ [which may mean either I attributed it to secrecy, or, like many phrases of this kind, by inversion, I attributed to him secrecy, or mystery]. (Msb.)

    تسرّر

    5. تسرّر تسرّى, (M, K,) and استسرّ, (K,) He took to himself a concubine-slave. (M, * K, * TA.) And تَسَرَّرْتُ جَارِيَةً, and تَسَرَّيْتُهَا, (S,) and اِسْتَسَرَّيْتُهَا, (TA,) I took to myself a girl, or young woman, as a concubine-slave. (S, * TA.) تَسَرَّرْتُهَا is [said to be] thus changed to تَسَرَّيْتُهَا, (T, S, Msb,) for alleviation of the pronunciation, (Msb,) on account of the three ر s following one another, (T,) being like تَظَنَّنْتُ and تَظَنَّيْتُ. (T, * S.) Lth says that تسرّيت is a mistake; but Az says that it is correct. (TA.) اِسْتَسَرَّنِى occurs in a trad. as signifying He took me to himself as a concubine-slave; but by rule one should say تَسَرَّرَنِى, or تَسَرَّانِى: as to استسرّنى, it [more properly] signifies “ He revealed to me his secret. ” (TA.) تَسَرَّرَ فُلَانٌ بِنْتَ فُلَانٍ [as though signifying Such a one took to himself the daughter of such a one as a concubine-slave] is said when a man of low birth takes as his wife a woman or girl of high birth because of the abundance of his property and the littleness of hers. (M.)

    تسارّوا

    6. تسارّوا They spoke, or discoursed, secretly together; acquainted one another with secrets. (S, K.) [See also 3.] تسارّإِلَى ذٰلِكَ (tropical:) He experienced pleasure, or delight, at that: as, for instance, at his scratching a part of his body, or pressing, or kneading, it; and at a thing disliked by another person. (A, TA.) [But I am in some doubt as to the correctness of this, and incline to think that it is a mistake for استسرّ.]

    استسرّ

    10. استسرّ He, or it, became concealed; or he, or it, concealed himself or itself: (K:) it (a thing, or an affair,) became hidden or concealed or secret: (A, Msb:) it (the moon) became concealed (S, M, A, TA) by the light of the sun, (TA,) [i. e. by its proximity to the sun,] for one night, or for two nights. (AO, S.) استسرّهُ He took extraordinary pains in concealing it, or keeping it secret. (TA.) See also 5, in four places. اِسْتَسَرَّنِى He revealed to me his secret. (TA.) See also 1; and see 6, last sentence.

    سَرٌّ

    سَرٌّ A man who rejoices, or gladdens, another; or makes him happy; (S, K;) [and so سَارٌّ:] fem. سَرَّةٌ; with which سَارَّةٌ is syn. (Lh, M, K.) You say رَجُلٌ بَرٌّ سَرٌّ A man who treats with goodness and affection and gentleness, and rejoices &c., (S, K, TA,) his brethren: (TA:) pl. بَرُّونَ سَرُّونَ. (S, K.)

    سُرٌّ

    سُرٌّ: see سُرُورٌ: and سِرٌّ, last sentence but one. It is also a contraction of سُرُرٌ, pl. of سَرِيرٌ. (Sb, M.) Also, and سِرَرٌ, (S, M, K,) and سَرَرٌ, (S, K, in the CK سُرَر,) The navel-string of a child; i. e. the thing that the midwife cuts off from the navel (سُرَّة) of a child; (S, K;) the thing that hangs from the navel (سُرَّة) of a newborn child, and that is cut off: or سِرَرٌ signifies the part that is cut off thereof, and that goes away: (M:) pl. (of سِرَرٌ, S, [or of سُرٌّ or سَرَرٌ,]) أَسِرَّةٌ, (Yaakoob, S, M, K,) which is extr. (M.) One says, عَرَفْتُ ذٰلِكَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُقْطَعَ سُرُّكَ [I knew that before thy navel-string was cut]: one should not say سُرَّتُكَ; for the سُرَّة is not cut. (S.) And وَاحِدِ وَلَدَتْ ثَلَاثَةً فِى سَرَرٍ She brought forth three [boys] consecutively, or one at the heels of another. (M.) [See also سِرٌّ, last sentence.]

    سِرٌّ

    سِرٌّ A secret; a thing that is concealed, or suppressed, (S, M, A, Mgh, Msb, K,) in the mind; (TA;) as also سَرِيرَةٌ: (S, M, A, K:) or the former has the above-mentioned signification, and the latter signifies a secret action, whether good or evil: (Lth:) [and the former, also, a mystery:] pl. of the former, أَسْرَارٌ; (S, M, A, Mgh, Msb, K;) and of the latter, سَرَائِرُ. (S, A, K.) It is said in a prov., مَا يَوْمُ حَلِيمَةَ بِسِرٍّ [The day of Haleemeh is not a secret]: applied to anything commonly known: alluding to Haleemeh the daughter of El-Hárith the son of Aboo-Shemir El-Ghassánee; for, when her father sent an army to El-Mundhir the son of Má-es-Semà, she took forth for the soldiers some perfume in a vessel (مِرْكَن), and perfumed them with it. (S.) [You say also, هُوَ مَوْضِعُ سِرِّى He is the depositary of my secret, or secrets.] The words of the Kur [lxxxvi. 9] يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَائِرُ signify In the day wherein the secret tenets and intentions shall be tried and revealed: (Jel:) or by السرائر is here meant fasting, and prayer, and alms-giving, and ablution on account of the pollution termed جَنَابَة. (TA.) [See also a verse cited in the third paragraph of art. عرض.] A thing that is revealed, appears, or is made manifest: thus it has two contrary significations. (MF.) السِّرُّ [for مَحَلُّ السِّرِّ, (assumed tropical:) The heart; the mind; the recesses of the mind; the secret thoughts; the soul;] is a syn. of الضَّمِيرُ. (K in art. ضمر. [See also سَرِيرَةٌ.]) [لَا تُتْعِبْ سِرَّكَ (assumed tropical:) Weary not thy heart, or mind, is a common modern phrase. And one says, of a deceased holy man, قَدَّسَ ٱللّٰهُ سِرَّهُ (assumed tropical:) May God sanctify his soul.] سِرٌّ also signifies Secrecy; privacy; contr. of عَلَانِيَةٌ. (S in art. علن.) You say سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً [Secretly and openly; or privately and publickly]. (Kur ii. 275, &c.) Concealment. (S.) Suppression; contr. of إِعْلَانٌ. (Msb.) [So in the phrase تَكَلَّمَ سِرًّا He spoke with a suppressed, or low, voice; softly.] [One having private knowledge of a thing. You say,] فُلَانٌ سِرُّ هٰذَا الأَمْرِ (assumed tropical:) Such a one has [private] knowledge of this thing. (TA.) (tropical:) The penis (T, S, M, K) of a man: (T:) and (tropical:) the vulva, or external portion of the organs of generation, of a woman. (K.) One says, اِلْتَقَى السِّرَّانِ (tropical:) The two pudenda met. (A.) (tropical:) Concubitus. (AHeyth, S, Mgh, K.) (tropical:) Marriage: (M, A, Msb, K:) pl. أَسْرَارٌ. (TA.) You say, وَاعَدَهَا سِرًّا (tropical:) He promised her marriage, she promising him the same. (A.) So, accord. to some, in the Kur ii. 235. (TA.) (tropical:) Plain declaration of marriage: (K:) i. e., a man's offering himself in marriage to a woman during her عِدَّة: so expl. as occurring in the Kur ubi suprà: (TA:) or a man's demanding a woman in marriage during her عِدَّة. (Mujáhid.) (tropical:) Adultery, or fornication: (AHeyth, (K:) so, accord. to Aboo-Mijlez and El-Hasan, in the Kur ubi suprà. (TA.) Hence the saying, لَا يُرْجَى مِنْ وَلَدِ السِّرِّ بِرٌّ (tropical:) One does not hope for filial piety from the offspring of adultery, or fornication. (TK.) (assumed tropical:) Origin; syn. أَصْلٌ; (M, K;) as in the phrase هُوَ كَرِيمُ السِّرِّ كَثِيرُ البِرِّ He is of generous origin, of much filial piety. (TK.) (assumed tropical:) The commencement, or first night, of a lunar month: (K, TA:) or its middle; (K;) app. meaning what are called الأَيَّامُ البِيضُ: (TA:) but Az says, I know it not in this sense. (IAth.) (assumed tropical:) The interior of anything; its heart. (K.) Whence سِرُّ الشَّهْرِ and اللَّيْلِ (assumed tropical:) [The middle of the lunar month and of the night]. (TA.) The marrow of anything. (TA.) (tropical:) The pure, or choice, or best, part of anything. (Fr, M, K.) You say, أَعْطَيْتُكَ سِرَّهُ (tropical:) I gave thee the pure, or choice, or best, part of it. (A.) (tropical:) The pure, or genuine, quality of race, or lineage: (S, A, K:) its best quality: (S, K:) and the middle sort thereof; (S;) and of rank, or quality, or the like: (M:) as also سَرَارٌ and سَرَارَةٌ. (M, K.) One says, هُوَ فِى سِرِّ قَوْمِهِ (tropical:) He is of the best [in race or family] of his people: (TA:) or of the middle sort of them. (S.) (tropical:) The low, or depressed, part of a valley: (K:) the best, (S, K,) or most fruitful, (As, M, TA,) part thereof: (As, S, M, K:) as also سَرَارٌ (M, K) and سَرَارَةٌ (As, S, M, K) and سُرَّةٌ: (M, K:) or the last signifies the middle of a valley: (S:) the pl. of سِرٌّ is سِرَرٌ and سُرُورٌ (M) and أَسِرَّةٌ, like as أَقِنَّةٌ is of قِنٌّ, (S,) or the last is pl. of سَرَارٌ, like as أَقْذِلَةٌ is of قَذَالٌ; (M;) and that of سَرَارَةٌ is سَرَارٌ, (S,) or [this is a coll. gen. n., and the pl. is] سَرَائِرُ: (M:) also سُرَّةٌ (assumed tropical:) the middle of a city: and أَسِرَّةٌ the middles of meadows. (TA.) And أَرْضٌ سِرٌّ (assumed tropical:) Fruitful, good, land; (M, K;) as also سَرَّآءُ. (K, * TA.) Also (assumed tropical:) Goodness; excellence. (Msb.) Also, and سُرٌّ, (M, K,) and سِرَرٌ, (S, M, K,) and سُرُرٌ, (K,) and سِرَارٌ, (S, M, K,) A line of the palm of the hand, (M, K, *) and of the face, (M,) and of the forehead: (S, M, Mgh:) pl. (of سِرٌّ, TA, or of سِرَارٌ, S) أَسِرَّةٌ, (M, TA,) and (of the same, K, or of سِرَرٌ, S, Mgh) أَسْرَارٌ; (S, M, Mgh, K;) and pl. pl., [i. e. pl. of أَسْرَارٌ,] أَسَارِيرُ: (S, M, (Mgh, K:) this last, accord. to AA, signifies the lines in the forehead, from the shrivelling of the skin; and its sing. is سَرَرٌ: (TA:) some also apply the pl. أَسِرَّةٌ to (tropical:) lines, or streaks, of herbage; as being likened to the lines of the hand and of the face, but this is not of valid authority: (M:) and أَسَارِيرُ (as pl. of أَسْرَارٌ, which is pl. of سِرَرٌ, TA) also signifies the beauties of the face, and of the cheeks, and of the elevated parts of the cheeks. (K, TA.) وُلِدَ لَهُ ثَلَاثَةٌ عَلَى سِرٍّ, (K,) and عَلَى وَاحِدٍ سِرَرٍ, (K, * TA,) means Three children were born to him, whose navel-strings were cut in a similar manner, without any female among them. (K. [See also سُرٌّ.])

    سُرَّةٌ

    سُرَّةٌ The navel; i. e. the place from which the navel-string (سُرّ) has been cut off; (S;) the small cavity, or hollow, of the belly, (M, TA,) in the middle thereof; (TA;) what remains of the سِرَر: (M:) [see سُرٌّ:] pl. سُرَرٌ [in the CK erroneously سِرَرٌ] and سُرَّاتٌ. (S, K.) [Hence,] سُرَّةُ الفَرَسِ (assumed tropical:) [The navel of the horse,] the star, of Pegasus, that is in the head of Andromeda. (Kzw.) [Hence likewise] سُرَّةٌ also signifies (assumed tropical:) A perforation in the middle of a jar such as is termed مُزَمَّلَة [q. v.], in which is fixed a tube of silver or lead, whence one drinks. (Har p. 548.) And (assumed tropical:) The place where the water rests, in the furthest part, of a watering-trough, or tank. (K, TA.) See also سِرٌّ, in two places, in the latter part of the paragraph.

    سَرَرٌ

    سَرَرٌ a subst. from سَارَّهُ [like its syn. نَجْوَى from نَاجَاهُ, signifying Secret discourse, or a secret communication, between two persons or parties]. (M.) See also سَرَارُ الشَّهْرِ: and سِرٌّ, last sentence but one: and سُرٌّ, in two places. Also A pain which a camel suffers in his كِرْكِرَة [or callous projection upon the breast], arising from a gall, or sore: (S, * K:) or sores in the hinder part of the كركرة of a camel, nearly penetrating into his inside, but not mortal: or a disease that attacks the horse: (M:) it is said by Lth to be a pain in the navel; but Az and others say that this is a mistake. (TA.) Also Hollowness of a spear-shaft [&c.]. (S, K.) [See أَسَرُّ.]

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗
Technical definitions4 · Ibn ʿArabī’s Iṣṭilāḥ, al-Jurjānī’s Taʿrīfāt
  • السر

    يطلق فيقال سر العلم بازاء حقيقة العالم به، وسر الحال بازاء معرفة مراد الله فيه، وسر الحقيقة بازاء ما تقع به الاشارة.

    As-sirr (السر): it is applied such that one says 'the sirr of knowledge (sirr al-ʿilm)' corresponds to the reality of the one who possesses that knowledge; 'the sirr of the [spiritual] state (sirr al-ḥāl)' corresponds to knowledge of God's intent in it; and 'the sirr of the [ultimate] reality (sirr al-ḥaqīqah)' corresponds to that toward which allusion is made.

    Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥ al-Ṣūfiyya, line 148 ↗

  • سر السر

    ما انفرد به الحق عن العبد.

    Sirr as-sirr (سر السر, 'the secret of the secret'): that with which the Truth [God] alone is singled out, apart from the servant.

    Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥ al-Ṣūfiyya, line 402 ↗

  • السر

    لطيفة مودعة في القلب كالروح في البدن، وهو محل المشاهدة كما أن الروح محل المحبة، والقلب محل المعرفة.

    As-sirr (السر): a subtle faculty deposited in the heart, like the spirit in the body; it is the locus of direct witnessing (mushāhadah), just as the spirit is the locus of love, and the heart is the locus of gnosis (maʿrifah).

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 2377 ↗

  • سر السر

    ما تفرد به الحق عن العبد، كالعلم بتفصيل الحقائق في إجمال الأحدية وجمعها واشتمالها على ما هي عليه، {وعنده مفاتح الغيب لا يعلمها إلا هو} .

    Sirr as-sirr (سر السر): that with which the Truth [God] alone is singled out, apart from the servant — such as the knowledge of the detailed distinctness of the [divine] realities within the totality of Oneness (aḥadiyyah), their comprehensive unity, and their encompassing of what they truly are. 'And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them but He' [Q. 6:59].

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 2379 ↗

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

س ر ر

السين والراء يجمع فروعه إخفاء الشيء وما كان من خالصه ومستقره لا يخرج شيء منه عن هذا فالسر خلاف الإعلان

s-r: its branches are gathered under the concealment of a thing, and whatever is of its pure essence and its settled place; nothing of it departs from this; so al-sirr is the opposite of disclosure.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Quran ×44

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

س

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

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

ومما بين الثنايا وطرف اللسان، مخرج الصاد والزاي والسين

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

ر

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا لانحرافه إلى اللام مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26557–26558 ↗

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا، لانحرافه إلى اللام، مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, lines 980–981 ↗

ر

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا لانحرافه إلى اللام مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26557–26558 ↗

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا، لانحرافه إلى اللام، مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, lines 980–981 ↗

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

س

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

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

Lunar mansion: النعائم · al-Naʿāʾim

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62110

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

السين والشين فطبعهما الحرارة واليبوسة

Sīn and shīn: their nature is heat and dryness.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2581

ر

Level of existence: السماء الخامسة · the fifth heaven

Divine Name: المصور · the Form-Giver (al-Muṣawwir)

Lunar mansion: الغفر · al-Ghafr

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64675

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

ر

Level of existence: السماء الخامسة · the fifth heaven

Divine Name: المصور · the Form-Giver (al-Muṣawwir)

Lunar mansion: الغفر · al-Ghafr

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64675

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

س

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء المليح الذي من طبعه الرقة.

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

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

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

وبالكسر إشارة إلى الشيء الطابع وتكون الإشارة منه.

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

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

ر

فهي إشارة إلى جميع الخيرات الظاهرة والباطنة.

It is an indication of all goods, outward and inward.

فهي إشارة إلى الواحد في نفسه وهو ظاهر.

It is an indication of the one in itself, and it is manifest.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي فيه الروح وليس من بني آدم، أو إشارة إلى الروح نفسها.

It is an indication of a thing that has spirit in it but is not of the children of Adam, or an indication of the spirit itself.

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

ر

فهي إشارة إلى جميع الخيرات الظاهرة والباطنة.

It is an indication of all goods, outward and inward.

فهي إشارة إلى الواحد في نفسه وهو ظاهر.

It is an indication of the one in itself, and it is manifest.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي فيه الروح وليس من بني آدم، أو إشارة إلى الروح نفسها.

It is an indication of a thing that has spirit in it but is not of the children of Adam, or an indication of the spirit itself.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
In the sister scriptsHebrew ס/ש ר רSyriac ܣ/ܫ ܪ ܪ
Arabicس ر ر
Hebrewס/ש ר ר
Syriacܣ/ܫ ܪ ܪ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩯/𐩦 𐩧 𐩧
Phoenician𐤎/𐤔 𐤓 𐤓

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) gives sirr as 'what you keep hidden' and sarīra as 'a secret deed, good or bad,' and already flags asarra as a word of contrary senses (aḍdād) — to conceal and to disclose — citing wa-asarrū l-nadāma as a case needing this double reading;well attested

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

    Al-Khalīl (al-ʿAyn) gives sirr as 'what you keep hidden' and sarīra as 'a secret deed, good or bad,' and already flags asarra as a word of contrary senses (aḍdād) — to conceal and to disclose — citing wa-asarrū l-nadāma as a case needing this double reading; he extends the root to the hidden creases of the palm/womb (asirrat al-raḥim) and to sirār, the night the new moon is hidden. Al-Jawharī (al-Ṣiḥāḥ) confirms sirr/sarīra as 'what is concealed,' adds euphemistic uses of sirr (coitus, the pudendum), and gives sirr al-nasab as 'the pure, best part of lineage' and fī sirr qawmihi as 'in the midst/best part of his people' — a second branch of 'purity, choice core' alongside secrecy. Ibn Fāris (Maqāyīs) states the root's branches converge on exactly these two things — concealment versus disclosure, and the pure essence/settled seat of a thing — and records the dispute over asarrū l-nadāma (Thaʿlab: concealed it from their chiefs; Ibn Sīda, whom Ibn Fāris judges correct: showed it). Ibn Manẓūr (Lisān) repeats this material, keeping the aḍdād question open. Lane suspects that the claim (in the Tāj al-ʿArūs) that sarrahu itself carries both contrary senses is a scribal error for asarrahu, and separately treats sarra 'to gladden' (surūr, masarra) as apparently the same triliteral shape — a caution that 'secret' and 'joy' may be historically distinct roots fallen together in form.

    Draws on: khalil · jawhari · ibnfaris · ibnmanzur · Lane

    • Wiktionary, Arabic root س-ر-ر (link not verified)
    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, s.v. s-r-r
    • Lane's Lexicon, s.v. sarra
  • Letters & soundIn the Akbarian letter-table, sīn corresponds to 'what appears in water' and rāʾ to 'the fifth heaven';speculative

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

    In the Akbarian letter-table, sīn corresponds to 'what appears in water' and rāʾ to 'the fifth heaven'; al-Dabbāgh's fatḥa-values give sīn as 'an indication of the comely thing whose nature is delicacy' and rāʾ as 'an indication of all goods, outward and inward.' A sound-symbolist might read sirr as a movement from something delicate and barely apparent (sīn) toward a comprehensive good, outward and inward (rāʾ) — fitting imagery for the sirr as the subtle inward faculty through which hidden goods are eventually disclosed. This is a resonance within one esoteric letter-scheme, not an etymological claim, and mainstream linguistics gives it no evidentiary weight.

    Draws on: ibn-arabi-letters · dabbagh

    • Ibn ʿArabī (attrib.), letter-meaning table (position 198)
    • al-Dabbāgh, letter-meanings by vowel
  • Root structureNo nucleus-sibling chapter for s-r is given in the supplied Maqāyīs material, so no juxtaposition with neighboring bi-radical chapters can be drawn here.uncertain

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

    No nucleus-sibling chapter for s-r is given in the supplied Maqāyīs material, so no juxtaposition with neighboring bi-radical chapters can be drawn here. Of the triliteral permutations, only s-r-r is attested as a root (44 Qurʾānic occurrences); r-s-r and r-r-s are not. The Qurʾānic data itself shows s-r-r spanning what look like separate lexical families — sirr 'secret,' surūr/masrūr 'joy, gladdened,' and sarīr/surur 'couch, throne' — better read as convergent homography of originally distinct roots than as one semantically unified aṣl; no Ibn Jinnī greater-derivation data is available here to test this.

    Draws on: permutations

    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, permutation table
  • Semitic kin & loanwordsNo confident Semitic cognate exists for sirr in the sense 'secret.' Hebrew has a root s-r-r (סרר), but it means 'to be stubborn, rebellious' (as in ben sorer u-moreh), an unrelated sense and likely only a formal look-alike, not a semantic cognate;plausible

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

    No confident Semitic cognate exists for sirr in the sense 'secret.' Hebrew has a root s-r-r (סרר), but it means 'to be stubborn, rebellious' (as in ben sorer u-moreh), an unrelated sense and likely only a formal look-alike, not a semantic cognate; Hebrew expresses concealment through the different root s-t-r. Aramaic/Syriac similarly carry the concealment sense chiefly through str, not srr. The word is native Arabic, not a loanword.

    Draws on: comparative-semitic

    • BDB, Hebrew s-r-r
  • Quranic exegesisIn 20:7, 'He knows the secret and what is even more hidden' (yaʿlamu l-sirra wa-akhfā), al-Rāzī and al-Zamakhsharī distinguish sirr as what a person consciously conceals within himself from akhfā as a deeper layer not yet formed into conscious intention.well attested

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    In 20:7, 'He knows the secret and what is even more hidden' (yaʿlamu l-sirra wa-akhfā), al-Rāzī and al-Zamakhsharī distinguish sirr as what a person consciously conceals within himself from akhfā as a deeper layer not yet formed into conscious intention. In 9:78, 'their secret and their private converse' (sirrahum wa-najwāhum) pairs sirr, unspoken inner concealment, with najwā, concealed speech between people; al-Ṭabarī reads the verse as asserting that God's knowledge reaches both registers of hiddenness. At 2:235, lā tuwāʿidūhunna sirran ('do not make secret promises to them'), exegetes read sirr along the euphemistic line al-Jawharī records, restricting believers to open, licit betrothal language. At 2:274, sirran wa-ʿalāniyatan ('secretly and openly') is read by al-Ṭabarī as praising both modes of charity without absolute ranking. The crux wa-asarrū l-nadāma is read divergently by exegetes along the same aḍdād fault-line found in the lexicographers: some take it as 'they concealed their regret' from their followers, others as 'they openly showed it.'

    Draws on: tabari · zamakhshari · razi · raghib

  • Akbarian readingIbn ʿArabī distinguishes three technical registers: sirr al-ʿilm, corresponding to the very reality known by the knower;well attested

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    Ibn ʿArabī distinguishes three technical registers: sirr al-ʿilm, corresponding to the very reality known by the knower; sirr al-ḥāl, corresponding to knowledge of what God intends by a given state; and sirr al-ḥaqīqa, corresponding to that toward which an allusion (ishāra) points. He further defines sirr al-sirr, 'the secret of the secret,' as what the Real keeps exclusively to Himself, withheld even from the servant. In Faṣṣ Ādam this vocabulary appears where he speaks of the Real's sirr becoming manifest through the human being — the all-comprehensive Adam is the locus where God's own secret (His self-disclosure to Himself) becomes apparent, self-vision through another rather than bare self-vision. He also uses sirrī autobiographically, describing what God disclosed to him 'in my sirr' concerning the great Shaykh, treating sirr as the innermost faculty of unveiling, deeper than the qalb.

    Draws on: ibn-arabi-istilah · fass-adam

    • Ibn ʿArabī, Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, Faṣṣ Ādam
    • Ibn ʿArabī, Iṣṭilāḥāt al-Ṣūfiyya, s.v. al-sirr
Neighbouring rootsThe roots that share letters with this one, as a map you can open out