Mashrabaمشربة

Root · 2 in the Quran · 9 in 6 texts of the library

فككOpening, separating, or loosening things that are bound, joined, or interlocked (root fkk)

الفاء والكاف أصل صحيح يدل على تفتح وانفراج

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

فكك

The family of the root

Patterns computed · our data

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

12 words6 verbs4 verbal nouns1 intensive or elative1 other noun

  • فَكَّthe opening a thing
  • تَفَكَّكَit became much, or widely, separated
  • اِنْفَكَّit became separated
  • فَكَّاكone who separates, , much, or often
  • مُتَفَكِّكَةmare desiring the stallion, not offering opposition to him
The whole family4 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs6فَكَّ · فَكَّكَ · أَفَكَّ

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

  • فَكَّthe opening a thingLaneForm ILane
  • فَكَّكَForm IILane
  • أَفَكَّForm IVLane
  • تَفَكَّكَit became much, or widely, separatedLaneForm VLane
Verbal nouns4فَكَاك · فِكَاك · فَكَك

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

  • فَكَاكForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • فِكَاكForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • فَكَكForm I · Lane: inf. n.Lane
  • فُكُوكForm I · Lane: inf. n.Lane
Intensives, qualities and the elative1فَكَّاك

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

  • فَكَّاكone who separates, , much, or oftenLaneintensive (faʿʿāl)LaneIbn Fāris
Other nouns1مُتَفَكِّكَة

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

  • مُتَفَكِّكَةmare desiring the stallion, not offering opposition to himLanenounLane

Reference

Why this shape?What each of the 9 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.

مَفْعَلَةف ك كمَفْكَكَة

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.

The dictionaries

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170Fakaktu al-shayʾa fa-infakka (فككت الشيء فانفك) — like a sealed book whose seal you break (tafukku khātamahu), and like separating the two jawbones (al-ḥankayn) — you part them.

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

    Fakaktu al-shayʾa fa-infakka (فككت الشيء فانفك) — like a sealed book whose seal you break (tafukku khātamahu), and like separating the two jawbones (al-ḥankayn) — you part them. Al-fakkān (الفكان) is the meeting point of the two corners of the mouth on both sides. 'There is fakak (فكك) in so-and-so' means laxity and slackness. Al-afk (الأفك) is the joining-place of the snout, on the pattern of afʿal, i.e., the place where the two jaws meet. Al-fikkah (الفكة) is the circular cluster of stars beside Banāt Naʿsh, which is the one children call 'the bowl of the poor' (qaṣʿat al-masākīn). Al-fakāk (الفكاك) is the thing with which you release a pledge or a captive... Fakaktu al-asīr fakkan wa-fakākan (فككت الأسير فكا وفكاكا) [I released the captive], as Zuhayr said: 'And I parted from you with a pledge that has no release (fakāk lahu), on the day of farewell, so the pledge came to be forfeited.' And fakaktu raqabata fulān (فككت رقبة فلان) means I freed him [from slavery]. Al-fakak (الفكك) is the shoulder's separation from its joint through weakness or slackness; the descriptive adjective is afakk (أفك). 'There is fakak in so-and-so,' as [the poet] said: 'A body (abad) that walks with the gait of al-afakk (الأفك).'

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    فككت الشيء فانفك. ككتاب مختوم تفك خاتمه، وكما تفك الحنكين تفصل بينهما. والفكان: ملتقى الشدقين من الجانبين. وفي فلان فكك، أي: إناثة واسترخاء. والأفك: مجمع الخطم، على تقدير أفعل، وهو مجمع الفكين. والفكة: النجوم المستديرة، التي إلى جانب بنات نعش، وهي التي يسميها الصبيان: قصعة المساكين. والفكاك: الشيء الذي تفك به رهنا أو أسيرا.. فككت الأسير فكا وفكاكا، وكما قال زهير: «1» وفارقتك برهن لا فكاك له ... يوم الوداع فأمسى الرهن قد غلقا وفككت رقبة فلان: أعتقته. والفكك: انفراج المنكب عن مفصله ضعفا أو استرخاء، والنعت: أفك، وفي فلان فكك قال: «2» أبد يمشي مشية الأفك

    al-Khalīl · 170 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 5, p. 283) ↗
  • al-Jawharī · 393Fakaktu al-shayʾ (فككت الشئ): I released/freed it.

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

    Fakaktu al-shayʾ (فككت الشئ): I released/freed it. Any two interlocked things that you separate — you have 'fakaktahuma' (فككتهما), and likewise al-tafkīk (التفكيك). Al-fakk (الفك) is the jawbone (al-laḥy). One says 'the man's death-blow is between his two jawbones (fakayhi).' And fakaktu al-ṣabiyya (فككت الصبي): I put medicine in his mouth. It is said of the very old man: 'he has become fakk and faraj (فك وفرج)' meaning his two jaws have parted — this happens in old age when he becomes decrepit. Abū Zayd said: al-fāk (الفاك) among men is the decrepit old man. One says: qad fakka yafukku fakkan wa-fukūkan (قد فك يفك فكا وفكوكا). Fakka al-rahn (فك الرهن) and iftakkahu (افتكه) have the same meaning: he released/redeemed it. Fakāk al-rahn (فكاك الرهن) is that by which it is redeemed. Fakāk al-rahn (فكاك الرهن) is also said with kasra [fikāk], a dialectal form related by al-Kisāʾī. Fakka al-raqabah (فك الرقبة) means he freed it [from slavery]. Infakkat raqabatuhu min al-riqq (انفكت رقبته من الرق): his neck [i.e., he] was freed from bondage. 'Mā infakka fulānun qāʾiman' (ما انفك فلان قائما) means 'so-and-so did not cease standing.' Regarding Dhū al-Rummah's line: 'Lean she-camels that do not cease (mā tanfakku) being made to kneel upon hardship, or we cast forth with them into a barren land' — he means 'mā tanfakku munākhah' and added 'illā' [as an extra particle]. 'So-and-so fell and his foot or finger became infakkat' means it became dislocated and slipped out. Al-fakak (الفكك) is the dislocation of the foot, as in Ruʾbah's saying: 'It stirred you, [memory] of Arwā, like the limping gait from al-fakak (كمنهاض الفكك).' Al-Aṣmaʿī said: it is really al-fakk (الفك), from your saying 'fakkahu yafukkuhu fakkan,' but he doubled the consonant [in the poem] out of poetic necessity. Al-fikkah (الفكة) means folly and slackness. Abū Qays ibn al-Aslat said: 'Resolve and strength are better than apprehension, and al-fikkah (الفكة) and al-hāʿ [rashness].' One says: 'mā kuntu fākkan' (ما كنت فاكا), and 'laqad fakiktu' with kasra, 'tafakku fikkatan' (تفك فكة) — so he is fākk, tākk (فاك تاك), meaning a fool. And 'so-and-so yatafakkaku (يتفكك)' means he lacks self-composure out of folly. Al-fikkah (الفكة) is a cluster of stars behind al-Simāk al-Rāmiḥ. Al-Aṣmaʿī said: children call it qaṣʿat al-masākīn (the bowl of the poor). He said: al-afakk (الأفك) is one whose shoulder has separated from its joint through weakness and slackness. From it one says: 'mā kuntu afakka wa-laqad fakiktu tafakku fakakan' (ما كنت أفك ولقد فككت تفك فككا).

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    </span> فككت الشئ: خلصته. وكل مشتبكين فصلتهما فقد فككتهما، وكذلك التفكيك. والفك: اللحي. يقال: " مقتل الرجل بين فكيه " وفككت الصبي: جعلت الدواء في فيه. ويقال للشيخ الكبير: قد فك وفرج، يريد فرج لحييه، وذلك في الكبر إذا هرم. قال أبو زيد: الفاك من الرجال: الهرم. يقال: قد فك يفك فكا وفكوكا. وفك الرهن وافتكه بمعنى، أي خلصه. وفكاك الرهن: ما يفتك به. وفكاك الرهن أيضا بالكسر، لغة حكاها الكسائي. وفك الرقبة، أي أعتقها. وانفكت رقبته من الرق. وما انفك فلان قائما، أي ما زال قائما. وقول ذى الرمة: حراجيج ما تنفك (1) إلامناخة على الخسف أو نرمي بها بلدا قفرا يريد: ما تنفك مناخة، فزاد إلا. وسقط فلان فانفكت قدمه أو إصبعه، إذا انفرجت وزالت. والفكك: انفساخ القدم، ومنه قول رؤبة: هاجك من أروى كمنهاض الفكك * قال الاصمعي: إنما هو الفك، من قولك: فكه يفكه فكا، فأظهر التضعيف ضرورة. والفكة: الحمق والاسترخاء. قال أبو قيس بن الاسلت: الحزم والقوة خير من الشفاق والفكة والهاع يقال: ما كنت فاكا، ولقد فككت بالكسر تفك فكة، فأنت فاك تاك، أي أحمق. وف لان يتفكك، إذا لم يكن به تماسك في حمق. والفكة: كواكب مستديرة خلف السماك الرامح. قال الاصمعي: يسمها الصبيان قصعة المساكين. قال: والأفك الذي انفرج منكبه عن مفصله ضعفا واسترخاء. تقول منه: ما كنت أفك ولقد فككت تفك فككا.

    al-Jawharī · 393 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 4, p. 1603) ↗
  • Ibn Fāris · 395The letters fāʾ and kāf are a sound root indicating opening and separation.

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

    The letters fāʾ and kāf are a sound root indicating opening and separation. From this comes fakāk al-rahn (فكاك الرهن), which is the releasing of a pledge from being locked/closed. Al-Kisāʾī related fakāk (الفكاك) with kasra [on the fā]. One says fakaktu al-shayʾa afukkuhu fakkan (فككت الشيء أفكه فكا) [I released/separated the thing]. And 'so-and-so fell and his foot became infakkat (انفكت)' means it became dislocated/separated. Their saying 'lā yanfakku yafʿalu dhālika' (لا ينفك يفعل ذلك) means 'he does not cease doing that' — the meaning being that he and that action are inseparable, so the analogy holds soundly here. Al-fakk (الفك) is the shoulder becoming separated from its joint due to weakness. Also from this root is al-fakkān (الفكان), the meeting point of the two corners of the mouth, so named because of the opening/separation [there].

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الفاء والكاف أصل صحيح يدل على تفتح وانفراج من ذلك فكاك الرهن وهو فتحه من الانغلاق وحكى الكسائي الفكاك بالكسر ويقال فككت الشيء أفكه فكا وسقط فلان وانفكت قدمه أي انفرجت وقولهم لا ينفك يفعل ذلك بمعنى لا يزال والمعنى هو وذلك الفعل لا يفترقان فالقياس فيه صحيح والفك انفراج المنكب عن مفصله ضعفا ومما هو من الباب الفكان ملتقى الشدقين وسميا بذلك للانفراج

    Ibn Fāris · 395 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 4, p. 433) ↗
  • al-Rāghib · 502Al-fakak (الفكك) is the act of opening/separating.

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

    Al-fakak (الفكك) is the act of opening/separating. Fakk al-rahn (فك الرهن) is releasing/redeeming it. Fakk al-raqabah (فك الرقبة) is freeing it [from slavery]. Regarding His saying: 'fakku raqabah' [freeing a slave] (Sūrat al-Balad 90:13) — it was said this means the manumission of a slave; it was also said that it means a person freeing himself from God's punishment through goodly speech and righteous deeds, and freeing others through what benefits them of that. The second is attained by a person after the first is attained, for one who is not himself guided does not have it within his power to guide [others], as I have explained in [my book] 'Makārim al-Sharīʿah.' Al-fakak (الفكك) is the shoulder's separation from its joint through weakness, and al-fakkān (الفكان) is the meeting-place of the two corners of the mouth. Regarding His saying: 'Those who disbelieved among the People of the Book and the polytheists were not munfakkīn (منفكين)' (Sūrat al-Bayyinah 98:1) — meaning they were not divided/separated, rather they were all united in misguidance, like His saying: 'Mankind was one community...' (Sūrat al-Baqarah 2:213). And 'mā infakka yafʿalu kadhā' (ما انفك يفعل كذا) is like 'mā zāla yafʿalu kadhā' [he did not cease doing such-and-such].

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الفكك: التفريج، وفك الرهن: تخليصه، وفك الرقبة: عتقها. وقوله: فك رقبة [البلد/ 13] ، قيل: هو عتق المملوك «1» ، وقيل: بل هو عتق الإنسان نفسه من عذاب الله بالكلم الطيب والعمل الصالح، وفك غيره بما يفيده من ذلك، والثاني يحصل للإنسان بعد حصول الأول، فإن من لم يهتد فليس في قوته أن يهدي كما بينت في (مكارم الشريعة) «2» ، والفكك: انفراج المنكب عن مفصله ضعفا، والفكان: ملتقى الشدقين. وقوله: لم يكن الذين كفروا من أهل الكتاب والمشركين منفكين [البينة/ 1] ، أي: لم يكونوا متفرقين بل كانوا كلهم على الضلال، كقوله: كان الناس أمة واحدة ... الآية [البقرة/ 213] ، و (ما انفك) يفعل كذا، نحو: ما زال يفعل كذا.

    al-Rāghib · 502 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 1, p. 643) ↗
  • Lisān · 711Al-Layth said: one says fakaktu al-shayʾ fa-infakka (فككت الشيء فانفك) — like a sealed book whose seal you release (tafukku khātamahu), as you separate the two jawbones (al-ḥankayn), parting them.

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

    Al-Layth said: one says fakaktu al-shayʾ fa-infakka (فككت الشيء فانفك) — like a sealed book whose seal you release (tafukku khātamahu), as you separate the two jawbones (al-ḥankayn), parting them. Fakaktu al-shayʾ (فككت الشيء): I released it. Any two interlocked things that you separate — you have 'fakaktahuma' (فككتهما), and likewise al-tafkīk (التفكيك). Ibn Sīdah: fakka al-shayʾ yafukkuhu fakkan fa-infakka (فك الشيء يفكه فكا فانفك) means he separated it, [and it] separated. Fakka al-rahn yafukkuhu fakkan (فك الرهن يفكه فكا) and iftakkahu (افتكه) mean the same: he redeemed it. Fakāk al-rahn (فكاك الرهن) and fikāk (فكاكه), with kasra, is that by which it is redeemed. Al-Aṣmaʿī: al-fakk (الفك) is that you release the anklet and the neck [from bondage]. Fakka yadahu fakkan (فك يده فكا) means he dislocated the joint; one says 'aṣābahu fakak' (أصابه فكك). Ruʾbah said: 'It stirred you, [memory] of Arwā, like the limping gait from al-fakak.' Fakk al-raqabah (فك الرقبة) is freeing it from the bond of slavery. Fakk al-rahn (فك الرهن) and fakākuhu, fikākuhu (فكاكه فكاكه) is releasing it from the lock of pledge. One says: 'halumma fakāka wa-fikāka rahnika' (هلم فكاك وفكاك رهنك) [bring the redemption of your pledge]. Anything you release, you have fakaktahu (فككته). 'So-and-so yasʿā fī fakāki raqabatihi' (يسعى في فكاك رقبته) [strives toward freeing himself]. Infakkat raqabatuhu min al-riqq (انفكت رقبته من الرق): his neck [i.e. he] was freed from bondage. Fakka al-raqabah yafukkuha fakkan (فك الرقبة يفكها فكا): he freed it/emancipated it — this is from the same root because it [the neck] was separated from bondage. In the hadith: 'Free the person (a'tiq al-nasamah) and fakk al-raqabah (وفك الرقبة)' — explained in the hadith as: freeing a person's neck (nasamah) means he alone frees it, while fakk al-raqabah means he assists in freeing it. The root meaning of al-fakk is separating between two things and releasing one from the other. Fakka al-asīr fakkan wa-fakākatan (فك الأسير فكا وفكاكة): he separated him from captivity. Al-fakāk and al-fikāk (الفكاك والفكاك) is that by which release is effected. In the hadith: 'Visit the sick and fukkū al-ʿānī (فكوا العاني)' meaning release the captive; it may also mean manumission. Fakaktu yadahu fakkan (فككت يده فكا) and fakka yadahu (فك يده): he opened it from what was in it. Al-fakk (الفك) in the hand is less severe than a fracture (dūna al-kasr). 'So-and-so fell and his foot or finger became infakkat (انفكت)' means it became dislocated and slipped out. Al-fakak (الفكك) is dislocation of the foot; and [the compiler] cited Ruʾbah's line: 'kamanhāḍ al-fakak' (كمنهاض الفكك). Al-Aṣmaʿī said: it is really al-fakk (الفك), from your saying 'fakkahu yafukkuhu fakkan,' but he doubled the consonant out of poetic necessity. In the hadith: 'He rode a horse which threw him upon the stump of a palm tree, and his foot became infakkat' — al-infikāk (الانفكاك) is a kind of weakening and dislocation, i.e. that some of its parts separate from others. Al-fakak (الفكك) — and in al-Muḥkam: al-fakk (الفك) — is the shoulder's separation from its joint through slackness and weakness; and al-Layth cited: 'A body (abad) that walks with the gait of al-afakk (الأفك).' It is said: 'there is fikkah (فكة) in so-and-so,' meaning slackness in his judgment. Abū Qays ibn al-Aslat said: 'Resolve and strength are better than apprehension, and al-fikkah and al-hāʿ.' A man who is afakk al-manqib (أفك المنكب), having fikkah in him, means slackness and weakness of judgment. Al-afakk (الأفك) is one whose shoulder has separated from its joint through weakness and slackness; from it one says 'mā kuntu afakka wa-laqad fakiktu tafakku fakakan' (ما كنت أفك ولقد فككت تفك فككا). Al-fikkah (الفكة) also means folly along with slackness. A man who is fākk (فاك) is a fool, thoroughly foolish, and is followed [in expression] by saying 'fākk tākk' (فاك تاك); the plural is fakakah and fikāk (فككة وفكاك), on the authority of Ibn al-Aʿrābī. One says 'qad fakiktu' and 'fakaktu' and 'qad ḥamiqtu wa-fakiktu' and [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الليث: يقال فككت الشيء فانفك بمنزلة الكتاب المختوم تفك خاتمه كما تفك الحنكين تفصل بينهما. وفككت الشيء: خلصته. وكل مشتبكين فصلتهما فقد فككتهما، وكذلك التفكيك. ابن سيده: فك الشيء يفكه فكا فانفك فصله. وفك الرهن يفكه فكا وافتكه: بمعنى خلصه. وفكاك الرهن وفكاكه، بالكسر: ما فك به. الأصمعي: الفك أن تفك الخلخال والرقبة. وفك يده فكا إذا أزال المفصل، يقال: أصابه فكك؛ قال رؤبة: هاجك من أروى كمنهاض الفكك وفك الرقبة: تخليصها من إسار الرق. وفك الرهن وفكاكه فكاكه: تخليصه من غلق الرهن. ويقال: هلم فكاك وفكاك رهنك. وكل شيء أطلقته فقد فككته. وفلان يسعى في فكاك رقبته، وانفكت رقبته من الرق، وفك الرقبة يفكها فكا: أعتقها، وهو من ذلك لأنها فصلت من الرق. وفي الحديث: أعتق النسمة وفك الرقبة ، تفسيره في الحديث: أن عتق النسمة أن ينفرد بعتقها ، وفك الرقبة: أن يعين في عتقها، وأصل الفك الفصل بين الشيئين وتخليص بعضهما من بعض. وفك الأسير فكا وفكاكة: فصله من الأسر. والفكاك والفكاك: ما فك به. وفي الحديث: عودوا المريض وفكوا العاني أي أطلقوا الأسير، ويجوز أن يريد به العتق. وفككت يده فكا، وفك يده: فتحها عما فيها. والفك في اليد: دون الكسر. وسقط فلان فانفكت قدمه أو إصبعه إذا انفرجت وزالت. والفكك: انفساخ القدم، وأنشد قول رؤبة: كمنهاض الفكك؛ قال الأصمعي: إنما هو الفك من قولك فكه يفكه فكا، فأظهر التضعيف ضرورة. وفي الحديث: أنه ركب فرسا فصرعه على جذم نخلة فانفكت قدمه ؛ الانفكاك: ضرب من الوهن والخلع، وهو أن ينفك بعض أجزائها عن بعض. والفكك، وفي المحكم: والفك انفراج المنكب عن مفصله استرخاء وضعفا؛ وأنشد الليث: أبد يمشي مشية الأفك ويقال: في فلان فكة أي استرخاء في رأيه؛ قال أبو قيس بن الأسلت: الحزم والقوة خير من الإشفاق ... والفكة والهاع ورجل أفك المنكب وفيه فكة أي استرخاء وضعف في رأيه. والأفك: الذي انفرج منكبه عن مفصله ضعفا واسترخاء، تقول منه: ما كنت أفك ولقد فككت تفك فككا. والفكة أيضا: الحمق مع استرخاء. ورجل فاك: أحمق بالغ الحمق، ويتبع فيقال: فاك تاك، والجمع فككة وفكاك؛ عن ابن الأعرابي. وقد فككت وفككت وقد حمقت وفككت، وبعضهم يقول فككت، ويقال: ما كنت فاكا ولقد فككت، بالكسر، تفك فكة. وفلان يتفكك إذا لم يكن به تماسك من حمق. وقال النضر: الفاك المعيي هزالا. ناقة فاكة وجمل فاك، والفاك: الهرم من الإبل والناس، فك يفك فكا وفكوكا. وشيخ فاك إذا انفرج لحياه من الهرم. ويقال للشيخ الكبير: قد فك وفرج، يريد فرج لحييه، وذلك في الكبر إذا هرم. وفككت الصبي: جعلت الدواء في فيه. وحكى يعقوب: شيخ فاك وتاك، جعله بدلا ولم يجعله إتباعا؛ قال: وقال الحصيني: أحمق فاك وهاك، وهو الذي يتكلم بما يدري وما لا يدري وخطؤه أكثر من صوابه، وهو فكاك هكاك. والفك: اللحي. والفكان: اللحيان، وقيل: مجتمع اللحيين عند الصدغ من أعلى وأسفل يكون من الإنسان والدابة. قال أكثم بن صيفي: مقتل الرجل بين فكيه، يعني لسانه. وفي التهذيب: الفكان ملتقى الشدقين من الجانبين. والفك: مجتمع الخطم. والأفك: هو مجمع الخطم، وهو مجمع الفكين على تقدير أفعل. وفي النوادر: أفك الظبي من الحبالة إذا وقع فيها ثم انفلت، ومثله: أفسح الظبي من الحبالة. والفكك: انكسار الفك أو زواله. ورجل أفك: مكسور الفك، وانكسر أحد فكيه أي لحييه؛ وأنشد: كأن بين فكها والفك ... فأرة مسك، ذبحت في سك والفكة: نجوم مستديرة بحيال بنات نعش خلف السماك الرامح تسميها الصبيان قصعة المساكين، وسميت قصعة المساكين لأن في جانبها ثلمة، وكذلك تلك الكواكب المجتمعة في جانب منها فضاء. ويقال: ناقة متفككة إذا أقربت فاسترخى صلواها وعظم ضرعها ودنا نتاجها، شبهت بالشيء يفك فيتفكك أي يتزايل وينفرج، وكذلك ناقة مفكة قد أفكت، وناقة مفكهة ومفكه بمعناها، قال: وذهب بعضهم بتفكك الناقة إلى شدة ضبعتها؛ وروى الأصمعي: أرغثتهم ضرعها الدنيا، ... وقامت تتفكك انفشاح الناب للسقب، ... متى ما يدن تحشك أبو عبيد: المتفككة من الخيل الوديق التي لا تمتنع عن الفحل. وما انفك فلان قائما أي ما زال قائما. وقوله عز وجل: لم يكن الذين كفروا من أهل الكتاب والمشركين منفكين حتى تأتيهم البينة ؛ قال الزجاج: المشركين في موضع نسق على أهل الكتاب، المعنى لم يكن الذين كفروا من أهل الكتاب ومن المشركين، وقوله منفكين حتى تأتيهم البينة أي لم يكونوا منفكين من كفرهم أي منتهين عن كفرهم، وهو قول مجاهد، وقال الأخفش: منفكين زائلين عن كفرهم، وقال مجاهد: لم يكونوا ليؤمنوا حتى تبين لهم الحق، وقال أبو عبد الله نفطويه: معنى قوله منفكين يقول لم يكونوا مفارقين الدنيا حتى أتتهم البينة التي أبينت لهم في التوارة من صفة محمد، صلى الله عليه وسلم، ونبوته؛ وتأتيهم لفظه لفظ المضارع ومعناه الماضي، وأكد ذلك فقال تعالى: وما تفرق الذين أوتوا الكتاب إلا من بعد ما جاءتهم البينة، …

    Lisān · 711 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 10, p. 475) ↗
  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

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

    الفَكُّ

    1. الفَكُّ, accord. to Er-Rághib, primarily signifies التَّفْرِيجُ [i. e. The opening a thing; and particularly by diduction, or so as to form an intervening space, or a gap, or breach]. (TA.) You say, فَكَّ, first pers. فَكَكْتُ, (S, O, Msb, K,) aor. فَكُكَ , inf. n. فَكٌّ, (O, Msb,) He separated (S, O, Msb, K) a thing (S, O, K) from another thing; and any two things knit together, or intricately intermixed: (S, O:) or فَكَكْتُهُ I separated one part of it from another part thereof: (Msb:) and تَفْكِيكٌ likewise signifies the separating two things knit together, or intricately intermixed. (Lth, S, TA.) And He broke [or broke open] a seal, i. e. a sealed piece of clay or wax; (Mgh, Msb, * TA;) in relation to which يَفْتَكُّهُ occurs as meaning يَفُكُّهُ, though we have not heard it [as a classical expression in this sense]. (Mgh.) And فَكَّ العَظْمَ, (Mgh, Msb,) aor. and inf. n. as above, (Msb,) He dislocated the bone; put it out of joint. (Mgh, Msb.) [This, or the like, is what is meant by its being said that] الفَكُّ in the hand, or arm, is [i. e. denotes] less than الكَسْرُ. (K.) And فَكَّ يَدَهُ, (K, TA,) aor. and inf. n. as above, (TA,) He opened, or unclosed, his hand from what was in it: (K, TA:) so in the M. (TA.) And فَكَّ الرَّهْنَ, (S, Mgh, O, Msb, K,) aor. فَكُكَ , (TA,) inf. n. فَكٌّ and فُكُوكٌ; (K;) and افتكّهُ; (S, Mgh, O, K;) (tropical:) He redeemed the pledge; (S, Mgh, O, Msb, K, TA;) got it out from the hand of him to whom it was pledged. (Mgh.) And فَكَكْتُ signifies also I loosed, set loose or free, or let go, anything. (Msb.) [Hence,] فَكَّ الأَسِيرُ, (Msb, K,) aor. فَكُكَ , (TA,) inf. n. فَكٌّ and فَكَاكٌ and فِكَاكٌ, (K,) (tropical:) He liberated, or set free, the captive. (Msb, K, TA.) And فَكَّ الرَّقَبَةَ, (S, O, Msb, K,) aor. فَكُكَ , inf. n. فَكٌّ, (TA,) [lit. He loosed the neck,] means (tropical:) he emancipated [the slave]. (S, O, Msb, K, TA.) فَكُّ الرَّقَبَةِ is expl. in a trad. as meaning (assumed tropical:) The assisting in paying the price [of the slave when one is unable to pay the whole of the price]. (O, TA.) In the Kur [xc. 13], فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ is said by some to mean (assumed tropical:) The emancipating of a slave: and by some. (assumed tropical:) the man's emancipating himself from subjection to God's punishment by the confession of the unity of God and by righteous doing and then by teaching the same to others. (TA,) فُكَّ فُلَانٌ means (assumed tropical:) Such a one was set free, and at rest, from a thing. (IAar, Th, TA.) [Hence also,] one says, هُوَ يَفُكُّ المَشَاكِلَ (assumed tropical:) [He solves] the things, or affairs, that are dubious, or confused. (TA in art. شكل.) قَدْفَكَّ وَفَرَّجَ is said of a very old man, meaning فَرَّجَ لَحْيَيْهِ [i. e. He has parted his jaws, by hanging the lower jaw in consequence of weakness]; as is the case in extreme old age. (S, O,) And [hence.] فَكَّ, (AZ, S, O, K,) aor. فَكُكَ , inf. n. فَكٌّ and فُكُوكٌ, (AZ, S, O,) said of a man, means (assumed tropical:) He was, or became, extremely aged, or old and weak. (AZ, S, O, K.) [Or فَكَّ thus used may be from الفَكُّ signifying “ the jaw: ” and so what next follows.] فَكَكْتُ الصَّبِىَّ I put medicine into the mouth of the boy or young male child [opening his jaws for that purpose]. (S, O.) قَدْ فَكِكْتَ, [third pers. فَكَّ,] aor. تَفَكُّ, inf. n. فَكَكٌ, Thou hast become such as is termed أَفَكُّ i. e. one whose مَنْكِب [here meaning shoulder-bone] has become unknit, or loosened, (اِنْفَرَجَ,) from its joint, in consequence of weakness and flaccidity. (S.) [See also فَكَكٌ below.] And قَدْفَكِكْتَ, aor. تَفَكُّ; (S, O, K;) and فَكُكْتَ, (O, K,) a verb of a very rare form, [respecting which see دَمَّ, last sentence,] (MF, TA,) aor. تَفُكُّ; (O, K;) inf. n. فَكَّةٌ (S, O, K) and فَكٌّ also; (TA;) (tropical:) Thou hast become foolish, or stupid, and soft, flaccid, or languid. (S, O, K, TA.)

    فَكََّّ

    2: see the preceding paragraph, second sentence.

    افكّت

    4. افكّت She (a camel) being near to bringing forth, her صَلَوَانِ [app. meaning two parts on the right and left of the tail (see صلًا in art. صلو)] became lax, or flaccid, and her udder became large; (K, TA;) and so أَفْكَهَت; (TA;) so too تفكّكت: or this last signifies she became vehemently desirous of the stallion. (O, K.) And افكّ مِنَ الحِبَالَةِ He (a gazelle) got loose from the snare into which he had fallen. (TA: also mentioned, but not expl., in the O.)

    تفكّك

    5. تفكّك It (a thing) became much, or widely, separated: and became unclosed. (O, TA.) تفكّكت السَّفِينَةُ The ship parted asunder; became disjointed; became separated in its places of joining. (Mgh in art. خلع.) See also 7. And see 4. You say also, هُوَ يَتَفَكَّكُ meaning (tropical:) He is [or acts] without power of self-restraint, in consequence of stupidity, or unsoundness of intellect, (S, O, K, TA,) in his gait, and in his speech: (TA:) or تَفَكَّكَ in walking is syn. with تَخَلَّعَ, (S and K and TA in art. خلع,) i. e. [he was, or became, loose in the joints; or] he shook his shoulder-joints and his arms, and made signs with them. (TA in that art.)

    انفكّ

    7. انفكّ It became separated: you say, انفكّ الشَّىْءُ مِنَ الشَّىْءِ The thing became separated from the thing: (O, TA:) and اِنْفَكَكْتُ مِنْكَ [I became separated from thee]. (TA.) And, said of a bone, It became dislocated, or out of joint; (MA, Mgh, * Msb; *) it unknit, or loosened, and separated; syn. اِنْفَرَجَ وٱنْفَصَلَ; as also تفكّك. (Mgh.) [And it is also used in relation to a member of the body:] one says, سَقَطَ فُلَانٌ فٱنْفَكَّتْ قَدَمُهُ أَوْ إِصْبَعُهُ i. e. اِنْفَرَجَتْ وَزَالَتْ [Such a one fell, and his foot, or his finger, became unknit, or loosened, and dislocated]: (S, O:) [or] انفكّت قَدَمُهُ means زَالَتْ [i. e. his foot became dislocated; and انفكّت إصْبَعُهُ means اِنْفَرَجَتْ [i. e. his finger became unknit, or loosened in a joint]. (K.) One says also, انفكّت رَقَبَتُهُ مِنَ الرِّقِّ, meaning (tropical:) He became freed [lit. his neck became loosed] from slavery. (S, * O, * TA.) And انفكّ عَنْ عَهْدِهِ (assumed tropical:) [He became released from his compact, engagement, or promise]. (TA voce اِنْفَرَكَ.) And لَايَنْفَكُّ عَنْ قُبْحِ فِعْلِهِ (assumed tropical:) [He will not desist from his evil doing]. (O and K in art. عرف.) [It is also used in the sense and manner of the non-attributive verb زَالَ; respecting which see art. زيل.] One says, مَاٱنْفَكَّ فُلَانٌ قَائِمًا, meaning مَازَالَ قَائِمًا [i. e. Such a one ceased not to be, or continued to be, standing]. (S, O.) And مَاٱنْفَكَكْتُ أَذْكُرُكَ, meaning مَازِلْتُ أَذْكُرُكَ I ceased not, or I continued, remembering thee]. (Fr, TA.) And it occurs in a verse of Dhu-r-Rummeh, immediately followed by إِلَّا, which is [said by As and IJ and others to be] redundant. (S, O. [See that verse, and the remarks upon it, in art. الا. p. 78, col. i.])

    إِفْتَكَكَ

    8: see 1, former half, in two places.

    الفَكُّ

    الفَكُّ The لَحْى [meaning jaw; and also either of the two lateral portions of the lower jaw], (S, O, Msb, K,) i. e. (Msb) each of the لَحْيَانِ; (Mgh, Msb;) as also الأَفَكُّ: (O, K:) or this latter signifies the مَجْمَع [or part in which is the commissure] of the خَطْم [generally meaning muzzle]; (Lth, O, K;) as also الفَكُّ; (TA;) that is, (Lth, O, in the K “ or ” [as if to denote a different meaning],) [the part in which is the symphysis] of the فَكَّانِ [or two lateral portions of the lower jaw]: (Lth, O, K:) [see الفَنِيكُ:] and الفَكَّانِ is said to mean the place [on either side with that on the other side] where the two jaws meet [and are articulated] next the temple, above and below; of a human being and of a horse or the like: (TA:) and, in the Bári', (Msb,) or in the T, (TA,) the place of meeting of the two sides of the mouth (مُلْتَقَى الشِّدْقَيْنِ) on both sides: (Msb, TA:) [but this last explanation is strange, and app. little known:]) pl. فُكُوكٌ. (Msb.) One says, مَقْتَلُ الرَّجُلِ بَيْنَ فَكَّيْهِ [which may be best rendered The man's slayer is between his two jaws, or two lateral portions of his lower jaw]; (S, O, TA;) meaning the man's tongue: (TA:) a prov., in which مقتل may be [properly] an inf. n., or a noun of place, or an inf. n. used in the place of an act. part. n.: accord. to the third of these explanations, [which most nearly denotes the meaning intended,] it is as though one said, قَاتِلُ الرَّجُلِ بَيْنَ فَكَّيْهِ. (Meyd. [See Freytag's Arab. Prov., ii. 597.]) See also فَكَكٌ.

    فَكَّةٌ

    فَكَّةٌ [an inf. n.: see 1, last sentence]. الفَكَّةُ is the name of One of the northern constellations, [Corona Borealis,] (Kzw,) certain stars, (S, O, K,) eight stars, called in Pers. كاسه درويشان, (Kzw,) behind السِّمَاك الرَّامِح [i. e. Arcturus], (S, O, K,) [near] behind the staff of الصَّيَّاح [which is a name of Bootes], (Kzw,) having a circling form, (S, O, K, and Kzw,) but with a gap, or breach, in the circling, for which reason, [agreeably with the Pers. appellation mentioned above,] it is called قَصْعَةُ المَسَاكِينِ [the bowl of the paupers], (Kzw,) this being the name given to it by the children. (As, S, O, K.)

    فَكَكٌ

    فَكَكٌ An unknit, or a loosened, state (اِنْفِرَاج) of the مَنْكِب [or shoulder-joint]. (K. [But see 1, last explanation but one, where it is mentioned as an inf. n.]) And (K) A state of dislocation of the foot: (S, O, K:) hence the phrase, in a verse of Ru-beh, كَمُنْهَاضِ الفَلَكٌ: (S, O: *) but (in this instance, O), accord. to As, الفَلَك is used by poetic license for الفَكّ [meaning “ the jaw, ” so that the phrase signifies like him whose jaw has become broken after its having been set]. (S, O.) And A state of fracture of the jaw: (K, TA:) or of dislocation thereof. (TA.)

    فَكَاكُ الرَّهْنِ

    فَكَاكُ الرَّهْنِ and فِكَاكُهُ, (S, O, Msb, * K,) the latter mentioned by Ks (S, O, Msb) and ISk, (Msb,) That wherewith the pledge is, or is to be, redeemed: (S, O, Msb, * K:) so in a verse cited voce غَلَقَ. (S, O.)

    فَكَّاكٌ

    فَكَّاكٌ [One who separates, &c., much, or often]. [And hence,] فَكَّاكٌ هَكَّاكٌ (tropical:) One who does not make his words and their meanings congruous, or consistent, by reason of his foolishness, or stupidity. (Z, TA.)

    فَاكٌّ

    فَاكٌّ [as an act. part. n., Separating, &c. And] (assumed tropical:) Extremely aged, or old and weak; applied in this sense to a man; (AZ, S, O, K;) and also to a camel: (K:) or, applied to a camel, disabled, or fatigued, by leanness, or emaciation: fem. with ة. (En-Nadr, TA.) And (tropical:) Foolish, or stupid: (S, O: *) or very foolish, or stupid: (IAar, K, TA:) and you say فَاكٌّ تَاكٌّ, (IAar, S, O, TA,) making تاكّ an imitative sequent: or, accord. to Yaakoob, you say شَيْخٌ فَاكٌّ وَتَاكٌّ: thus he makes تاكّ a substitute, not an imitative sequent. (TA.) And أَحْمَقُ فَاكٌّ وَهَاكٌّ (tropical:) [A foolish, or stupid, person,] one who talks of that which he knows and of that which he knows not, and is more, or oftener, incorrect than correct. (El-Hoseybee, TA.) Pl. فَكَكَةٌ and فِكَاكٌ. (IAar, K.)

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗
Technical definitions1 · Ibn ʿArabī’s Iṣṭilāḥ, al-Jurjānī’s Taʿrīfāt
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 their orders. Choose one.

ف ك ك

الفاء والكاف أصل صحيح يدل على تفتح وانفراج

f-k-k: a sound root indicating opening up and separation.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Quran ×2

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)

8 more

Reference

How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

ف

ومن باطن الشفة السفلى وأطراف الثنايا العلى مخرج الفاء

From the inside of the lower lip and the edges of the upper front teeth is the place of the fāʾ. Sībawayh, line 26562 ↗

ومن باطن الشفة السفلى وأطراف الثنايا العلى، مخرج الفاء

From the inside of the lower lip and the edges of the upper front teeth is the place of the fāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 985 ↗

ك

ومن أسفل من موضع القاف من اللسان قليلا ومما يليه من الحنك الأعلى مخرج الكاف

From a little lower on the tongue than the qāf's place, and the upper palate next to it, is the place of the kāf. Sībawayh, lines 26551–26552 ↗

ومن أسفل من ذلك وأدنى إلى مقدم الفم مخرج الكاف

From lower than that and nearer the front of the mouth is the place of the kāf. Ibn Jinnī, line 973 ↗

ك

ومن أسفل من موضع القاف من اللسان قليلا ومما يليه من الحنك الأعلى مخرج الكاف

From a little lower on the tongue than the qāf's place, and the upper palate next to it, is the place of the kāf. Sībawayh, lines 26551–26552 ↗

ومن أسفل من ذلك وأدنى إلى مقدم الفم مخرج الكاف

From lower than that and nearer the front of the mouth is the place of the kāf. Ibn Jinnī, line 973 ↗

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

ف

Level of existence: الملائكة · the angels

Divine Name: القوى · the Strong (al-Qawī)

Lunar mansion: سعد الأخبية · Saʿd al-Akhbiya

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 65823

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

ك

Level of existence: الكرسي والقدمين · the Footstool and the two Feet

Divine Name: الشكور · al-Shakūr, the Grateful

Lunar mansion: النثرة · al-Nathra

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62083

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

ك

Level of existence: الكرسي والقدمين · the Footstool and the two Feet

Divine Name: الشكور · al-Shakūr, the Grateful

Lunar mansion: النثرة · al-Nathra

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62083

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

ف

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي لنفي الخبث بعد ما كان جنسه معلوما بالخبث، فهي إشارة إلى أنه طاهر وجنسه خبيث، والخبث مثل المعاصي وما أشبهها.

It is for negating foulness in something whose genus is known for foulness. It thus indicates that the thing is pure while its genus is foul; foulness being like sins and the like.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي لتزويل الخبث.

It is for removing foulness.

With kasra ـِ

فهي إشارة إلى الذات وما احتوت عليه، وفي بعض الأحيان قد يكون معها التقليل.

It is an indication of the self and what it contains; at times it may carry a sense of diminution.

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

ك

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي إشارة إلى حقيقة العبودية الكاملة.

It is an indication of the reality of perfect servanthood.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي العبد الأسود أو القبيح.

It is the black or ugly slave/servant.

With kasra ـِ

فهي إشارة إلى إضافة العبودية إليك، وقال مرة أخرى: فهي إشارة منك إليك بالعبودية.

It is an indication of attributing servanthood to you. On another occasion he said: it is an indication from you to yourself of servanthood.

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

ك

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي إشارة إلى حقيقة العبودية الكاملة.

It is an indication of the reality of perfect servanthood.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي العبد الأسود أو القبيح.

It is the black or ugly slave/servant.

With kasra ـِ

فهي إشارة إلى إضافة العبودية إليك، وقال مرة أخرى: فهي إشارة منك إليك بالعبودية.

It is an indication of attributing servanthood to you. On another occasion he said: it is an indication from you to yourself of servanthood.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
Two-letter nucleus4 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterف ك

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 24387 ↗

  • فكلالفاء والكاف واللام كلمة واحدة وهي الأفكل الرعدة ويقولون لا يبنى منه فعلL24388
  • فكنالفاء والكاف والنون كلمة واحدة وهي التندمL24389
  • فكهالفاء والكاف والهاء أصل صحيح يدل على طيب واستطابةQ 19 · L24390
  • فكرالفاء والكاف والراء تردد القلب في الشيءQ 18 · L24396
In the sister scriptsHebrew פ כ כSyriac ܦ ܟ ܟ
Arabicف ك ك
Hebrewפ כ כ
Syriacܦ ܟ ܟ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩰 𐩫 𐩫
Phoenician𐤐 𐤊 𐤊

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 anchors the root in the image of unsealing a sealed book or separating the two jaws (al-ḥanakayn), and lists fakku l-asīr (releasing a captive) and fakku raqabatin (manumitting a slave);well attested

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

    Al-Khalīl anchors the root in the image of unsealing a sealed book or separating the two jaws (al-ḥanakayn), and lists fakku l-asīr (releasing a captive) and fakku raqabatin (manumitting a slave); al-Jawharī generalizes this to any two intertwined things being parted, and records fakku l-rahn/iftakkahu as redeeming a pledge and mā infakka as the idiom 'never ceased.' Ibn Fāris's maqāyīs distills a single sense, tafattuḥ wa-infirāj (opening, gapping apart), under which he groups fakāk al-rahn, the dislocation of a joint (infikāk al-qadam), and al-fakkān (the corners of the mouth, named for their gap). Al-Rāghib reads Q90:13's fakk raqaba as either literal manumission or, more broadly, freeing oneself from God's punishment through good speech and deed — noting that freeing another (the literal sense) presupposes one has already freed oneself — and glosses munfakkīn in Q98:1 as 'undivided,' i.e. disbelievers united rather than dispersed in misguidance. Ibn Manẓūr compiles these strands (Layth, Aṣmaʿī, Ibn Sīda) plus fakku l-yad for a dislocated limb, and Lane confirms al-Rāghib's tafrīj as the governing sense throughout.

    Draws on: cayn · sihah · Ibn Fāris · mufradat · lisan · Lane

    • al-Khalīl, Kitāb al-ʿAyn, root f-k-k
    • al-Jawharī, al-Ṣiḥāḥ, root f-k-k
    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, root f-k-k
    • al-Rāghib, al-Mufradāt, root f-k-k
    • Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, root f-k-k
    • Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, root f-k-k
  • Letters & soundAl-Dabbāgh's letter-values (as transmitted in the Akbarian correspondences given) read the fāʾ as marking the negation of foulness within a genus otherwise known for foulness — i.e.speculative

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

    Al-Dabbāgh's letter-values (as transmitted in the Akbarian correspondences given) read the fāʾ as marking the negation of foulness within a genus otherwise known for foulness — i.e. purity singled out from within an impure category — and the kāf as an indication of the reality of perfect servanthood. Applied loosely to fakk (release, manumission, redemption of a pledge), one could impressionistically see the fāʾ's 'purification-within-a-foul-genus' and the kāf's 'perfect servanthood' converging on the act of freeing a slave (fakk raqaba) as a purifying act performed from the station of servanthood. This is an interpretive resonance only; mainstream historical linguistics treats such letter-symbolism as at most suggestive, without demonstrated causal or etymological force.

    Draws on: dabbagh_fatha · akbari198

    • al-Dabbāgh, letter-values of fāʾ and kāf (fatḥa)
    • Akbarian correspondence table, letters 198
  • Root structureIbn Fāris's chapter neighbors for f-k share little semantic overlap on the surface: f-k-l gives al-afkal (a trembling, a shiver, with no verb formed from it), f-k-n gives regret (al-tanaddum), f-k-h gives pleasantness and savor (ṭīb wa-istiṭāba), and f-k-r gives the mind's turning-over of a matter (taraddud al-qalb).plausible

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

    Ibn Fāris's chapter neighbors for f-k share little semantic overlap on the surface: f-k-l gives al-afkal (a trembling, a shiver, with no verb formed from it), f-k-n gives regret (al-tanaddum), f-k-h gives pleasantness and savor (ṭīb wa-istiṭāba), and f-k-r gives the mind's turning-over of a matter (taraddud al-qalb). Placed beside these, f-k-k's sense of opening/separating suggests a loose family motif of release or loosening of what is held fast — a shiver as the body's involuntary give, thinking as the mind's turning-back-and-forth — though this is a juxtaposition of the lexicographer's arrangement, not an asserted etymology. Of the anagram permutations, only f-k-k itself is attested as a root; k-f-k and k-k-f are unused, so Ibn Jinnī's greater-derivation method (which looks for shared meaning across permuted roots) finds no real purchase here.

    Draws on: maqayis-nucleus · permutations

    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, roots f-k-l, f-k-n, f-k-h, f-k-r
    • Wiktionary Arabic root appendix f-k-k (link not verified)
  • Semitic kin & loanwordsNo confident Semitic cognate for f-k-k in the sense of 'separate, open, release' has been identified in Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, Akkadian, Geʿez, or South Arabian;uncertain

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

    No confident Semitic cognate for f-k-k in the sense of 'separate, open, release' has been identified in Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, Akkadian, Geʿez, or South Arabian; the root appears to function as an ordinary, well-integrated triliteral within Arabic rather than as a borrowing. There is accordingly no basis for treating fakk or its derivatives (fakāk, munfakkīn) as loanwords.

    Draws on: comparative

  • Quranic exegesisAt Q90:13 (fakku raqabah, one of the 'steep paths'), the exegetical tradition (reflected in al-Rāghib's Mufradāt) reads fakk raqaba primarily as manumitting a slave, with al-Rāghib adding the extended sense of freeing oneself from divine chastisement through righteous speech and action — a freeing of others that only follows once one has first freed oneself.plausible

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    At Q90:13 (fakku raqabah, one of the 'steep paths'), the exegetical tradition (reflected in al-Rāghib's Mufradāt) reads fakk raqaba primarily as manumitting a slave, with al-Rāghib adding the extended sense of freeing oneself from divine chastisement through righteous speech and action — a freeing of others that only follows once one has first freed oneself. At Q98:1, lam yakun...munfakkīn describes the disbelievers among the People of the Book and the polytheists as not munfakkīn — al-Rāghib glosses this as 'not divided, but united' in misguidance, i.e. the verse denies a parting or cessation of their unbelief prior to the clear proof (al-bayyina) coming to them, a reading that turns on whether infikāk here means 'separation' or 'ceasing.'

    Draws on: mufradat · quran

  • Akbarian readingIn Faṣṣ Ādam, Ibn ʿArabī uses fukka to describe the removal of the Universal/Perfect Human (al-insān al-kāmil) from the world's storehouse: the world remains 'preserved' (maḥfūẓ) only so long as this Human is within it, and when he passes away and is fukka — released, unlocked — from that treasury, nothing that God had stored there through him remains, and what had been stored comes forth.plausible

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    In Faṣṣ Ādam, Ibn ʿArabī uses fukka to describe the removal of the Universal/Perfect Human (al-insān al-kāmil) from the world's storehouse: the world remains 'preserved' (maḥfūẓ) only so long as this Human is within it, and when he passes away and is fukka — released, unlocked — from that treasury, nothing that God had stored there through him remains, and what had been stored comes forth. The verb thus carries its ordinary sense of unsealing/releasing a repository, applied cosmologically to the Perfect Human as the locking mechanism (a kind of khātam) that keeps existence intact; his release is the unlocking that ends the world's preservation.

    Draws on: fassAdam

    • Ibn ʿArabī, Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, Faṣṣ Ādam

Reference

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