Mashrabaمشربة

Root · 0 in the Quran · 3 in 3 texts of the library

كنوPer Ibn Fāris: veiled reference to a name by substituting another for it — the ground of … (root knw)

الكاف والنون والحرف المعتل يدل على تورية عن اسم بغيره

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

كنو

The family of the root

Patterns computed · our data

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

2 words2 verbs

  • كَنَّى—
  • كَنَىallude to; express indirectly
The whole family1 group, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs2كَنَى · كَنَّى

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

Form I vowels: فَعَلَ (a; the imperfect from the Quranic Arabic Corpus)

Reference

Why this shape?What each of the 2 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.

مَفْعَلَةك ن ومَكْنَوَة

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 · 170So-and-so kanā (كنى), yaknī (يكني) 'an kadhā and 'an ism kadhā — 'he alluded to such-and-such' — meaning he spoke of it by something other than it, by which it is indicated, such as [alluding to] intercourse (al-jimā'),

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

    So-and-so kanā (كنى), yaknī (يكني) 'an kadhā and 'an ism kadhā — 'he alluded to such-and-such' — meaning he spoke of it by something other than it, by which it is indicated, such as [alluding to] intercourse (al-jimā'), defecation (al-ghā'iṭ), coarse speech (ar-rafath), and the like. Al-kunyah (الكنية) is [a term specific] to men. The people of Basra say: 'So-and-so yuknā bi-Abī 'Abd Allāh' (he is given the kunyah Abū 'Abd Allāh), while others say 'yuknā bi-'Abd Allāh,' but this is an error. Do you not see that you say 'yusammā Zaydan' and 'yusammā bi-Zayd' (he is named Zayd), and 'yuknā Abā 'Amr' and 'yuknā bi-Abī 'Amr' (he is given the kunyah Abū 'Amr)? [Separate entry] Nayk (نيك): an-nayk is well-known [i.e., sexual intercourse]. The active participant is nā'ik (نائك); the one acted upon is manīk (منيك) or manyūk (منيوك); and the female is manyūkah (منيوكة).

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    كنى فلان، يكني عن كذا، وعن اسم كذا إذا تكلم بغيره مما يستدل به عليه، نحو الجماع والغائط، والرفث، ونحوه. والكنية للرجل، وأهل البصرة يقولون: فلان يكنى بأبي عبد الله، وغيرهم يقول: يكنى بعبد الله، وهذا غلط، ألا ترى أنك تقول: يسمى زيدا ويسمى بزيد، ويكنى أبا عمرو، ويكنى بأبي عمرو. نيك «1» : النيك: معروف، والفاعل، نائك، والمفعول به: منيك ومنيوك، والأنثى: منيوكة.

    al-Khalīl · 170 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 5, p. 411) ↗
  • al-Jawharī · 393Al-kināyah (الكناية) is: to speak of a thing while intending by it something else.

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

    Al-kināyah (الكناية) is: to speak of a thing while intending by it something else. One says kanaytu (كنيت) bi-kadhā 'an kadhā, and also kanawtu (كنوت) [in the same sense]. Abū Ziyād cited: 'And indeed I allude (la-aknū) to filth (qadhūr) by other than it, yet sometimes I speak plainly and declare openly.' [The active participle is] rajul kānin (رجل كان), 'a man who alludes,' and qawm kānūn (قوم كانون), 'people who allude.' Al-kunyah and al-kinyah, also with kasrah, is the singular of kunan (كنى). One says: iktanā (اكتنى) fulān bi-kadhā, 'so-and-so adopted such-and-such as his kunyah.' And so-and-so 'yuknā bi-Abī 'Abd Allāh' — do not say 'yuknā bi-'Abd Allāh.' [One says]: kannaytuhu (كنيته) Abā Zayd and bi-Abī Zayd, taknīyah (تكنية), 'I gave him the kunyah Abū Zayd.' He is kunniyyuhu (كنيه), just as you say samiyyuhu ('his namesake'). And kunā ar-ru'yā (كنى الرؤيا) are the parables/similitudes that the angel of dream-visions strikes, by which he alludes to the essential realities of things.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الكناية: أن تتكلم بشئ وتريد به غيره. وقد كنيت بكذا عن كذا وكنوت. وأنشد أبو زياد: وإني لأكنو (1) عن قذور بغيرها * وأعرب أحيانا بها فأصارح وجل كان وقوم كانون. والكنية والكنية أيضا بالكسر: واحدة الكنى. واكتنى فلان بكذا. وفلان يكنى بأبي عبد الله، ولا تقل يكنى بعبد الله. وكنيته أبا زيد وبأبي زيد تكنية. وهو كنيه كما تقول: سميه. وكنى الرؤيا، هي الأمثال التي يضربها ملك الرؤيا، يكنى بها عن أعيان الامور.

    al-Jawharī · 393 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 6, p. 2477) ↗
  • Ibn Fāris · 395The letters kāf, nūn, and the weak letter indicate a veiling/allusion referring to a name by something other than it.

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

    The letters kāf, nūn, and the weak letter indicate a veiling/allusion referring to a name by something other than it. One says kanaytu (كنيت) 'an kadhā — 'I alluded to such-and-such' — when one speaks of something else by which the thing is indicated; and kanawtu (كنوت) is used likewise. What clarifies this is the poet's saying: 'And indeed I allude (la-aknū) to filth (qadhūr) by other than it, yet sometimes I speak plainly and declare openly.' Do you not see that he set al-kināyah (الكناية, 'allusion') in opposition to al-muṣāraḥah ('plain speech')? For this reason the kunyah (الكنية) is called kunyah, as though it were an allusive substitute for one's [proper] name. In the book of al-Khalīl it is stated that the correct usage is to say 'yuknā bi-Abī 'Abd Allāh' (he is given the kunyah 'Abū 'Abd Allāh') and not 'yuknā bi-'Abd Allāh.' And the kunā (كنى) of a dream-vision are the parables/similitudes that the angel of dream-visions strikes, by which he alludes to the essential realities of things.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الكاف والنون والحرف المعتل يدل على تورية عن اسم بغيره يقال كنيت عن كذا إذا تكلمت بغيره مما يستدل به عليه وكنوت أيضا ومما يوضح هذا قول القائل — وإني لأكنو عن قذور بغيرها … وأعرب أحيانا بها فأصارح … ألا تراه جعل الكناية مقابلة للمصارحة ولذلك تسمى الكنية كنية كأنها تورية عن اسمه وفي كتاب الخليل أن الصواب أن يقال يكنى بأبي عبد الله ولا يقال يكنى بعبد الله وكنى الرؤيا هي الأمثال التي يضربها ملك الرؤيا يكنى بها عن أعيان الأمور

    Ibn Fāris · 395 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 5, p. 139) ↗
  • Lisān · 711Al-kunyah (الكنية) is of three types: the first is that one uses a kunyah to allude to a thing whose mention is deemed obscene;

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

    Al-kunyah (الكنية) is of three types: the first is that one uses a kunyah to allude to a thing whose mention is deemed obscene; the second is that a man is given a kunyah as a mark of respect and honor; and the third is that the kunyah stands in place of the [proper] name, so that its bearer is known by it just as he is known by his name — as with Abū Lahab (أبو لهب), whose [proper] name was 'Abd al-'Uzzā (عبد العزى); he became known by his kunyah, and God named him by it [in the Qur'an]. Al-Jawharī said: al-kunyah and al-kinyah are also the singular of kunan (كنى). One says: iktanā (اكتنى) fulān bi-kadhā. And al-kināyah (الكناية) is to speak of a thing while intending something else. And kanā (كنى) 'an al-amr bi-ghayrihi, yaknī (يكني), kināyatan (كناية) — meaning: when one speaks of it by something other than it, by which it is indicated, such as [alluding to] coarse speech (ar-rafath), defecation (al-ghā'iṭ), and the like. In the hadith: 'Whoever invokes the tribal cry ('aza) of the Jāhiliyyah, tell him to bite (a'iḍūhu) his father's penis, and do not use euphemisms (lā taknū).' And in a hadith of one of them: 'I saw a foreign warrior ('ilj) on the Day of al-Qādisiyyah, and he had takannā (تكنى) and taḥajjā (تحجى)' — meaning he concealed/veiled himself, from kanā 'anhu (كنى عنه), 'to allude to it,' when one veils [the truth]; or from al-kunyah, as though he mentioned his kunyah in battle so as to be recognized — this being among the war-cry customs (shi'ār) of the champions in single combat, one of whom would say: 'I am so-and-so, and I am Abū so-and-so.' Likewise the hadith: 'Take it from me, for I am the Ghifārī youth (al-ghulām al-ghifārī).' And the saying of 'Alī, may God be pleased with him: 'I am Abū Ḥasan the mighty stallion (al-qarm).' And one says kanawtu (كنوت) bi-kadhā 'an kadhā; and [a verse] is cited: 'And indeed I allude (la-aknī) to filth (qadhūr) by other than it, yet sometimes I speak plainly and declare openly.' [The active participle is] rajul kānin (رجل كان) and qawm kānūn (قوم كانون). Ibn Sīdah said: Sībawayh used al-kināyah [as a term] for the marker of the pronoun [i.e., the pronominal suffix]. One says kannaytu (كنيت) the man bi-Abī Fulān and Abā Fulān — the latter by making the verb transitive directly after dropping the preposition — [the verbal noun being] kunyah or kinyah. He [the poet] said: 'a nun (rāhibah) given the kunyah of Umm al-Khayr (أم الخير).' And likewise kannaytuhu (كنيته) — from al-Liḥyānī, who said: 'al-Kisā'ī did not recognize aknaytuhu (أكنيته).' [Ibn Sīdah] said: his statement that al-Kisā'ī did not recognize aknaytuhu gives the impression that someone else did recognize it. 'Kunyat fulān Abū Fulān' — 'so-and-so's kunyah is Abū so-and-so' — and likewise kinyatuhu (كنيته), i.e., that by which he is given a kunyah. And [one also says] kunw kunwah (كنو كنوة) fulān Abū Fulān, and likewise kunw kunwah kunw kunwatihi — both from al-Liḥyānī. And kunw kunwah kunw kunwatihi is a dialectal variant of kinyatuhu (كنيته). Abū 'Ubayd said: one says kannaytu (كنيت) the man, and [also] kunw kunwah kunw kunwatihi — two dialectal variants. Abū Ziyād al-Kilābī cited: 'And indeed I... allude (aknū) to Qadhūr by other than it...' — Qadhūr being a woman's name. Ibn Barrī said: the evidentiary verse for kanaytu (كنيت) is the poet's saying: 'And she sent word in secret that I had exposed her, and I had indeed divulged (buḥtu) my name in the love-poem (nasīb), though she did not allude (mā takannī) [to hers].' And Takannā (تكنى) is among the names of women. Al-Layth said: the people of Basra say 'so-and-so yuknā bi-Abī 'Abd Allāh,' while others say 'so-and-so yuknā bi-'Abd Allāh.' Al-Jawharī said: do not say 'yuknā bi-'Abd Allāh.' Al-Farrā' said: the most eloquent of the dialectal forms is to say 'kuniya akhūka bi-'Amr' (your brother was given the kunyah with 'Amr'); the second is 'kuniya akhūka bi-Abī 'Amr'; and the third is 'kuniya akhūka Abā 'Amr.' And one says: kannaytuhu (كنيته)... [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    الكنية على ثلاثة أوجه: أحدها أن يكنى عن الشيء الذي يستفحش ذكره، والثاني أن يكنى الرجل باسم توقيرا وتعظيما، والثالث أن تقوم الكنية مقام الاسم فيعرف صاحبها بها كما يعرف باسمه كأبي لهب اسمه عبد العزى، عرف بكنيته فسماه الله بها. قال الجوهري: والكنية والكنية أيضا واحدة الكنى، واكتنى فلان بكذا. والكناية: أن تتكلم بشيء وتريد غيره. وكنى عن الأمر بغيره يكني كناية: يعني إذا تكلم بغيره مما يستدل عليه نحو الرفث والغائط ونحوه. وفي الحديث: من تعزى بعزاء الجاهلية فأعضوه بأير أبيه ولا تكنوا. وفي حديث بعضهم: رأيت علجا يوم القادسية وقد [تكنى] وتحجى أي تستر، من كنى عنه إذا ورى، أو من الكنية، كأنه ذكر كنيته عند الحرب ليعرف، وهو من شعار المبارزين في الحرب، يقول أحدهم: أنا فلان وأنا أبو فلان؛ ومنه الحديث: خذها مني وأنا الغلام الغفاري. وقول علي، رضي الله عنه: أنا أبو حسن القرم. وكنوت بكذا عن كذا؛ وأنشد: وإني لأكني عن قذور بغيرها، ... وأعرب أحيانا بها فأصارح ورجل كان وقوم كانون. قال ابن سيده: واستعمل سيبويه الكناية في علامة المضمر. وكنيت الرجل بأبي فلان وأبا فلان على تعدية الفعل بعد إسقاط الحرف كنية وكنية؛ قال: راهبة تكنى بأم الخير وكذلك كنيته؛ عن اللحياني، قال: ولم يعرف الكسائي أكنيته، قال: وقوله ولم يعرف الكسائي أكنيته يوهم أن غيره قد عرفه. وكنية فلان أبو فلان، وكذلك كنيته أي الذي يكنى به، وكنو كنوة فلان أبو فلان، وكذلك كنو كنوة كنو كنوته؛ كلاهما عن اللحياني. وكنو كنوة كنو كنوته: لغة في كنيته. قال أبو عبيد: يقال كنيت الرجل وكنو كنوة كنو كنوته لغتان؛ وأنشد أبو زياد الكلابي: وإني كنو كنوة كنو لأكنو عن قذور بغيرها وقذور: اسم امرأة؛ قال ابن بري: شاهد كنيت قول الشاعر: وقد أرسلت في السر أن قد فضحتني، ... وقد بحت باسمي في النسيب وما تكني وتكنى: من أسماء «1» النساء. الليث: يقول أهل البصرة فلان يكنى بأبي عبد الله، وقال غيرهم: فلان يكنى بعبد الله، وقال الجوهري: لا تقل يكنى بعبد الله، وقال الفراء: أفصح اللغات أن تقول كني أخوك بعمرو، والثانية كني أخوك بأبي عمرو، والثالثة كني أخوك أبا عمرو. ويقال: كنيته وكنو كنوة كنو كنوته وأكنيته وكنيته، وكنيته أبا زيد وبأبي زيد تكنية، وهو كنيه: كما تقول سميه. وكنى الرؤيا: هي الأمثال التي يضربها ملك الرؤيا، يكنى بها عن أعيان الأمور. وفي الحديث: إن للرؤيا كنى ولها أسماء فكنوها بكناها واعتبروها بأسمائها ؛ الكنى: جمع كنية من قولك كنيت عن الأمر وكنو كنوة كنو كنوت عنه إذا وريت عنه بغيره، أراد مثلوا لها أمثالا إذا عبرتموها، وهي التي يضربها ملك الرؤيا للرجل في منامه لأنه يكنى بها عن أعيان الأمور، كقولهم في تعبير النخل: إنها رجال ذوو أحساب من العرب، وفي الجوز: إنها رجال من العجم، لأن النخل أكثر ما يكون في بلاد العرب، والجوز أكثر ما يكون في بلاد العجم، وقوله: فاعتبروها بأسمائها أي اجعلوا أسماء ما يرى في المنام عبرة وقياسا، كأن رأى رجلا يسمى سالما فأوله بالسلامة، وغانما فأوله بالغنيمة.

    Lisān · 711 · OpenITIvowelled page on al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (print 15, p. 233) ↗
Look this root up elsewhere:Doha Historical Dictionary ↗Arabic Almanac ↗Hawramani Arabic Lexicon ↗

The same letters, turned

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

ك ن و

الكاف والنون والحرف المعتل يدل على تورية عن اسم بغيره

k-n-y (the weak letter) denotes concealing a name by using another in its place.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗

an entry in Ibn Fārislater sources onlyin none of them

Do these six share one core meaning?

Reference

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letters & sound

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

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

16 more

Reference

How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

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 ↗

ن

ومن حافة اللسان من أدناها إلى منتهى طرف اللسان ما بينها وبين ما يليها من الحنك الأعلى وما فويق الثنايا مخرج النون

From the edge of the tongue, from its nearest part to the end of its tip, between it and the upper palate next to it and what is just above the front teeth, is the place of the nūn. Sībawayh, lines 26555–26556 ↗

ومن طرف اللسان بينه وبين ما فويق الثنايا، مخرج النون

From the tip of the tongue, between it and what is just above the front teeth, is the place of the nūn. Ibn Jinnī, line 979 ↗

و

ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء، والميم، والواو

From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Sībawayh, line 26563 ↗

ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء والميم والواو

From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Ibn Jinnī, line 986 ↗

Sībawayh, al-Kitāb (ed. Hārūn) and Ibn Jinnī, Sirr ṣināʿat al-iʿrāb; OpenITI digital texts (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Full credits on each letter's page.

In the Breath of the All-MercifulIbn ʿArabī · metaphysics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

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

ن

Level of existence: السماء الرابعة · the fourth heaven

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

Lunar mansion: السماك · al-Simāk

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64663

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

Nature (ch. 2)

الثمانية فحروفها حارة يابسة

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

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

و

Level of existence: تعيين الرتب والمقامات والمنازل · the determination of ranks, stations and waystations

Divine Name: رفيع الدرجات · Rafīʿ al-Darajāt, Exalted in Degrees

Lunar mansion: الرشا · al-Rashāʾ

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62121

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

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

ن

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي الخير الساكن في الذات الشاعل فيها.

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

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي إشارة إلى الخير الكامل أو النور الساطع.

It is an indication of perfect good or radiant light.

With kasra ـِ

فهي إشارة إلى شيء يدركه المتكلم أو هو له.

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

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

و

With fatḥa ـَ

فهي الأشياء المشتبكة في الإنسان مثل العروق والأصابع وما أشبه ذلك.

It is the intertwined things in the human being, such as veins, fingers and the like.

With ḍamma ـُ

فهي الأشياء المباينة لبني آدم مثل الأفلاك والجبال وما أشبه ذلك

It is things distinct from the children of Adam, such as the celestial spheres, mountains and the like.

With kasra ـِ

فهي الأشياء المشتبكة المستقذرة أو المبغوضة كالأمعاء ونحوها.

It is intertwined things that are filthy or detested, such as the intestines and the like.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
Two-letter nucleus9 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterك ن

Ibn Fāris groups his roots under two-letter chapters (“the X and the Y and what makes them three”). These are the roots of this root's chapter with the core sense he gives each. Setting them side by side is our juxtaposition; he does not himself draw a shared meaning. His chapter heading, line 27277 ↗

  • كنوالكاف والنون والحرف المعتل يدل على تورية عن اسم بغيرهL27282
  • كنبالكاف والنون والباء كلمة واحدة لا تفرعL27291
  • كنتالكاف والنون والتاء كلمة إن صحت يقولون كنت واكتنت إذا لزم وقنع وقال عديL27296
  • كندالكاف والنون والدال أصل صحيح واحد يدل على القطعQ 1 · L27299
  • كنرالكاف والنون والراء ليس هو عندنا أصلا وفيه كلمتان أظنهما فارسيتينL27306
  • كنزالكاف والنون والزاء أصيل صحيح يدل على تجمع في شيءQ 9 · L27310
  • كنسالكاف والنون والسين أصلان صحيحان أحدهما يدل على سفر شيء عن وجه شيء وهو كشفه والأصل الآخر يدل على استخفاءQ 1 · L27315
  • كنعالكاف والنون والعين أصل صحيح يدل على تشنج وتقبض وتجمعL27322
  • كنفالكاف والنون والفاء أصل صحيح واحد يدل على سترL27328
In the sister scriptsHebrew כ נ וSyriac ܟ ܢ ܘ
Arabicك ن و
Hebrewכ נ ו
Syriacܟ ܢ ܘ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩫 𐩬 𐩥
Phoenician𐤊 𐤍 𐤅

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 defines kanā ʿan kadhā as speaking by something other than the direct term for matters like intercourse or defecation, and records the dispute over the correct formula for a man's byname: Baṣrans say 'yuknā bi-Abī ʿAbdallāh,' others (wrongly, per al-Khalīl) 'yuknā bi-ʿAbdallāh.' Al-Jawharī defines kināya as speaking of one thing while meaning another, cites the verse contrasting kunw (allusion) with muṣāraḥa (plain speech), and adds that 'kanā l-ruʾyā' names the symbolic figures the angel of dreams uses to allude to real events.well attested

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

    Al-Khalīl defines kanā ʿan kadhā as speaking by something other than the direct term for matters like intercourse or defecation, and records the dispute over the correct formula for a man's byname: Baṣrans say 'yuknā bi-Abī ʿAbdallāh,' others (wrongly, per al-Khalīl) 'yuknā bi-ʿAbdallāh.' Al-Jawharī defines kināya as speaking of one thing while meaning another, cites the verse contrasting kunw (allusion) with muṣāraḥa (plain speech), and adds that 'kanā l-ruʾyā' names the symbolic figures the angel of dreams uses to allude to real events. Ibn Fāris's maqāyīs states the same core sense — tawriya ʿan ism bi-ghayrihi — supporting al-Khalīl's ruling on 'bi-Abī ʿAbdallāh' and repeating the dream-vision usage. Ibn Manẓūr (Lisān) organizes the word into three uses: euphemism for what is shameful to name directly, an honorific byname given out of reverence, and a kunya that has entirely displaced the given name as a person's public identity — his example is Abū Lahab, whose given name ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā was superseded by the byname God himself used in the Qurʾān; he also cites the hadith instructing that rebuke be by the plain name, 'wa-lā taknū' (do not use the euphemistic byname).

    Draws on: al-Khalīl/al-ʿAyn · al-Jawharī/al-Ṣiḥāḥ · Ibn Fāris/Maqāyīs · Ibn Manẓūr/Lisān al-ʿArab

    • al-Khalīl, Kitāb al-ʿAyn, s.v. كنى
    • al-Jawharī, al-Ṣiḥāḥ, s.v. كنو
    • Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, s.v. كنو
    • Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, s.v. كنى
  • Letters & soundIn the akbarī correspondences ك is 'the Footstool and the two Feet,' and on the fatḥa 'the reality of perfect servanthood';speculative

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

    In the akbarī correspondences ك is 'the Footstool and the two Feet,' and on the fatḥa 'the reality of perfect servanthood'; ن is 'the fourth heaven,' and on the fatḥa 'the good that dwells in the self, kindling within it'; و is 'the determination of ranks, stations, and waystations,' and on the fatḥa 'the intertwined things in the human being, such as veins and fingers.' A sound-symbolist might read كنو as naming a person by an inward good (ن) proper to their station (و), approached with the humility of servanthood (ك) rather than by blunt direct address — apt to a word for an honorific byname. This is speculative pattern-matching only; mainstream linguistics affords no evidentiary weight to such letter-meaning tables.

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

    • Ibn ʿArabī / al-Dabbāgh letter-tables (akbari198)
  • Root structureAmong the ك-ن chapter's siblings, كنف (covering/shelter) and كنس (uncovering, or a hidden lair) sit closest in sense to كنو, suggesting a broader family concern with concealment and disclosure across ك-ن roots, though Ibn Fāris nowhere states this as a unifying asl;plausible

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

    Among the ك-ن chapter's siblings, كنف (covering/shelter) and كنس (uncovering, or a hidden lair) sit closest in sense to كنو, suggesting a broader family concern with concealment and disclosure across ك-ن roots, though Ibn Fāris nowhere states this as a unifying asl; كنز (hoarding), كنع (contraction), and كند (cutting off, ingratitude) pull in other directions, and كنر is flagged by Ibn Fāris himself as probably Persian, not a genuine Arabic root. Among the greater-derivation permutations, كون (kawn, being/becoming) towers by frequency (1390 occurrences against كنو's zero), and a Jinnian ear might note the pairing of 'veiling a name behind another name' (كنو) with 'coming-to-be' (كون) — a name as much conceals as it reveals the thing named, much as kawn is both appearance and concealment of being. وكن, the bird's nest or resting-place, likewise echoes a place of shelter/concealment kindred to kunya's shielding of the proper name; this is offered as juxtaposition, not as an established derivation.

    Draws on: Ibn Fāris nucleusSiblings ك-ن · permutations · Ibn Jinnī al-khaṣāʾiṣ

    • Wiktionary, Appendix:Arabic roots/ك_ن_و (link not verified)
    • Ibn Jinnī, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, bāb al-ishtiqāq al-akbar (link not verified)
  • Semitic kin & loanwordsHebrew כנה (kinnāh) means 'to give a surname, to call by an honorific name/epithet,' as at Isaiah 44:5, 'yikkānēh be-shēm Yiśrāʾēl' (he will surname himself by the name of Israel) — a precise semantic match to Arabic kunya/kanā.well attested

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

    Hebrew כנה (kinnāh) means 'to give a surname, to call by an honorific name/epithet,' as at Isaiah 44:5, 'yikkānēh be-shēm Yiśrāʾēl' (he will surname himself by the name of Israel) — a precise semantic match to Arabic kunya/kanā. This is a shared inherited Semitic root rather than a borrowing in either direction; no evidence points to Arabic كنو as a loanword.

    Draws on: Biblical/Rabbinic Hebrew

    • BDB, s.v. כנה
  • Akbarian readingIn the verse embedded in Faṣṣ Ādam — 'hādhā huwa l-ḥaqqu qad qulnāhu lā naknī' ('this is the truth, we have stated it, we do not speak by allusion') — Ibn ʿArabī uses the root in its exact classical sense of kināya (euphemistic indirection) to disclaim it: he insists that his statement of the mutual neediness between the Real and creation (al-kullu muftaqir mā l-kullu mustaghnin) is asserted plainly, not veiled behind a substitute expression.plausible

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    In the verse embedded in Faṣṣ Ādam — 'hādhā huwa l-ḥaqqu qad qulnāhu lā naknī' ('this is the truth, we have stated it, we do not speak by allusion') — Ibn ʿArabī uses the root in its exact classical sense of kināya (euphemistic indirection) to disclaim it: he insists that his statement of the mutual neediness between the Real and creation (al-kullu muftaqir mā l-kullu mustaghnin) is asserted plainly, not veiled behind a substitute expression. The line pointedly trades on the root's core meaning — speaking of one thing by naming another — precisely in order to refuse that mode of speech for this particular doctrine.

    Draws on: Faṣṣ Ādam

    • Ibn ʿArabī, Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, Faṣṣ Ādam

Reference

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