Root · 0 in the Quran · 1 in 1 text of the library
همي (root hmy)
الهاء والميم والحرف المعتل يدل على ذهاب شيء على وجهه وهمى الماء : سال وهمت الماشية تهمي : ذهبت على وجهها لرعي أو غيره . …
Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha
The dictionaries
Ibn Fāris · 395الهاء والميم والحرف المعتل يدل على ذهاب شيء على وجهه وهمى الماء : سال وهمت الماشية تهمي : ذهبت على وجهها لرعي أو غيره .
Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004), Maqāyīs al-Lugha. Seeks each root's original sense (aṣl).
The same letters, turned
The same three letters in all six orders. Choose one.
ه م ي
الهاء والميم والحرف المعتل يدل على ذهاب شيء على وجهه وهمى الماء : سال وهمت الماشية تهمي : ذهبت على وجهها لرعي أو غيره . وفي الحديث : إنا نصيب هوامي الإبل الضوال . وإذا همز تغير المعنى تقول : تهمأ الثوب : بلى
h-m-[weak letter]: denotes something going off on its own course; "hamā al-māʾ": it flowed; "hamat al-māshiya tahmī": it went off on its own course to graze or otherwise. And in the hadith: "innā nuṣību hawāmī al-ibl al-ḍawāll" [we come upon the straying camels that wander off]. And if given a hamza the meaning changes; you say "tahammaʾa al-thawb": the garment became worn out. AI
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:
- 1 of 6319
- 2 of 6218
- 3 of 6164
- 4 of 6155
- 5 of 6107
- 6 of 658
- 1 of 6148
- 2 of 6108
- 3 of 6157
- 4 of 6179
- 5 of 6111
- 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.
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
- هhāʾdeep in the throat · voiceless, continuantSīb. · I. Jinnī
- مmīmbetween the lips · voiced, in betweenSīb. · I. Jinnī
- يyāʾmiddle of the tongue · voiced, in betweenSīb. · I. Jinnī
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)
Reference
How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics
English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic AI
ه
فأقصاها مخرجا: الهمزة والهاء والألف
The furthest of them [the three in the throat] in place: the hamza, the hāʾ and the alif. Sībawayh, line 26548 ↗
فأولها من أسفله وأقصاه، مخرج الهمزة والألف والهاء، هكذا يقول سيبويه
The first of them [in the throat], from its lowest and furthest part, is the place of the hamza, the alif and the hāʾ: so Sībawayh says. Ibn Jinnī, line 965 ↗
م
ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء، والميم، والواو
From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Sībawayh, line 26563 ↗
ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء والميم والواو
From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Ibn Jinnī, line 986 ↗
ي
ومن وسط اللسان بينه وبين وسط الحنك الأعلى مخرج الجيم والشين والياء
From the middle of the tongue, between it and the middle of the upper palate, is the place of the jīm, the shīn and the yāʾ. Sībawayh, line 26553 ↗
ومن وسط اللسان بينه وبين وسط الحنك الأعلى، مخرج الجيم والشين والياء
From the middle of the tongue, between it and the middle of the upper palate, is the place of the jīm, the shīn and the yāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 974 ↗
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 AI
ه
Level of existence: أبتداء العالم · the beginning of the world
Divine Name: البديع · the Originator (who creates without prior model)
Lunar mansion: الشرطين · al-Sharaṭān (the Two Signs), first of daily time, when the sun is in Aries
Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 66017Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗
Nature (ch. 2)
وإلا الهاء والهمزة فإنهما باردتان رطبتان
And except hāʾ and hamza, for these two are cold and moist.
Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2583م
Level of existence: الإنسان · the human being
Divine Name: الجامع · al-Jāmiʿ, the Gatherer
Lunar mansion: المؤخر · al-Muʾakhkhar
Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62119Spheres 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 2582ي
Level of existence: السماء الأولى · The First Heaven
Divine Name: الرب · The Lord (al-Rabb)
Lunar mansion: الخرتان · al-Kharatān
Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64500Spheres 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 2582Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac
English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic AI
ه
With fatḥa ـَ
فهي الرحمة الطاهرة التي لا نهاية لها.
It is pure mercy that has no end.
With ḍamma ـُ
فهي اسم من أسمائه تعالى.
It is one of the names of God, Exalted is He.
With kasra ـِ
فهي إشارة إلى الخير الذي يخرج من ذوات المخلوقات.
It is an indication of the good that issues from the selves of created beings.
م
With fatḥa ـَ
فهي جميع المكونات.
It is all created beings.
With ḍamma ـُ
فهي العزيز القليل كماء العين، ومنه قيل مومو.
It is the precious, scarce thing, like the water of the eye; from it comes the expression 'mūmū'.
With kasra ـِ
فهي نور الذات ظاهرا كما في العين، وباطنا كما في القلب.
It is the light of the self, outwardly as in the eye and inwardly as in the heart.
ي
With fatḥa ـَ
فهي للنداء، وقد يؤكد بها.
It is for the vocative (calling), and it may be used for emphasis.
With ḍamma ـُ
فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي لا يثبت كالبرق ونحوه.
It is an indication of the thing that does not remain fixed, like lightning and the like.
With kasra ـِ
فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي يستحيا به أو يستحيا منه كالعورة.
It is an indication of the thing that causes shame, or of which one is ashamed, like the private parts.
Two-letter nucleus14 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterه م
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 33604 ↗
- همنالهاء والميم والنون ليس بشيء فأما المهيمن وهو الشاهد فليس من هذا إنما هو من باب أمن والهاء مبدلة من همزة .Q 2 · L33606
- هميالهاء والميم والحرف المعتل يدل على ذهاب شيء على وجهه وهمى الماء : سال وهمت الماشية تهمي : ذهبت على وجهها لرعي أو غيره . وفي الحديث : إنا نصيب هوامي الL33609
- همجالهاء والميم والجيم : أصل يدل على اختلاط واضطراب فالهامج : المتروك يموج بعضه في بعضL33614
- همدالهاء والميم والدال : أصل يدل على خمود شيء وهمدت النار : طفئت البتة وأرض هامدة : لا نبات بها ونبات هامد : يابس والإهماد : الإقامة بالمكان . ومما شذ عنQ 1 · L33624
- همذالهاء والميم والذال يدل على سرعةL33630
- همرالهاء والميم والراء : أصل يدل على صب وانصباب وهمر دمعه وهمر الدمع وانهمر : سال وفلان يهامر الشيء إذا أخذه جرفا وهمر في كلامه : أكثر وهو مهمار أي كثير Q 1 · L33633
- همزالهاء والميم والزاء كلمة تدل على ضغط وعصر وهمزت الشيء في كفي ومنه الهمز في الكلام كأنه يضغط الحرف ويقولون : همز به الأرض وقوس همزي : شديدة الدفع للسهمQ 3 · L33637
- همسالهاء والميم والسين يدل على خفاء صوت وحس منه الهمس : الصوت الخفي وهمس الأقدام أخفى ما يكون من وطء القدم وأما قولهم الهماس : الأسد الشديد فمن هذا عندناQ 1 · L33644
- همشالهاء والميم والشين : أصل يدل على سرعة عمل أو كلام يقولون : الهمش : السريع العمل باصابعه وامرأة همشى الحديث إذا تسرعت فيهL33650
- همطالهاء والميم والطاء ليس بأصل إلا أنهم يقولون : همط : خلط بين الباطل والظلم وأهمط عرض فلان : شتمه .L33655
- همعالهاء والميم والعين يدل على سيلان شيء وهمعت العين : سال دمعها وتهمع الرجل : تباكى وسحاب همع : ماطر ويقال : الهميع : الموت الوحى .L33658
- همقالهاء والميم والقاف : كلمة واحدة يقولون : كلا همق : هش .L33661
- همكالهاء والميم والكاف : كلمة واحدة انهمك في الأمر : جد ولج .L33663
- هملالهاء والميم واللام : اصل واحد أهملت الشيء إذا خليت بينه وبين نفسه والهمل : السدى والهمل : المال لا مانع له وهملت العين مثل همرت والله أعلم بالصواب .L33665
In the sister scriptsHebrew ה מ יSyriac ܗ ܡ ܝ
| Arabic | ه م ي |
| Hebrew | ה מ י |
| Syriac | ܗ ܡ ܝ |
| Ancient South Arabian (musnad) | 𐩠 𐩣 𐩺 |
| Phoenician | 𐤄 𐤌 𐤉 |
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.
Reference