''Lisān al-ʿArab'' () is a

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

completed by

Ibn Manzur Muhammad ibn Mukarram ibn Alī ibn Ahmad ibn Manzūr al-Ansārī al-Ifrīqī al-Misrī al-Khazrajī () also known as Ibn Manẓūr () (June–July 1233 – December 1311/January 1312) was an Arab lexicographer of the Arabic language and author of ...

in 1290.

History

Ibn Manzur's objective in this project was to reïndex and reproduce the contents of previous works to facilitate readers' use of and access to them. In his introduction to the book, he writes: Occupying 20 printed book volumes (in the most frequently cited edition), it is the best known dictionary of the Arabic language, as well as one of the most comprehensive. Ibn Manzur compiled it from other sources to a large degree. The most important sources for it were the of Azharī, '' Al-Muḥkam'' of Ibn Sidah, ''Al-Nihāya'' of Ibn Athīr and Jauhari's ''Ṣiḥāḥ'', as well as the ''ḥawāshī'' (glosses) of the latter (''Kitāb at-Tanbīh wa-l-Īḍāḥ'') by Ibn Barrī. It follows the ''Ṣiḥāḥ'' in the arrangement of the

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

: The headwords are not arranged by the alphabetical order of the radicals as usually done today in the study of

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...

, but according to the last radical - which makes finding rhyming endings significantly easier. Furthermore, the ''Lisān al-Arab'' notes its direct sources, but not or seldom their sources, making it hard to trace the linguistic history of certain words. Murtaḍá al-Zabīdī corrected this in his '' Tāj al-ʿArūs'', that itself goes back to the ''Lisān''. The ''Lisān'', according to Ignatius d'Ohsson, was already printed in the 18th century in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, thus fairly early for the Islamic world.

Published editions

* ''Bullag Misr al-Matb'ah al-Kubra al-'Amiriyah''

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

; 1883, vol.,1 * ''Al-Maṭbaʿa al-Kubra al-Amirīya'',

Bulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern si ...

; 1883 - 1890, vols.,20 * ''Dar Sader'',

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

; 1955 - 1956, vols.,15. * ''Ādāb al-Ḥawza'',

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

; 1984, vols.,18

References

{{reflist Arabic dictionaries 13th-century books Bulaq Press publications 1290 books 13th-century encyclopedias Arabic non-fiction books 13th-century Arabic-language books