al-Adad fi al-Lugha

al-Adad fi al-Lugha (Numbers in the Arabic Language) is a specialized linguistic monograph by the Andalusian lexicographer and grammarian Ibn Sidah (398–458 AH / 1007–1066 CE) examining the vocabulary, morphological forms, and grammatical rules governing numerals and counting in Arabic Mawsuat Safir lil-Tarikh …+1.

Author and Context

The author, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Isma'il al-Mursi—commonly known as Ibn Sidah—was born in Murcia in eastern al-Andalus Mawsuat Safir lil-Tarikh …+1. Both he and his father were blind Mawsuat Safir lil-Tarikh …+1. He initially studied language under his father and later under scholars such as Sa'id al-Baghdadi and Abu Umar al-Talamanki Wafayat al-Ayan+1. Ibn Sidah attained an eminent standing in Arabic grammar, lexicography, poetry, and pre-Islamic lore Mawsuat Safir lil-Tarikh …+1. Beyond specialized treatises such as al-Adad fi al-Lugha, he authored monumental works of lexicography, most notably the phonetically ordered dictionary al-Muhkam wa-al-Muhit al-A'zam and the thematic thesaurus al-Mukhassas, as well as al-Aniq, a commentary on the Hamasa Wafayat al-Ayan+1. He died in Dénia in 458 AH (with an alternate report giving 448 AH) at around sixty years of age Mujam al-Muallifin+2.

Subject and Scope

al-Adad fi al-Lugha belongs to the classical genre of focused philological monographs (kutub al-rasa'il) devoted to specific grammatical and lexical categories. In Arabic linguistic tradition, numerals constitute a distinct morphological and syntactic subsystem, marked by polarity in gender agreement (masculine and feminine markers across single digits, compound numbers, and decade terms) and unique rules of syntactic specification (tamyiz) al-Luma fi al-Arabiya li-…+1.

The work addresses:

• The fundamental root words of numerals, their derivations, and dual/plural patterns al-Mufassal fi Sinat al-I…+1.
• The morphological rules of gender concordance and discordance (tadhkir and ta'nith) across cardinal and ordinal numbers al-Madaris al-Nahwiyya+1.
• The syntactic functions, annexation (idafa), case endings, and construction of compound and decade numbers al-Luma fi al-Arabiya li-…+1.
• Dialectal variations and rare lexical usages attested in classical Arabic speech and poetry al-Jasus ala al-Qamus+1.

Method and Significance

Ibn Sidah's approach combines extensive lexicographical citation with rigorous grammatical explanation and morphological justification (ta'lil) Jamharat Maqalat wa Rasai…+1. His specialized treatment of number vocabulary complements the broader syntactic and lexical surveys presented in his larger compendia, exemplifying the systematic philological tradition developed in fifth-century AH al-Andalus Jamharat Maqalat wa Rasai…+1.