Maqayis al-Lugha

Maqayis al-Lugha (Arabic: مقاييس اللغة, The Standards of Language) is an Arabic lexicon compiled by the philologist Ibn Faris (d. 395 AH / 1004 CE), structured around the principle of tracing the derived vocabulary of Arabic roots back to primary semantic core meanings Majallat Lughat al-Arab a…+1.

Method and Scope

The overarching objective of Maqayis al-Lugha is semantic derivation (al-ishtiqaq), linking every lexical entry to one or more fundamental conceptual roots (usul) from which all sub-meanings (furu') branch out Majallat Lughat al-Arab a…+1. Ibn Faris established that the Arabic language operates upon sound standards (maqayis), asserting that words sharing a root stem from a shared core concept Maqayis al-Lugha+1. However, he did not treat this derivation as universally absolute; he explicitly identified roots that deviate from regular analogy, and maintained that onomatopoeic expressions (words denoting sounds) and many proper place names do not conform to systematic semantic derivation Maqayis al-Lugha. In cases of phonetic substitution (ibdal), he restored words to their original roots rather than establishing separate derivative principles for them Maqayis al-Lugha. Regarding roots consisting of four or five letters (quadriliterals and quinqueliterals), he held that most are compounded or carved (manhut) from biliteral or triliteral roots, assigning them separate discussions after the simpler forms Majallat Lughat al-Arab a….

Ibn Faris restricted his compilation to authentic, verified Arabic usage (al-sahih), deliberately omitting anomalous or obscure forms (al-wahshi wa-al-mustankar), and subjected even the contents of earlier authorities to critical scrutiny before admitting them Maqayis al-Lugha+1. At the close of the book, he remarked that while he had gathered a substantial portion of the language according to his stated conditions, exhaustive comprehension of all Arabic speech belongs only to God or to an inspired prophet Majallat al-Risala+1.

Sources

In his introduction, Ibn Faris identified five foundational books upon which he relied for his lexical derivations Majallat al-Risala+1:

• Kitab al-Ayn by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad (transmitted through Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qattan) Majallat al-Risala
• Gharib al-Hadith by Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam (transmitted through Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz) Majallat al-Risala+1
• Al-Gharib al-Musannaf by Abu Ubayd Majallat al-Risala+1
• Islah al-Mantiq (cited as Kitab al-Mantiq) by Ibn al-Sikkit (transmitted through his father, Faris ibn Zakariyya) Majallat al-Risala+1
• Jamharat al-Lugha by Ibn Durayd Majallat al-Risala+1

He noted that any material incorporated outside of these primary five sources was referenced and attributed directly to its respective authority Majallat al-Risala+1.

Structure and Arrangement

The dictionary is divided into twenty-eight principal sections named books (kutub), arranged in the standard alphabetical order from Kitab al-Hamza to Kitab al-Ya' Maqayis al-Lugha. Within each letter, entries are classified into morphological categories: doubled/geminate roots (al-muda'af), triliterals (al-thulathi), and roots exceeding three letters Majallat Lughat al-Arab a…+1.

The internal ordering of roots within each book follows a circular or rotational scheme (nizam al-da'ira) Ilm al-Lugha al-Arabiya. Rather than restarting from the beginning of the alphabet for the second letter of a root, Ibn Faris paired the primary letter with the letter immediately following it in the alphabetical sequence, proceeding through to the end of the alphabet before wrapping around to the preceding letters al-Maajim al-Arabiya ma a…+1. For example, in the section on ba', the arrangement opens with doubled roots, then proceeds through roots beginning with ba'-ta' and ba'-tha' until ba'-ya', and concludes with ba'-hamza Ilm al-Lugha al-Arabiya.

Reception and Manuscripts

In classical scholarship, Yaqut al-Hamawi lauded Maqayis al-Lugha as an outstanding work the likes of which had not been composed (kitab jalil lam yusannaf mithluh) Maqayis al-Lugha+1. Later lexicographers utilized it, including al-Saghani in his works al-Takmila and al-Ubab Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…. Nonetheless, the book enjoyed less circulation and renown in earlier centuries than Ibn Faris's shorter dictionary Mujmal al-Lugha, a discrepancy attributed to the rarity of its manuscript copies and the possibility that it was among the author's later compositions Majallat Lughat al-Arab a…+1.

The work was edited in modern times by Abd al-Salam Muhammad Harun and published in Cairo in six volumes between 1365 and 1370 AH (1947–1952 CE) Maqayis al-Lugha+1. Harun based his edition on a manuscript copy from Iran, supplementing lacunae from al-Mujmal al-Maajim al-Arabiya ma a…. Other manuscripts were preserved in institutions such as the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, the British Museum, and the India Office in London al-Maajim al-Arabiya ma a…+1. The Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo later drew upon Ibn Faris's determinations of core root meanings for its major dictionary project, al-Mu'jam al-Kabir al-Maajim al-Arabiya ma a….