Mujam Matn al-Lugha
- Author died
- 1372 AH
- Editions
- Dār Maktabat al-Ḥayāh
Mujam Matn al-Lugha (The Corpus of the Language Dictionary) is a modern Arabic dictionary compiled by the Lebanese linguist Ahmad Rida (1289–1372 AH / 1872–1953 CE) . Commissioned by the Arab Academy of Damascus, the work integrates classical Arabic vocabulary from major authoritative lexicons with modern terminology and neologisms approved by contemporary linguistic academies .
Background and Composition
Rida was elected an honorary member of the Arab Academy of Damascus in October 1920 . In 1930 CE (1349 AH), the Academy commissioned him to author a comprehensive dictionary that would assemble the core Arabic lexicon (matn al-lugha) in a manner suited to contemporary needs . The project was intended to gather scattered material from classical dictionaries while incorporating approved modern terms from the language academies of Damascus and Cairo, as well as usages that entered the language during the Abbasid, Ayyubid, and subsequent eras .
Rida commenced compilation in early 1351 AH (1930 CE) and completed the draft in late 1939, after which he spent several years revising and collating the text against classical sources until 1947, taking between twelve and eighteen years in total . In 1948, the Arab Academy allocated 42,500 Syrian liras for its publication and appointed a supervisory committee headed by Muhammad Kurd Ali and including Khalil Mardam Bey, Prince Sa'id al-Jaza'iri, Abd al-Qadir al-Maghribi, and Jamil Saliba . However, printing was deferred when Rida fell ill following the death of his eldest son, Dr. Muhammad Ali Rida, on March 8, 1948, and subsequent political turmoil and military coups in Syria further disrupted the Academy's projects .
Sources and Methodology
In defining words, Rida relied on authoritative classical lexicons rather than modern compilations to avoid perpetuating later errors, while utilizing modern systems of organization . His primary sources included Lisan al-Arab, Taj al-Arus, Al-Muhkam by Ibn Sida, Al-Sihah by al-Jawhari, Jamharat al-Lugha by Ibn Durayd, Al-Nihaya by Ibn al-Athir, Tahdhib al-Lugha by al-Azhari, Asas al-Balagha by al-Zamakhshari, and Al-Misbah al-Munir by al-Fayyumi .
The work is organized systematically according to the following principles:
- Root-based ordering: Entries are arranged alphabetically according to their bare root (al-asl al-mujarrad) stripped of augmentative letters .
- Internal entry layout: Verbs precede nouns; within verbs, simple triliteral forms (al-mujarrad) appear first, ordered by the six traditional morphological chapters (abwab), followed by augmented verb forms (al-mazid) and then nouns .
- Conciseness: Digressions, conflicting interpretations, and lengthy theoretical explanations typical of classical works were omitted to accommodate general readers seeking straightforward definitions .
- Distinction of semantic registers: The text notes metaphorical meanings (majaz) alongside literal ones (haqiqa) . Dialectal terms rooted in classical Arabic were relegated to footnotes to prevent confusion with standard vocabulary .
- Foreign terms: Technical and scientific vocabulary was included selectively to preserve focus on the core language; loanwords and modern terms were accompanied by their foreign equivalents in Latin script .
Introductory Material and Related Works
The dictionary opens with an extensive theoretical introduction addressing the genesis of language, the development and dialects of Arabic, and lexical errors in earlier sources . This introductory study was also published as an independent book entitled Mawlid al-Lugha (The Birth of Language) . The work includes comparative tables for historical weights, measures, capacities, and modern arabized terminology .
To accompany the large lexicon, Rida authored two abridgments intended for students: Al-Wasit min Matn al-Lugha and Al-Mujaz . He also compiled companion monographs drawn from his lexicographical research, including Al-Tadhkira fi al-Asma' al-Muntakhabah lil-Ma'ani al-Mustahdathah on newly minted terms, and Radd al-Ammi ila al-Fasih on vernacular vocabulary .
Publication
Mujam Matn al-Lugha was published posthumously by Dar Maktabat al-Hayat in Beirut in 1377 AH / 1958 CE in five large volumes (with some bibliographies recording it as seven volumes) .
Answer updated