Tajdid al-Sihah
- Author died
- 393 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Hadara al-Arabiyyah
Tajdid al-Sihah (Arabic: تجديد الصحاح, fully titled al-Sihah fi al-Lughah wa-al-'Ulum: Tajdid Sihah al-'Allamah al-Jawhari) is a modern Arabic lexicon compiled as a modernized adaptation of the classical dictionary Taj al-Lughah wa-Sihah al-Arabiyyah by Abu Nasr al-Jawhari (d. 393 AH / 1003 CE).
Background and Basis
The work is founded upon the seminal medieval dictionary al-Sihah (Taj al-Lughah wa-Sihah al-'Arabiyyah) authored by the lexicographer Abu Nasr Isma'il ibn Hammad al-Jawhari al-Farabi (d. ca. 393 AH; variant death dates are given as 398 AH and 400 AH). Al-Jawhari's original lexicon was distinguished by its commitment to recording only what the author verified as authentic Arabic vocabulary, organizing its contents into 28 chapters (abwab) and 28 sections (fusul) according to the final radical of words (the rhyme system), followed by their initial letters.
Compilation and Structure
Tajdid al-Sihah was prepared and classified by Nadim Mar'ashli and Usamah Mar'ashli as an intermediate modern dictionary (mu'jam wasit). In addition to restructuring and renewing al-Jawhari's classical lexical entries, the compilers expanded the scope of the work to encompass scientific and technical terminology suited for general reference and Arab universities (al-mustalahat al-'ilmiyyah wa-al-fanniyyah lil-jami' wa-al-jami'at al-'Arabiyyah).
The work includes an introductory preface by Shaykh Abd Allah al-Alayili.
Publication and Reception
The dictionary was published in Beirut by Dar al-Hadarah al-'Arabiyyah in two volumes, appearing in 1974 (with its first edition also recorded as 1975 CE).
The publication drew critical remarks from the philologist Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar, the critical editor of al-Jawhari's original al-Sihah. In the introduction to his second edition of al-Sihah, 'Attar noted that the compilers of Tajdid al-Sihah had adopted substantial analytical material from his own earlier introductory study—specifically regarding the rationale behind al-Jawhari's choice of the rhyme-based arrangement and discussions concerning Muhammad ibn Tamim al-Barmaki—without appropriate attribution.
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