Quranic root
عهن
ʿ · h · n
The root is oriented around softness, ease, and diminished substance or nourishment, with related ideas of readiness and a broken or yielding condition.
The lexical evidence connects this orientation with dyed wool, with something present and readily available, and with a branch bent or broken without separating. Other branches extend these ideas to laxity, poverty, unguarded speech, and specialized natural objects.
- Maqāyīs · row 3342
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 1
- Quran senses
- 2
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
عِهْنٌ
ʿihnun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 2 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Dyed or coloured wool; a tuft or portion of wool.
In the Quranic simile كَالْعِهْنِ الْمَنْفُوشِ, it denotes wool, with the lexical discussion especially emphasizing its colour or dye. The supplied Quran contexts render the expression as “like wool.”
- Lane · entry 5140
- Mufradāt · row 1020
Selected Quran examples
Quran 101:5word 3
“like wool”
Quran 70:9word 3
“like wool”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
View all 2 occurrencesBroader Classical Arabic meanings
Recorded for this root in the Classical lexicons beyond its Quran usage. These are secondary to the Quran senses above.
Show 26 Classical meanings
عَهَنَ
To remain, stay, dwell, or abide.
Used with بِالمكانِ, “in the place.”
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَ
To go forth or proceed; of good, to emerge from someone or something.
An explicitly contrasting use of the verb’s sense of remaining; attested in the construction عَهَنَ مِنْهُ خَيْرٌ.
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَ
To continue, last, or endure.
Said of a thing that persists or remains in existence.
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَ
To be or become present or ready.
Equivalent in this use to حَضَرَ.
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَ
To strive, labour, exert oneself, or be diligent.
Attested with فِي العَمَلِ, “in the work.”
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَ
To enjoin, charge, or bid someone.
Given as an equivalent of عَهِدَ; the cited construction is described with إِلَيْهِ following.
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَ لَهُ مُرَادَهُ
To hasten to someone what he wishes or desires.
A conventional construction with لَهُ and the desired object.
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَتْ عَوَاهِنُ النَّخْلِ
Of palm branches, to become dry.
A reported use concerning palm branches; its analysis is disputed in the wider lexical discussion.
- Lane · entry 5139
عَهَنَ
Of a branch, rod, or twig, to bend or break without becoming detached.
The object may appear intact but bends when shaken because the break has not produced separation.
- Lane · entry 5139
عِهْنُ مَالٍ
A good manager or tender of property, camels, or cattle.
An idiomatic description of a person’s care or management of property or livestock.
- Lane · entry 5140
عُهْنَةٌ
The bending of a branch, rod, or twig, or its breaking without separation.
The object appears whole but bends when shaken.
- Lane · entry 5141
عِهْنَةٌ
A desert tree or plant with a red flower.
A specialized botanical use; the plant is also described as a kind of herb or legume.
- Lane · entry 5142
عِهْنَةٌ
Rancour, malice, malevolence, spite, or anger.
A dialectal variant of إِحْنَةٌ.
- Lane · entry 5142
عِهَانٌ
The base or lower part of a palm-tree raceme.
A specialized palm-botanical term.
- Lane · entry 5143
عَاهِنٌ
Remaining, staying, dwelling, or abiding; continuing or lasting.
The active-participial form corresponding to the verb’s persistence-related uses.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَاهِنٌ
Going forth or proceeding.
A contrasting active-participial use opposite to remaining or staying.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَاهِنٌ
Present or ready.
Applied to food, beverage, property, camels, or cattle when these are available or at hand.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَاهِنٌ
Of property, camels, or cattle, long-possessed, homeborn, or inherited from parents.
Describes established possessions or livestock rather than newly acquired property.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَاهِنٌ
Of a branch, rod, or twig, broken without becoming detached and therefore left suspended and lax.
The branch remains attached despite the break.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَاهِنٌ
Lax, sluggish, or lazy.
A figurative extension from the condition of a broken, yielding branch.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَاهِنٌ
Poor or reduced in condition.
A figurative use explained through the image of being broken or weakened.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَوَاهِنُ
The palm branches near the heart or central growth of the palm tree.
Regional terminology varies concerning which branches are called عَوَاهِنُ; the term is plural in this use.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَوَاهِنُ
The limbs or members of a human being used for work or earning.
A figurative plural use based on the functional relation of palm branches to the tree.
- Lane · entry 5144
عَوَاهِنُ
Certain veins in a she-camel’s womb or vulva.
A specialized anatomical use, compared with the branches of a palm tree.
- Lane · entry 5144
رَمَى بِالكَلَامِ عَلَى عَوَاهِنِهِ
To utter or cast out speech without thought, caution, or verification.
The idiom may describe speaking without guidance, caring little whether one is right or wrong, or stating what conjecture suggests without certainty.
- Lane · entry 5144
- Mufradāt · row 1020
عَيْهُونٌ
A good, pleasant, or sweet plant.
A specialized botanical term.
- Lane · entry 5146
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The verb and active participle include explicitly contrasting uses: remaining or continuing versus going forth; these senses should be distinguished by context.
The reported use عَهَنَتْ عَوَاهِنُ النَّخْلِ for palm branches becoming dry is recorded as a lexical sense, but the root discussion disputes that analysis and favors a palm-branch term connected with softness or freshness.