Quranic root
عمر
ʿ · m · r
The root centers on continued life and the extension of time, and on making a place inhabited, cultivated, flourishing, or maintained.
A second associated line concerns elevation, including raised sound, head adornment, and the ritual visit called ʿumrah; the lexical branches ultimately remain distinct from the core meanings of lifespan and habitation.
- Maqāyīs · row 3307
- Mufradāt · row 1008
- 10
- Quran-attested forms
- 12
- Quran senses
- 24
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
عَمَرَ
ʿamara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- Quran occurrences
- 4 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.
To remain, dwell, or abide in a place; by extension, to frequent or attend it.
In the Quranic mosque construction, the verb has been understood as abiding in, visiting, entering, or attending the places of worship.
- Lane · entry 4740
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 9:18word 2
“will maintain”
To inhabit, people, cultivate, build up, or maintain a place.
Used transitively with a place or building; the Quranic usages include maintaining places of worship and developing land or buildings rather than leaving them desolate.
- Lane · entry 4740
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 9:18word 2
“will maintain”
Quran 30:9word 18
“and built (on) it”
عَمَّرَ
ʿammara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form II
- Form
- II
- Quran occurrences
- 5 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.
To prolong or extend someone's life; to grant someone a long life.
The Quran uses both passive and active forms for being granted an extended lifespan and for granting it.
- Lane · entry 4741
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:96word 12
“he could be granted a life”
Quran 36:68word 2
“We grant him long life”
اعْتَمَرَ
āʿtamara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form VIII
- Form
- VIII
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To visit or repair oneself to a place.
This general visiting sense is associated with the Quranic interpretation of the mosque construction, while the attested Form VIII occurrence is in the specialized pilgrimage sense.
- Lane · entry 4744
- Mufradāt · row 1008
To perform the religious visit called ʿumrah.
A pilgrimage construction referring to the minor pilgrimage, including its prescribed rites.
- Lane · entry 4744
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:158word 11
“performs Umrah”
اسْتَعْمَرَ
āstaʿmara
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form X
- Form
- X
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To entrust, enable, or charge someone with inhabiting and cultivating a land.
In the Quranic construction, the land is placed under human responsibility for development and habitation; the sense is not the later political meaning of colonial rule.
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 11:61word 18
“and settled you”
عَمْرٌ
ʿamrun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Life or lifespan; especially in the oath formula لَعَمْرُكَ, “by your life.”
The Quranic occurrence is the oath formula, where عَمْرٌ is used for the life or lifespan by which one swears.
- Lane · entry 4746
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 15:72word 1
“By your life”
عِمَارَةٌ
ʿimārahun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Inhabitation, cultivation, maintenance, or keeping a place in good repair.
The Quranic use concerns the maintenance and active service of the Sacred Mosque; the word contrasts with ruin and desolation.
- Lane · entry 4761
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 9:19word 4
“and (the) maintenance”
عُمْرَةٌ
ʿumrahun
- 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.
A visit involving the cultivation of affection; specifically, the minor pilgrimage to Mecca.
In Quranic usage, the word denotes the prescribed religious visit distinguished from the greater pilgrimage by its rites and timing.
- Lane · entry 4751
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:196word 3
“and the Umrah”
Quran 2:196word 38
“of the Umrah”
عُمُرٌ
ʿumurun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 7 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.
Life, lifespan, or the period during which a living body remains alive.
The term denotes the duration of embodied life and is distinct from absolute continuance or freedom from extinction.
- Lane · entry 4746
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
مَعْمُورٌ
maʿmūrun
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Inhabited or frequented; in the Quranic expression al-Bayt al-Maʿmūr, the heavenly house that is visited.
The Quranic expression is a fixed designation of a celestial edifice associated with continual angelic visitation.
- Lane · entry 4767
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 52:4word 2
“frequented”
مُعَمَّرٌ
muʿammarun
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
One whose life has been prolonged; a long-lived or aged person.
The form describes a person considered in relation to an extended lifespan.
- Lane · entry 4741
- Mufradāt · row 1008
Selected Quran examples
Quran 35:11word 22
“aged person”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:96يُعَمَّرُhe could be granted a life
- 2:96يُعَمَّرَ ۗhe should be granted life
- 2:158ٱعْتَمَرَperforms Umrah
- 2:196وَٱلْعُمْرَةَand the Umrah
- 2:196بِٱلْعُمْرَةِof the Umrah
Broader Classical Arabic meanings
Recorded for this root in the Classical lexicons beyond its Quran usage. These are secondary to the Quran senses above.
Show 49 Classical meanings
عَمِرَ
To live, remain alive, or grow old; to have a long life.
- Lane · entry 4740
عَمَرَ
Of property, camels, or similar resources: to become plentiful, numerous, or flourishing.
- Lane · entry 4740
عَمَرَ
To prolong another person's life, as a synonym of عَمَّرَ.
A transitive use distinct from the Form I meanings of inhabiting or maintaining a place.
- Lane · entry 4740
عَمَرَ
To cultivate, promote, observe, or maintain what is good.
An abstract extension of the cultivation and maintenance branch.
- Lane · entry 4740
عَمَرَ
To serve or worship one's Lord, including praying and fasting.
- Lane · entry 4740
عَمَّرَ
To assign or determine a limited lifespan for oneself.
- Lane · entry 4741
عَمَّرَ
To acknowledge the everlasting existence of God.
- Lane · entry 4741
عَمَّرَ
To adjure, remind, or beg someone by invoking God and the prolongation of life.
Occurs in formulaic expressions such as عَمَّرْتُكَ اللهُ and related oath-like constructions.
- Lane · entry 4741
عَمَّرَ
To furnish a tent with the things it requires.
- Lane · entry 4741
عَامَرَ
To live with someone throughout that person's life.
- Lane · entry 4742
أَعْمَرَ
To make or enable someone to inhabit a place, or to make a land inhabited and cultivated.
This is the Form IV construction discussed in the lexical evidence and is kept distinct from the Quranic Form X headword.
- Lane · entry 4743
أَعْمَرَ
To assign a house, land, or camels to someone for the duration of a life.
The assignment is traditionally made with a lifetime condition and is the basis of the legal term ʿumrā.
- Lane · entry 4743
أَعْمَرَ
To make someone rich, competent, or free from want.
- Lane · entry 4743
أَعْمَرَ
To assist someone in performing ʿumrah or cause someone to perform it.
The usage is reported as analogical and also occurs in transmitted usage.
- Lane · entry 4743
اعْتَمَرَ
To betake oneself to an affair, aim at it, or purpose it.
The object may be an expedition or another intended undertaking.
- Lane · entry 4744
اعْتَمَرَ
To put a head ornament, such as a turban, on one's own head.
- Lane · entry 4744
عَمْرٌ
Religion or religious commitment in certain oath formulas.
This is an alternative interpretation of expressions such as لَعَمْرِي and لَعَمْرُكَ, distinct from the literal meaning “by my/your life.”
- Lane · entry 4746
عَمْرٌ
The flesh of the gum or the flesh between the teeth; the gums.
Plural عُمُورٌ.
- Lane · entry 4746
أَبُو عُمْرَةَ
A figurative name for bankruptcy, insolvency, or hunger.
A fixed expression rather than the ordinary noun عُمْرَةٌ.
- Lane · entry 4750
عُمْرَةٌ
A man's going in to his newly married wife in her family's abode.
If she is moved to his own family's abode, the act is termed ʿurs.
- Lane · entry 4751
عُمْرَى
A lifetime gift or assignment of a house, land, or property to another person.
The property is assigned for the life of the recipient or giver, traditionally with a condition concerning its return after death.
- Lane · entry 4752
عُمْرِيٌّ
Of a tree: old or long-lived, especially an old lote tree.
A specialized adjective applied to trees.
- Lane · entry 4753
عُمْرَانٌ
Inhabited, peopled, cultivated, flourishing land or a house in good repair; also a body of people associated with such habitation.
The form is also used as an epithet related to عَامِرٌ.
- Lane · entry 4755
عُمْرَانٌ
A building, structure, or edifice; possibly the act of building.
- Lane · entry 4755
أَبُو عُمَيْرِ
The male animal.
A fixed lexical expression.
- Lane · entry 4758
عَمَارٌ
An object worn on the head, such as a turban, cap, crown, or wreath, especially as a sign of rank.
The term may also denote an aromatic plant worn on the head.
- Lane · entry 4759
عَمَارَةٌ
An ornamented piece of cloth attached to a tent or its tent-pole as a sign of headship.
- Lane · entry 4759
عَمَارَةٌ
A salutation or invocation meaning “may God prolong your life,” and associated with raising the voice or aromatic plants.
A conventional greeting or ceremonial expression with variant explanations.
- Lane · entry 4759
عُمَارَةٌ
Hire, pay, or wages for work by which a place is rendered inhabited or maintained.
- Lane · entry 4760
عِمَارَةٌ
The work, labor, or occupation by which a place is rendered inhabited, cultivated, or flourishing.
- Lane · entry 4761
عِمَارَةٌ
The act or art of building; a building, structure, or edifice.
In later usage, especially a public edifice; plural عَمَائِرُ.
- Lane · entry 4761
عِمَارَةٌ
A man's breast.
- Lane · entry 4761
عِمَارَةٌ
A large self-sufficient tribe or body of people that peoples a place.
A social group between larger and smaller tribal divisions in the terminology reported.
- Lane · entry 4761
عَامِرٌ
Living long.
- Lane · entry 4763
عَامِرٌ
Remaining, residing, or dwelling in a place; an inhabitant of a house.
The plural عُمَّارُ البُيُوتِ may refer to jinn inhabiting houses, and عَوَامِرُ البُيُوتِ to snakes in houses.
- Lane · entry 4763
عَامِرٌ
Of a land or dwelling: inhabited, peopled, cultivated, flourishing, or restored from ruin.
- Lane · entry 4763
عَامِرٌ
A servant or worshipper of his Lord.
Used in the expression إِنَّهُ لَعَامِرٌ لِرَبِّهِ.
- Lane · entry 4763
أُمُّ عَامِرٍ
The hyena, in a fixed metonymic surname.
A determinate compound name for the species.
- Lane · entry 4763
عَوْمَرَةٌ
Clamour, confusion, mischief, or wearying contention.
- Lane · entry 4764
مَعْمَرٌ
A spacious, agreeable, inhabited place of abode, rich in water and herbage.
- Lane · entry 4765
مِعْمَارٌ
An architect.
The evidence marks this usage as probably postclassical.
- Lane · entry 4766
مَعْمُورٌ
An inhabited house, including a house inhabited by jinn.
A specialized use of the passive-participial adjective outside the Quranic celestial expression.
- Lane · entry 4767
مَعْمُورٌ
Served or worshipped.
- Lane · entry 4767
مُعْتَمِرٌ
A visitor or one repairing to a place.
- Lane · entry 4769
مُعْتَمِرٌ
One performing the religious visit called ʿumrah.
A pilgrim who has entered the state of iḥrām for that visit.
- Lane · entry 4769
مُعْتَمِرٌ
One betaking himself to, aiming at, or purposing an affair.
- Lane · entry 4769
مُعْتَمِرٌ
One whose head is attired with a turban or similar head ornament.
- Lane · entry 4769
مُعَوْمِرًا
Congregating and detaining people at a person's door.
A specialized participial expression describing a crowd-gathering action.
- Lane · entry 4770
يَعْمُورٌ
A kid or lamb.
Plural يَعَامِيرُ.
- Lane · entry 4771
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic construction إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ has several established interpretations, including abiding in, visiting, maintaining, or caring for the mosques; these are retained as constructional nuance rather than falsely reduced to one English gloss.
Lane's historical Quran citation notation is not used to infer any additional modern verse location.
The Quranic Form X occurrence is rendered as entrusting or enabling habitation and cultivation, not automatically with the later political sense of colonial rule.