Quranic root
عثو
ʿ · th · w
The supplied lexical evidence centers on disorderly or corrupt action, with related nominal imagery of dry, matted hair and straggling vegetation.
The evidence links corrupting or mischievous action with states of untended, matted, or straggling growth. No matched Maqāyīs or Mufradāt entry was supplied, so no stronger root-level historical development is asserted.
- Lane · entry 2138
- Lane · entry 2139
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 1
- Quran senses
- 5
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
عَثَا
ʿathā
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- 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 act corruptly or do mischief.
In the Quranic occurrences, the active imperfect appears in admonitory constructions, commonly with فِي الْأَرْضِ (“in the land” or “on the earth”); the usage may carry an emphatic force, “to the utmost degree.”
- Lane · entry 2138
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:60word 25
“act wickedly”
Quran 11:85word 11
“act wickedly”
Quran 26:183word 6
“commit evil”
Quran 29:36word 13
“commit evil”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:60تَعْثَوْا۟act wickedly
- 7:74تَعْثَوْا۟act wickedly
- 11:85تَعْثَوْا۟act wickedly
- 26:183تَعْثَوْا۟commit evil
- 29:36تَعْثَوْا۟commit evil
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 13 Classical meanings
عَثَا
To act wrongfully, injuriously, or unjustly, including uses where corruption is not specifically implied.
A broader Classical Arabic use of the Form I verb, distinct from the Quranic framing of corrupt or mischievous action.
- Lane · entry 2138
عَثِىَ
Of hair: to become dry and matted after being left uncombed for a long time.
A specialized usage said of the hair of the head.
- Lane · entry 2138
عُثًى
Hair.
Recorded as the primary nominal signification of this headword.
- Lane · entry 2139
عُثًى
Straggling plants or herbage; by extension, the earth’s plants or herbage when they have dried up or become yellow.
A metaphorical application to vegetation, including the expression شَابَ عُثَى الأَرْضِ.
- Lane · entry 2139
عَثْوَةٌ
A long lock or mass of hair hanging below the ear or reaching the shoulder.
A nominal hair term with variant plural vocalizations recorded in the lexical evidence.
- Lane · entry 2140
عُثْوَةٌ
The state of hair when it has become dry and matted and has been left uncombed for a long time.
A nominal description of an unkempt condition of the hair of the head.
- Lane · entry 2141
أَعْثَى
Having abundant hair; thick-bearded.
An adjective applied to a person or specifically to a thick beard.
- Lane · entry 2144
أَعْثَى
A male hyena.
The related feminine عَثْوَاءُ denotes a female hyena, while the recorded plural forms عُثْوٌ and عُثْىٌ denote a group of hyenas.
- Lane · entry 2144
عَثْوَاءُ
An old woman.
An appellation applied to an old woman, distinct from the related zoological use for a female hyena.
- Lane · entry 2144
أَعْثَى
Thick, gross, or coarse in size.
An adjectival description of bodily or material bulk.
- Lane · entry 2144
أَعْثَى
Foolish or stupid; heavy or dull.
An adjectival description of mental dullness or heaviness.
- Lane · entry 2144
أَعْثَى
One whose color inclines to blackness.
An adjectival description of a person or other individual whose coloring is blackish.
- Lane · entry 2144
أَعْثَى
A color inclining to blackness.
This color sense is reported with an alternative association to abundant hair.
- Lane · entry 2144
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The public headword is the normalized Form I perfect عَثَا; the Quranic occurrences are imperfect forms such as تَعْثَوْا.
No matched Maqāyīs or Mufradāt entry was supplied, so root-level development is limited to the supplied lexical evidence.
Unassigned or ambiguous evidence
The text of lane-unit:Evw:2144:g1:sub2 contains an incomplete “as also” phrase; the explicitly stated male-hyena, feminine, and plural senses are assigned, but the omitted intervening form is not independently reconstructed.