Quranic root
عيل
ʿ · y · l
The secure semantic orientation is poverty, want, and need: عَيْلَةٌ denotes poverty or need, and عَالَ means to become poor or needy.
The poverty-and-need branch yields the Quranic noun عَيْلَةٌ and active participle عَائِلٌ. A related household branch concerns having or supporting dependants, while several other Classical usages remain distinct constructions rather than direct meanings of every Quranic form. The Mufradat distinguishes أَعَالَ, having many dependants, as belonging to a wāw-derived branch.
- Maqāyīs · row 3364
- Mufradāt · row 1032
- Lane · entry 5530
- Lane · entry 5532
- 2
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- 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.
عَائِلٌ
ʿāʾilun
- Part of speech
- Active 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.
Poor, needy, or in want.
An active participle describing one who is experiencing poverty or need; in the Quran, it occurs in the expression وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا.
- Lane · entry 5543
- Mufradāt · row 1032
Selected Quran examples
Quran 93:8word 2
“in need”
عَيْلَةٌ
ʿaylahun
- 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.
Poverty, want, or need.
A noun for a state of financial or material need; in the Quran, it occurs in the construction وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً.
- Lane · entry 5537
- Mufradāt · row 1032
- Maqāyīs · row 3364
Selected Quran examples
Quran 9:28word 16
“poverty”
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 17 Classical meanings
عَالَ
To become poor or needy; to be in want.
Form I verb; its active participle and verbal noun are represented separately among the Quranic forms where attested.
- Lane · entry 5530
عَالَنِي
To be wanted by someone but unattainable to that person.
Used in the construction عَالَنِي, with the thing as the object of wanting.
- Lane · entry 5530
عَالَ الضَّالَّةَ
To be unable to determine where to seek a stray animal.
A specialized construction used with a stray beast or lost animal.
- Lane · entry 5530
عَالَ فِي مَشْيِهِ
To sway from side to side in walking; of a person, to walk with a proud or haughty gait.
The swaying gait is also applied to a horse, where it is regarded as a sign of quality or generosity; the proud or self-conceited nuance is stated for a person.
- Lane · entry 5530
عَالَ فِي الأَرْضِ
To travel about in the land, especially seeking sustenance or engaging in trade.
A construction describing journeying through the land for livelihood or commerce.
- Lane · entry 5530
عَيَّلَ
To neglect one's family or household.
A Form II usage concerning failure to care properly for dependants.
- Lane · entry 5531
تَعْيِيلٌ
Bad feeding or inadequate provision of food.
A verbal noun naming poor or improper feeding.
- Lane · entry 5531
عَيَّلَ فَرَسَهُ
To leave one's horse to pasture unattended, where it chooses, in the open country.
A specialized Form II construction with a horse as object.
- Lane · entry 5531
أَعَالَ
To have a family or household, especially a numerous one.
A Form IV household-related usage; the corresponding Mufradat discussion distinguishes this branch from the poverty verb عَالَ.
- Lane · entry 5532
- Mufradāt · row 1032
أَعَالَ
Of a wolf, lion, or leopard, to seek prey.
A Form IV usage applied to predatory animals in the sense of seeking after prey.
- Lane · entry 5532
عَيَلٌ
The propounding of one's narration or talk to someone who does not desire it or to whom it is irrelevant.
A lexical noun for unwanted or intrusive narration in conversation.
- Lane · entry 5535
عَيْلَانٌ
The male hyena.
A zoological noun.
- Lane · entry 5539
عِيَالَةٌ
The fodder or provender of a hackney or other inferior horse.
A specialized noun for animal feed.
- Lane · entry 5541
عَيَّالٌ
One who sways from side to side in gait; one who is proud or self-conceited in such a gait.
Applied to a horse or lion, and with the feminine form to a woman, according to the cited lexical usage.
- Lane · entry 5542
عَيَّالٌ
A seeker of prey.
Reported in an interpretation of عياييل as an anomalous plural connected with the predator sense; the interpretation is discussed alongside an alternative reading.
- Lane · entry 5542
مُعِيلٌ
A person who has a family or household to support, especially a person with numerous dependants.
The feminine form is likewise applied to a woman with a household or numerous dependants.
- Lane · entry 5546
مُعِيلٌ
Of a wolf, lion, or leopard, one seeking or seeking after prey.
An active-participial usage applied to predatory animals.
- Lane · entry 5546
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The poverty verb عَالَ and its participle عَائِلٌ should not be conflated with the related household branch أَعَالَ, which the Mufradat identifies as wāw-derived.
Two Lane units remain unassigned because their lexical statements are explicitly said to apparently belong under عول rather than confidently under عيل.
Unassigned or ambiguous evidence
lane-unit:Eyl:5537:g3:main reports طَالَ عَيْلَتِي إِيَّاكَ as continued feeding, nourishing, or sustaining, but explicitly says the expression apparently belongs under عول.
lane-unit:Eyl:5538:g1:main gives عَيْلَى for a woman who weeps or wails for the dead, but explicitly says this meaning also apparently belongs under عول.