Quranic root
صدف
ṣ · d · f
The root has two principal semantic axes: turning aside or inclining, and the shell of a mollusk.
The notion of turning aside extends to bodily deviation, animals that wait or refuse to approach, and the side of a mountain; the shell sense forms a separate lexical branch with related anatomical and maritime extensions.
- Maqāyīs · row 2773
- Mufradāt · row 822
- 2
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- 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.
صَدَفَ
ṣadafa
- 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 turn sharply away from; to shun or avoid.
In the Quranic construction, it is used with عَنْ and denotes emphatic turning away from or rejection of something, especially divine signs. The verb may be understood as turning aside, back, or away.
- Lane · entry 25601
- Mufradāt · row 822
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:157word 24
“and turns away”
Quran 6:157word 28
“turn away”
صَدَفٌ
ṣadafun
- 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.
The two facing sides or cliffs of a mountain or mountain pass.
The Quranic form is the definite dual الصَّدَفَيْنِ, referring to two mountain sides or cliffs meeting or facing one another, with a passage or valley between them.
- Lane · entry 25606
Selected Quran examples
Quran 18:96word 8
“the two cliffs”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 6:46يَصْدِفُونَturn away
- 6:157وَصَدَفَand turns away
- 6:157يَصْدِفُونَturn away
- 6:157يَصْدِفُونَturn away
- 18:96ٱلصَّدَفَيْنِthe two cliffs
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 21 Classical meanings
صَدَفٌ
An outward turning or twisting of a hoof, pastern, or foreleg; a conformational deviation in a horse or camel.
Descriptions include close-set thighs with outward-set hoofs, crooked forelegs, or an outward inclination of the foot; the precise description varies by animal and authority.
- Lane · entry 25601
صادَفَهُ
To find, meet, encounter, or come upon someone or something.
It can also take an affair as an object and a complement describing that affair as suitable or in accord with one's wish.
- Lane · entry 25602
مُصادَفَةٌ
Being opposite, facing, or matching one another.
A conventional verbal-noun use describing two things as mutually aligned or facing each other.
- Lane · entry 25602
أَصْدَفَهُ
To turn someone or something away, turn it back, or cause it to revert.
The verb may be transitive or intransitive; the transitive use takes the person or thing caused to turn away as its object.
- Lane · entry 25603
تَصَدَّفَ
To present oneself or take an oblique course, moving alternately to the right and left.
Attested especially of a camel or camels moving among high places or along ascents; the usage is equated with تَعَرَّضَ.
- Lane · entry 25604
تَصَادَفَا
Of two mountain sides: to meet and face each other.
Used reciprocally of opposing sides of a mountain or similar terrain.
- Lane · entry 25605
صَدَفٌ
Anything high or lofty, such as a wall, mountain, or other substantial structure.
The noun can denote a lofty natural or constructed object; this is distinct from its use for a mountain side or shell.
- Lane · entry 25606
صَدَفٌ
A shell or shell-valve of a mollusk, especially the covering of a pearl; by extension, an oyster or other shellfish.
The noun is also used collectively or individually for the shell-bearing creature and has the plural أَصْدَافٌ.
- Lane · entry 25606
الصَّدَفَةُ
The concha, or broad external cavity, of the ear.
A specialized anatomical extension of the shell sense.
- Lane · entry 25606
الصَّدَفَتَانِ
A pair of anatomical sockets or hollows in which the heads of bones are set.
The term is applied to the hip sockets and, in some usage, to corresponding sockets of the scapula.
- Lane · entry 25606
صَدَفٌ
A piece of flesh resembling cartilage that grows in a head wound next to the skull.
A rare figurative or specialized anatomical usage.
- Lane · entry 25606
أَصْدَافٌ
Waves of the sea.
Recorded as a plural lexical use.
- Lane · entry 25606
صُدَفٌ
A species of predatory animal; according to another view, a bird.
The identification is reported with lexical variation between a beast of prey and a bird.
- Lane · entry 25608
صَدَفِيٌّ
A camel of a particular, excellent sort.
The adjective is also explained as a tribal nisba, connected with the Ṣadaf group or a sub-tribe of Kinda.
- Lane · entry 25610
صَدَفِيٌّ
Testaceous; pertaining to shells or shell-bearing creatures.
A relational adjective derived from the shell sense.
- Lane · entry 25610
صَدُوفٌ
A person who turns the face away or avoids affectionate kisses.
Applied to a woman who turns away from her husband or does not desire kisses, and also to a man who turns his face whenever addressed.
- Lane · entry 25611
صَدُوفٌ
A person with foul-smelling breath or mouth.
Applied to either a female or a male according to the cited usage.
- Lane · entry 25611
صَدُوفٌ
A she-camel that will not approach the watering place until it is left unoccupied.
A specialized description of an animal's refusal or delay in approaching the watering trough.
- Lane · entry 25611
صَوَادِفُ
Camels that wait behind other camels at a watering trough until the drinkers have gone away.
A plural form describing animals that defer entering the watering place until it is free.
- Lane · entry 25612
مُصَدَّفٌ
A person often afflicted by diseases.
Recorded as a colloquial or vulgar usage.
- Lane · entry 25614
مَصْدُوفٌ
Veiled, concealed, covered, or protected.
A passive participial description equivalent to being screened or kept from view.
- Lane · entry 25615
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic nominal occurrence is an inflected definite dual, الصَّدَفَيْنِ; it is displayed under the supported singular citation form صَدَفٌ.
Classical authorities record variant vocalizations and interpretations for the Quranic dual; the public sense follows the secure QAC occurrence and the mountain-side interpretation supported in the lexical evidence.