Quranic root
بضع
b · ḍ · ʿ
The root centers on a portion separated from a whole: a cut piece or portion of flesh. From this develop meanings for goods set aside for trade, a small portion of a number, and several bodily and marital expressions.
Classical explanations connect merchandise with a portion of property allocated to commerce, and the sexual sense with cutting or slitting as a euphemistic development. The numeric term denotes a small portion of a larger number; other lexical branches include detached landforms and drinking to satiety.
- Maqāyīs · row 777
- Mufradāt · row 129
- Lane · entry 36550
- 2
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- Quran senses
- 7
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
بِضَاعَةٌ
biḍāʿahun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- 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.
Merchandise; a portion of property set aside for trade, or goods used in commerce.
Used for goods brought, returned, or presented as part of commercial exchange.
- Lane · entry 36550
- Mufradāt · row 129
Selected Quran examples
Quran 12:19word 12
“(as) a merchandise”
Quran 12:88word 11
“with goods”
Quran 12:65word 13
“(is) our merchandise”
بِضْعٌ
biḍʿun
- 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 small, indefinite number; traditionally, a number from three to nine.
In the Quranic expression بِضْعِ سِنِينَ, it denotes several years. Classical authorities differ over the exact numerical range.
- Lane · entry 36543
- Mufradāt · row 129
Selected Quran examples
Quran 12:42word 17
“several”
Quran 30:4word 2
“a few”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 12:19بِضَـٰعَةًۭ ۚ(as) a merchandise
- 12:42بِضْعَseveral
- 12:62بِضَـٰعَتَهُمْtheir merchandise
- 12:65بِضَـٰعَتَهُمْtheir merchandise
- 12:65بِضَـٰعَتُنَا(is) our merchandise
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 26 Classical meanings
بَضَعَ
To cut off a piece, cut into pieces, or slit and cut lengthwise.
May be used of flesh, a wound, a vein, a hide, or another cuttable thing.
- Lane · entry 36533
بَاضَعَ / بُضْعٌ
To have sexual intercourse.
A euphemistic or figurative expression for sexual intercourse.
- Lane · entry 36533
- Lane · entry 36542
بُضْعٌ
Marriage, taking in marriage, or the marriage contract.
Used in expressions concerning the marital bond or the act of marrying.
- Lane · entry 36533
- Lane · entry 36542
بُضْعٌ
The female genital organ; the vulva.
An anatomical use, also occurring in expressions concerning marital authority or sexual relations.
- Lane · entry 36542
أَبْضَعَ
To give a woman in marriage.
A causative marriage expression, including the giving of a woman for marriage.
- Lane · entry 36536
أَبْضَعَ
To make or take something as merchandise, or give it to another as merchandise.
A causative commercial construction with a thing made into or transferred as trade goods.
- Lane · entry 36536
اِنْبَضَعَ
To become cut or cut off.
An intransitive result of cutting.
- Lane · entry 36538
اِبْتَضَعَ
To take or receive merchandise from someone.
Used with merchandise understood from the commercial context.
- Lane · entry 36539
اِسْتَبْضَعَ
To seek a sexual connection with a man in order to obtain offspring.
Refers to a reported pre-Islamic matrimonial practice in which a woman was sent to another man for conception.
- Lane · entry 36540
بِضْعٌ
A part or portion of the night; a period of time during it.
Used with مِنَ اللَّيْلِ to denote an unspecified portion of the night.
- Lane · entry 36543
بَضْعَةٌ
A piece, lump, or compact portion cut off, especially of flesh; figuratively, a part of a person.
The figurative use describes someone as closely connected to another, like a part of the same body.
- Lane · entry 36544
- Mufradāt · row 129
بَضِيعٌ
Flesh or a fleshy mass; by extension, abundant flesh or corpulence.
Used of bodily flesh, including the flesh of the thigh or arm, and of a person or animal with much flesh.
- Lane · entry 36544
- Lane · entry 36549
بَضَعَةٌ
The sound produced by swords cutting.
A specialized sound noun in descriptions of battle or weapons.
- Lane · entry 36547
بِضَاعٌ
The giving and receiving of merchandise; commercial exchange in goods.
A verbal noun associated with commercial transfer and trade.
- Lane · entry 36548
بَاضِعٌ
A sword that cuts off a piece of what it strikes; a sharp or cutting sword.
May describe a sword that cuts deeply or cuts through what it strikes.
- Lane · entry 36551
بَاضِعٌ
A broker or carrier who handles merchandise, especially one who conveys a tribe’s goods for sale.
Includes an intermediary in camel sales and a person transporting merchandise from place to place.
- Lane · entry 36551
- Lane · entry 36556
بَاضِعَةٌ
A flesh-cleaving wound that cuts the skin and flesh without reaching the bone.
Classical descriptions vary concerning its exact depth and whether it causes blood to flow.
- Lane · entry 36552
بَاضِعَةٌ
A large flock, or a portion separated from the rest, of sheep or goats.
A collective or partitioning term for a group of livestock.
- Lane · entry 36552
مِبْضَعٌ
A lancet or other cutting instrument used to open a vein; also a knife for cutting leather.
An instrument noun for specialized cutting tools.
- Lane · entry 36554
مَبْضُوعَةٌ
A bow cut from a branch.
A substantivized passive-participial form describing an object made by cutting.
- Lane · entry 36555
بَضِيعٌ / بَاضِعٌ
A detached island or landform; related forms also occur in names of places.
The place-name and landform usage is associated with something separated from the mainland or surrounding land.
- Maqāyīs · row 777
- Mufradāt · row 129
بَضَعَ / بَضِيعٌ
To drink one’s fill or become quenched; water that refreshes or satisfies.
A separate classical branch concerning satisfaction through drinking water.
- Maqāyīs · row 777
بُضْعٌ
A dowry or gift given to or for a bride.
A marriage-related property or gift meaning distinct from the marriage contract itself.
- Lane · entry 36542
بُضْعٌ
Divorce.
A reported figurative use with a contrary meaning to the marital sense.
- Lane · entry 36542
بُضْعٌ
The authority possessed by a guardian over a woman whom he affiances.
A specialized legal or social use concerning the guardian’s authority in arranging marriage.
- Lane · entry 36542
بُضْعٌ
An equal or suitable match, especially a marriage suitor.
Used of suitability or equality in a marriage proposal.
- Lane · entry 36542
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
Classical authorities differ over the precise numerical range of بِضْعٌ; the Quranic contexts clearly use it for a small number of years.