Quranic root
بثث
b · th · th
The root centers on separating or dispersing something while bringing it into manifestation.
Its semantic development extends from physically spreading things or created beings to making speech, secrets, and concealed grief public; resulting states may be scattered, spread out, or disclosed.
- Maqāyīs · row 679
- Mufradāt · row 93
- 4
- Quran-attested forms
- 5
- Quran senses
- 9
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
بَثَّ
baththa
- 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 spread or disperse beings through an area; to populate or multiply them across it.
In Quranic usage, especially of created beings spread through the earth or the heavens; the resulting multiplication or population of an area may be emphasized.
- Lane · entry 35528
- Mufradāt · row 93
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:164word 29
“and dispersing”
Quran 4:1word 13
“and dispersed”
Quran 42:29word 7
“He has dispersed”
To bring into existence and make manifest what was not previously present.
A Quranic interpretation of the divine act of بثّ, particularly where bringing creatures forth and displaying them in the world is foregrounded.
- Lane · entry 35528
- Mufradāt · row 93
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:164word 29
“and dispersing”
بَثّ
bathth
- 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.
Grief or sorrow brought out of concealment and disclosed.
In the Quranic expression بَثِّي, the noun denotes the speaker's grief or distress as complained of and made known to God; the lexical discussion also allows the nuance of grief occupying or unsettling the mind.
- Lane · entry 35536
- Mufradāt · row 93
Selected Quran examples
Quran 12:86word 4
“(of) my suffering”
مَبْثُوث
mabthūth
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- 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.
Spread out or scattered over an area.
Of the moths in 101:4, the Quran-focused usage highlights creatures stirred after being settled or hidden; of carpets in 88:16, the expression means spread out, with an attested alternative interpretation of numerous.
- Lane · entry 35528
- Lane · entry 35537
- Mufradāt · row 93
Selected Quran examples
Quran 101:4word 5
“scattered”
Quran 88:16word 2
“spread out”
مُنْبَثّ
munbathth
- Part of speech
- Adjective · Form VII-derived
- 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.
Scattered or dispersed, like dust spread apart.
In the Quranic image, it describes dust or particles dispersed after being stirred and separated.
- Lane · entry 35538
- Mufradāt · row 93
Selected Quran examples
Quran 56:6word 3
“dispersing”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:164وَبَثَّand dispersing
- 4:1وَبَثَّand dispersed
- 12:86بَثِّى(of) my suffering
- 31:10وَبَثَّand He dispersed
- 42:29بَثَّHe has dispersed
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 12 Classical meanings
بَثَّ
To spread or disperse a thing, people, animals, or furnishings over an area.
The physical verb is used of such actions as distributing troops or animals, spreading carpets or furniture, and scattering a thing.
- Lane · entry 35528
بَثَّ
To publish, reveal, or disclose speech, news, information, secrets, or what is held in the mind.
The Form II expression بَثَّثَ الخَبَرَ intensifies the dissemination of news. The base verb also occurs in constructions for acquainting someone with a secret or complaining of one's condition.
- Lane · entry 35528
- Lane · entry 35529
بَثَّ
To raise dust or earth and thereby uncover what lies beneath; to uncover a person.
This is a physical exposure or uncovering use distinct from merely distributing something.
- Lane · entry 35528
بَاثَثَ / تَبَاثَّ
To disclose secrets mutually; to reveal secrets to one another.
A reciprocal construction for shared or mutual disclosure.
- Lane · entry 35530
- Lane · entry 35532
أَبْثَثَ
To disclose or show one's state, grief, or sorrow to another person.
Used without a second object complement when the disclosed matter is one's condition or grief.
- Lane · entry 35531
اِنْبَثَّ
To spread, become dispersed, or disseminate itself.
The Form VII verb describes a subject undergoing dispersion or spreading, including animals or other things distributed through a land.
- Lane · entry 35533
اِسْتَبَثَّ
To ask or petition someone to reveal something.
A Form X request for disclosure from another person.
- Lane · entry 35534
بَثْبَثَ
To inquire into an affair, scrutinize it, and seek information about it.
A repeated-form investigative construction concerning an event or matter.
- Lane · entry 35535
بَثّ
Scattered, strewn, or loose rather than compact or packed together.
This adjectival-like use is exemplified of dates that are separate and not gathered into a container or compact mass.
- Lane · entry 35536
بَثّ
A state or condition.
A nominal use that can introduce a person's particular condition or circumstance.
- Lane · entry 35536
بَثّ
Severe illness or sickness.
A distress-related specialization grouped with intense grief or sorrow in the lexical evidence.
- Lane · entry 35536
مُنْبَثّ
Swooning from grief or sorrow.
A figurative or idiomatic Classical Arabic specialization of the adjective, distinct from its Quranic sense of being scattered.
- Lane · entry 35538
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic noun بَثّ at 12:86 belongs specifically to the grief-and-disclosure branch, rather than directly meaning physical dispersion.