Quranic root
فوت
f · w · t
The root denotes failure to attain or reach something because it has passed beyond one's grasp.
The basic idea of non-attainment extends to something passing away from a person or opportunity. From the notion of separation arise meanings of distance, discrepancy, and incongruity; the derived notion of proceeding ahead without consultation reflects going before another in action.
- Maqāyīs · row 3666
- Mufradāt · row 1139
- 3
- Quran-attested forms
- 3
- 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.
فَاتَ
fāta
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- Quran occurrences
- 3 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 pass away from someone or elude them, becoming beyond their reach or attainment; to be missed or lost.
Used transitively with a thing, affair, opportunity, or other object that has passed beyond the person's ability to attain, perform, or recover it. Quranic occurrences use the construction فَاتَكُمْ.
- Lane · entry 35157
- Mufradāt · row 1139
Selected Quran examples
Quran 3:153word 18
“escaped you”
Quran 57:23word 5
“has escaped you”
Quran 60:11word 2
“have gone from you”
فَوْتٌ
fawtun
- 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.
Escape or elusion; the state of being beyond reach or attainment.
In the Quranic expression فَلَا فَوْتَ, it denotes the impossibility of escaping apprehension. The noun can also describe something visible yet unattainable or beyond one's reach.
- Lane · entry 35157
- Lane · entry 35162
- Mufradāt · row 1139
Selected Quran examples
Quran 34:51word 6
“escape”
تَفَاوُتٌ
tafāwutun
- Part of speech
- Verbal 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.
Incongruity, discrepancy, or defect; a lack of harmony or perfection.
In the Quranic description of creation, it denotes the absence of any inconsistency, discordance, or imperfection that would call for correction or improvement.
- Lane · entry 35160
- Mufradāt · row 1139
Selected Quran examples
Quran 67:3word 12
“fault”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 3:153فَاتَكُمْescaped you
- 34:51فَوْتَescape
- 57:23فَاتَكُمْhas escaped you
- 60:11فَاتَكُمْhave gone from you
- 67:3تَفَـٰوُتٍۢ ۖfault
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
فَاتَ
To precede or outstrip another; to get ahead of, or pass beyond, someone or something.
A distinct use from the missed-opportunity sense, describing something that has got before another or taken precedence over it.
- Lane · entry 35157
فَاتَ
To die, especially to die suddenly.
Recorded as synonymous with فَادَ in this usage.
- Lane · entry 35157
أَفَاتَ
To cause a thing or affair to pass away from someone, be missed, or become beyond their reach.
A causative construction in which the object is made unattainable or impossible for the person concerned to perform or recover.
- Lane · entry 35158
تَفَوَّتَ
To act to another person's exclusion in disposing of property, including giving it away or squandering it without consultation or permission.
Used with عَلَيْهِ in a property-management context; the construction expresses acting without the authority or participation of the person concerned.
- Lane · entry 35159
تَفَاوُتٌ
Wide separation or distinctness between things; difference or disparity, including disparity in excellence or eminence.
Applied to two things or persons that are far apart, different, or dissimilar in an assessed quality.
- Lane · entry 35160
اِفْتِيَاتٌ
In a poetic usage, the passing out or being spent of a period of life; being finished or run out.
Attested in an expression concerning the portion of life anterior to the Day of Resurrection.
- Lane · entry 35161
اِفْتَاتَ
To act, decide, or dispose of a matter without consulting the person whose order or authority should be sought; to proceed on one's own authority.
Commonly construed with عَلَى; it can describe deciding against or acting exclusively of another person in an affair.
- Lane · entry 35161
اِفْتَاتَ
To originate or extemporize speech; to speak without prior consideration, preparation, or hesitation.
Used with الكلام for speech produced spontaneously or without deliberation.
- Lane · entry 35161
فَوْتٌ
In the idiom أَسْمَعُ صَوْتًا وَأَرَى فَوْتًا, hearing a sound while seeing no corresponding deed or action.
A fixed idiomatic expression.
- Lane · entry 35162
فَوْتٌ
A gap or interval between things, especially the space between extended fingers; figuratively, a wide distance or disparity between persons.
The figurative use may concern distance in rank, estimation, or standing. The plural is أَفْوَاتٌ.
- Lane · entry 35162
فَوَاتٌ
Sudden death.
Used in expressions such as مَوْتُ الفَوَاتِ for a death that comes unexpectedly or suddenly.
- Lane · entry 35163
فُوَيْتٌ
A person who follows only their own opinion without consulting anyone.
Applied to either a man or a woman.
- Lane · entry 35164