Quranic root
غلم
gh · l · m
The root centers on youthful newness and the stirring or intensification of sexual desire.
The lexicon connects the young male غُلَام with the state of youth, while related verbal and nominal forms express sexual arousal, maturation, causation, and figurative excess. Other derivatives extend to specialized descriptions of people, animals, liquids, and places.
- Maqāyīs · row 3453
- Mufradāt · row 1066
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 1
- Quran senses
- 13
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
غُلَامٌ
ghulāmun
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 13 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 boy or young male; in a kinship context, a young son.
The Quranic form occurs in singular, dual, and plural contexts. Translations such as “boy” and “son” reflect the surrounding situation rather than separate lexical senses. A broader Classical extension to a middle-aged man is listed separately.
- Lane · entry 29782
- Mufradāt · row 1066
Selected Quran examples
Quran 3:40word 6
“a son”
Quran 12:19word 10
“(is) a boy”
Quran 18:80word 2
“the boy”
Quran 18:82word 4
“for two orphan boys”
Quran 19:19word 8
“a son”
Quran 52:24word 3
“boys”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 3:40غُلَـٰمٌۭa son
- 12:19غُلَـٰمٌۭ ۚ(is) a boy
- 15:53بِغُلَـٰمٍof a boy
- 18:74غُلَـٰمًۭاa boy
- 18:80ٱلْغُلَـٰمُthe boy
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 23 Classical meanings
غَلِمَ
To become sexually aroused, overcome by lust, or vehemently affected by carnal desire.
Said of a man, girl, or young woman; also said of a male camel when it becomes aroused to mate.
- Lane · entry 29776
أَغْلَمَ
To excite sexual appetite; of a beverage, to strengthen the venereal faculty.
A causative use applied to a thing or, in a specialized expression, to a beverage.
- Lane · entry 29777
اغْتَلَمَ
Of a boy, to reach the stage called غُلُومَةٌ.
The cited description associates this stage approximately with the seventeenth year.
- Lane · entry 29778
اغْتَلَمَ
Of a beverage or wine, to become strong in its influence upon the head.
A specialized description of the effect of a beverage.
- Lane · entry 29778
اغْتَلَمَ
Of the sea, to become stirred into commotion, with its waves dashing together.
A figurative or extended description of turbulent water.
- Lane · entry 29778
اغْتَلَمَ
To exceed the prescribed limit, whether in good or in evil.
An extended figurative use concerning excess beyond an established norm.
- Lane · entry 29778
غَلِمٌ
Lustful, sexually excited, or vehemently affected by desire.
Applied to a male or female, and particularly to a he-camel in the cited usage.
- Lane · entry 29779
غُلُمٌ
Persons confined, restricted, or imprisoned.
A rare plural expression whose singular is not specified in the cited passage.
- Lane · entry 29780
غُلْمَةٌ
Lust, appetence, or carnal desire.
It may denote desire experienced by young men, desire in women, or a camel’s lust to mate.
- Lane · entry 29781
غُلَامٌ
A man of middle age, by an extended application of the term.
This Classical extension is distinct from the Quranic young-male use; the cited evidence also reports broad applications ranging from a newborn child to a middle-aged man.
- Lane · entry 29782
غُلَامٌ
A male slave.
An extended Classical use of the noun.
- Lane · entry 29782
غُلَامٌ
A hireling or servant.
An extended service-related use, distinct from the age meaning.
- Lane · entry 29782
غُلُومَةٌ
The state or period of being a غُلَامٌ; traditionally, the period from birth to about the seventeenth year.
A noun for the age or condition associated with a young male.
- Lane · entry 29783
غَيْلَمٌ
A beautiful woman.
A lexical use of غَيْلَمٌ distinct from its other specialized meanings.
- Lane · entry 29789
غَيْلَمٌ
A broad or large-bodied young man with abundant hair at the parting of the head.
A specialized description of a youth or young man.
- Lane · entry 29789
غَيْلَمٌ
In the expression مَا بِالدَّارِ غَيْلَمٌ, any person or anyone.
This meaning occurs in a fixed expression meaning that there is no one in the house.
- Lane · entry 29789
غَيْلَمٌ
A tortoise, especially a male tortoise.
A zoological use; some authorities extend the term to the tortoise generally.
- Lane · entry 29789
غَيْلَمٌ
A frog.
A zoological use reported alongside an alternative form عَيْلَمٌ.
- Lane · entry 29789
غَيْلَمٌ
The place from which water issues in wells.
A term for a feature or source of a well.
- Lane · entry 29789
أَغْلَمُ
More or most exciting to lust.
A comparative or superlative adjective, used of something regarded as especially stimulating sexual desire.
- Lane · entry 29791
مَغْلَمَةٌ
A cause or stimulus of lust, or of vehement lust.
The cited evidence illustrates the term with a beverage, but the definition is not limited to that example.
- Lane · entry 29793
مُغْتَلِمٌ
Of a beverage or wine, strong in its influence upon the head.
A specialized adjectival description of the effect of stored drink.
- Lane · entry 29795
مُغْتَلِمٌ
An exceeder of the prescribed limit.
An extended figurative use; the cited expression applies it to a religious deviator, but the definition is broader.
- Lane · entry 29795
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The age range of غُلَامٌ is not fixed uniformly in the Classical evidence; the Quranic young-male sense is therefore kept distinct from the reported middle-aged extension.
The Mufradat text labels its discussion of the wall belonging to two boys with يوسف 19, whereas the supplied QAC occurrence is securely located at 18:82; the QAC location is used here without converting the discrepant citation.