Quranic root
غوث
gh · w · th
Aid, succour, and relief provided in a time of hardship.
The root develops from assistance in distress into seeking aid, providing relief, cries for succour, and nouns naming aid or its provider. غَوْثٌ is also recorded as a tribal name.
- Maqāyīs · row 3474
- Mufradāt · row 1073
- 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.
أَغَاثَ
ʾaghātha
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- 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.
To aid, succour, or relieve someone from distress.
The supplied Quran occurrence is the imperfect form يُغَاثُوا, expressing relief being provided; it occurs in a construction involving water described as like molten metal.
- Lane · entry 30099
- Mufradāt · row 1073
Selected Quran examples
Quran 18:29word 20
“they will be relieved”
اِسْتَغَاثَ
āistaghātha
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form X
- Form
- X
- 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 seek, call for, or appeal for aid or relief.
The person or power appealed to may be expressed directly or with بِـ; seeking aid and calling for relief are constructional variations of the same use.
- Lane · entry 30101
- Mufradāt · row 1073
Selected Quran examples
Quran 8:9word 2
“you were seeking help”
Quran 18:29word 19
“they call for relief”
Quran 28:15word 18
“And called him for help”
Quran 46:17word 15
“seek help”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 8:9تَسْتَغِيثُونَyou were seeking help
- 18:29يَسْتَغِيثُوا۟they call for relief
- 18:29يُغَاثُوا۟they will be relieved
- 28:15فَٱسْتَغَـٰثَهُAnd called him for help
- 46:17يَسْتَغِيثَانِseek help
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 14 Classical meanings
غَوَّثَ
To cry out with an appeal for aid or succour, especially by uttering an exclamation of distress.
The form originally denotes the cry itself and is then used for calling out while seeking or demanding aid.
- Lane · entry 30098
تَغَاوَثُوا
To cry out to one another for aid or succour.
A reciprocal or mutual construction; it is also reported as synonymous with أَغَاثَ in another use.
- Lane · entry 30100
غَوْثٌ
A cry for aid or succour.
A noun denoting the cry itself, distinct from the act of providing aid.
- Lane · entry 30102
غِيَاثٌ
Aid or succour; deliverance from difficulty, distress, adversity, or revenge.
A verbal noun or substantive associated with providing aid and release from hardship.
- Lane · entry 30105
غِيَاثٌ
An aider or succourer; one who provides aid.
Used of a person or other agent regarded as a source of assistance.
- Lane · entry 30105
أُمُّ غِيَاثٍ
A cooking pot.
An idiomatic name rather than a literal designation of aid.
- Lane · entry 30105
غَوَاثٌ
Travelling provisions.
A dialectal use attributed to Himyer.
- Lane · entry 30103
غَوِيثٌ
Food or other succour supplied to a person in need.
Refers to the concrete means by which a needy person is assisted.
- Lane · entry 30106
غَوِيثٌ
Vehemence of running; forceful or rapid running.
A rare lexical use reported in one textual reading.
- Lane · entry 30106
مَغَاوِثُ
Waters.
Recorded as a plural said to have no singular form.
- Lane · entry 30109
يَغُوثُ
Yaghūth, the name of an idol; alternatively, the name of a righteous man whose image later became an object of worship.
A proper name associated with the ancient idols; no corresponding QAC form group is supplied for this proper-name item.
- Lane · entry 30110
أَغَاثَ
Of rain, to bring relief.
A tropical or figurative construction in which rain is the relieving agent; this is a broader Classical use, not the direct Quranic sense assigned here.
- Lane · entry 30099
اِسْتَغَاثَ
Of a lute, to emit plaintive sounds.
A figurative expression applied to the sound of a lute.
- Lane · entry 30101
غَوْثٌ
The name of a tribe.
A proper-name use distinct from the noun denoting a cry or aid.
- Maqāyīs · row 3474
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quran-focused lexical discussion distinguishes الغَوْث, aid or succour, from الغَيْث, rain. It states that both اِسْتَغَاثُوا and يُغَاثُوا in 18:29 can be interpreted through either association; this artifact presents the غوث reading because the supplied QAC root is gwv.
The proper-name item يَغُوثُ is explicitly connected in the Classical evidence with a Quranic account, but no QAC form group or secure supplied word location is available for it here.
Unassigned or ambiguous evidence
For 18:29, the supplied Mufradat evidence leaves open whether اِسْتَغَاثُوا / يُغَاثُوا concerns seeking or receiving aid (غوث) or is connected with rain (غيث). The latter cannot be assigned as a direct gwv Quranic sense from the supplied packet.