Quranic root
جسم
j · s · m
The root centers on the gathering or consolidation of something into a formed whole, especially a bodily or material whole.
From the notion of aggregation, the evidence develops the noun for an embodied or material body and related extensions for bodily size, corporeity, embodiment, direction toward a target, and undertaking the bulk of an affair.
- Maqāyīs · row 1157
- Lane · entry 46802
- Lane · entry 46805
- Lane · entry 46804
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 1
- Quran senses
- 2
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
جِسْم
jism
- 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 physical body or corporeal form: the outward bodily frame or physique.
The lexical discussion characterizes a body as an extended bodily whole with length, breadth, and depth, whose parts remain bodily entities when divided. In the Quranic occurrences, the word is used concretely for bodily physique or bodies, including impressive outward bodily form rather than inner worth.
- Lane · entry 46805
- Mufradāt · row 252
Selected Quran examples
Quran 2:247word 35
“and [the] physique”
Quran 63:4word 4
“their bodies”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
View all 2 occurrencesBroader Classical Arabic meanings
Recorded for this root in the Classical lexicons beyond its Quran usage. These are secondary to the Quran senses above.
Show 16 Classical meanings
جَسُمَ
To be or become great, large, bulky, or corpulent.
An intransitive Form I verb describing a change or state of bodily size, and sometimes the size of a thing.
- Lane · entry 46802
جَسُمَ
To be or become corporeal or bodied.
A Form I bodily or material-state usage distinct from the descriptions of size.
- Lane · entry 46802
جَسَّمَ
To make or render corporeal, solid, or possessed of spatial dimensions.
Form II; the cited explanation includes making something have length, breadth, and thickness.
- Lane · entry 46803
جَسَّمَ
To make or render great, large, big, or bulky.
Form II causative usage concerning size or bulk.
- Lane · entry 46803
تَجَسَّمَ
To assume a form or shape, or become an embodiment of something.
A figurative Form V usage, including the embodiment of a quality such as generosity.
- Lane · entry 46804
تَجَسَّمَ
To single out and choose a target from a group, directing one's course or aim toward it.
The cited constructions apply this to selecting a person from a people or tribe and to choosing an animal from a herd; the animal example includes choosing it for slaughter.
- Lane · entry 46804
تَجَسَّمَ
To head toward a land or country, or to mount or ascend much of a tract of sand or a mountain.
A Form V directional or traversing usage; the supplied evidence marks some applications as figurative or assumed figurative.
- Lane · entry 46804
تَجَسَّمَ
To undertake the main or bulk of an affair, especially despite difficulty, trouble, or inconvenience.
A Form V construction for imposing an arduous task upon oneself or venturing into its principal part.
- Lane · entry 46804
جِسْم
In technical usage, a material substance or solid having length, breadth, and thickness; by extension, a classified natural or celestial material body.
The technical terminology includes divisible bodies and classifications such as elements, minerals, plants, and animals, as well as a specialized occult usage for celestial bodies and the elemental constituents.
- Lane · entry 46805
جِسْم
To regain flesh, good bodily condition, or health after leanness or wasting, in the construction ثاب جسمه or ثاب إليه جسمه.
A conventional expression describing the return of bodily well-being.
- Lane · entry 46805
جِسْمِيّ
Bodily or corporeal.
An adjectival derivative referring to the body or to corporeity.
- Lane · entry 46806
جِسْمِيَّة
Bodiliness or corporeity.
A noun denoting the condition or quality of being bodily or corporeal.
- Lane · entry 46807
جَسِيم
Great, large, big, bulky, or corpulent.
An adjective of size or bodily bulk; the comparative أَجْسَمُ is subsumed here.
- Lane · entry 46811
- Lane · entry 46812
جَسِيم
Great or major, especially the bulk, main, principal, or chief part of an affair.
A figurative usage in expressions concerning great affairs, events, or calamities and the principal part of an affair.
- Lane · entry 46811
جَسِيم
Intelligent men, in a figurative plural usage.
Attested specifically for the plural جُسُمٌ.
- Lane · entry 46811
جَسِيم
Elevated land over which water has risen.
A specialized nominal use, with جِسَامٌ given as its plural.
- Lane · entry 46811
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic group is presented under the singular dictionary headword جِسْم, although one occurrence is the plural أَجْسَامُ.
The Quranic evidence supports concrete bodily or physical usage; technical classifications of material bodies are kept under broader Classical Arabic meanings.