Quranic root
لسن
l · s · n
A subtle, gently elongated projection, whether in an organ or in another thing.
The root centers on the tongue as an elongated organ, extending to its power of speech, language, eloquence, tongue-like projections, reports, and certain metonymic uses for communication.
- Maqāyīs · row 4160
- Mufradāt · row 1302
- Lane · entry 20616
- Lane · entry 20617
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 3
- Quran senses
- 25
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
لِسَان
lisān
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 25 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.
The tongue, the bodily organ.
Used literally for the anatomical organ of the mouth.
- Mufradāt · row 1302
Selected Quran examples
Quran 90:9word 1
“And a tongue”
The tongue as the faculty or power of speech and articulation.
May refer to the speaking faculty rather than to the physical organ itself; in the expression concerning the knot of the tongue, the difficulty concerns the power of speech.
- Mufradāt · row 1302
Selected Quran examples
Quran 20:27word 4
“my tongue”
A language or linguistic mode of expression.
Used for the language of a people and, in the plural, for differing languages; the discussion also includes distinct vocal intonations. It occurs in constructions meaning “in” or “with” a language.
- Mufradāt · row 1302
Selected Quran examples
Quran 26:195word 1
“In language”
Quran 30:22word 7
“(of) your languages”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 3:78أَلْسِنَتَهُمtheir tongues
- 4:46بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ[with] their tongues
- 5:78لِسَانِ(the) tongue
- 14:4بِلِسَانِwith the language
- 16:62أَلْسِنَتُهُمُtheir tongues
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 6 Classical meanings
لَسَنٌ
Chasteness, clarity, perspicuity, and eloquence of speech; good speaking and sharpness of tongue.
A quality of speech and expression, distinct from the noun لِسَان for the tongue, speech faculty, or language.
- Lane · entry 20616
لِسَانٌ
A projecting part resembling or called a tongue, especially the forepart of a sandal; also the tongue or cock of a balance.
Concrete specialized uses for a tongue-like or projecting component.
- Lane · entry 20617
لِسَانٌ
Information, news, or tidings; a report.
A non-physical use synonymous with خبر.
- Lane · entry 20617
مُلَسَّنٌ
A long, slender sandal shaped like a tongue, or having its front extremity shaped like one.
A derived descriptive noun or adjective for the form of a sandal.
- Lane · entry 20619
لِسَانٌ
A message or communication, expressed metonymically by لِسَان.
When used in this sense, the noun is treated as feminine in the cited usage.
- Maqāyīs · row 4160
لَسَنَ
To take or seize something with the tongue.
A reported verbal usage, distinct from the nominal meanings of لِسَان.
- Maqāyīs · row 4160
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The single Quranic noun group covers distinct lexical uses for the physical tongue, the faculty of speech, and language; inflectional differences are not separate public forms.
Unassigned or ambiguous evidence
The contextual rendering “a mention” at 26:84 is not treated as an independent Quranic sense because the supplied direct lexical discussion does not independently establish that meaning for this form.