Quranic root
نطف
n · ṭ · f
The root has two principal semantic axes: liquid or moisture, especially a clear drop or fluid, and ornament, especially pearls or pearl ornaments.
The liquid axis extends to seminal fluid, dripping or flowing liquids, rain lasting through the night, and sweat; figurative extensions include soiling, blemish, and spoilage. The other axis concerns pearls and earrings.
- Maqāyīs · row 4667
- Mufradāt · row 1454
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 1
- Quran senses
- 12
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
نُطْفَة
nuṭfah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- Quran occurrences
- 12 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 drop or small quantity of seminal fluid.
In Quranic creation passages, the noun denotes the reproductive fluid from which a human being develops; the lexical description includes fluid from a man or woman.
- Lane · entry 32267
- Mufradāt · row 1454
Selected Quran examples
Quran 16:4word 4
“a minute quantity of semen”
Quran 23:13word 3
“(as) a semen-drop”
Quran 23:14word 3
“the semen-drop”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 16:4نُّطْفَةٍۢa minute quantity of semen
- 18:37نُّطْفَةٍۢa minute quantity of semen
- 22:5نُّطْفَةٍۢa semen-drop
- 23:13نُطْفَةًۭ(as) a semen-drop
- 23:14ٱلنُّطْفَةَthe semen-drop
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 7 Classical meanings
نُطْفَة
Clear or pure water.
A broader liquid sense of the noun, distinct from its Quranic reproductive-fluid use.
- Maqāyīs · row 4667
- Mufradāt · row 1454
نَطَفٌ / نُطْفَة
A pearl; collectively, pearls, including a pearl ornament worn in the ear.
نَطَفٌ may refer collectively to pearls, while نُطْفَةٌ denotes one pearl.
- Maqāyīs · row 4667
- Mufradāt · row 1454
لَيْلَةٌ نَطُوفٌ
A rainy night during which rain continues until morning.
A conventional description of a night marked by continuous rain.
- Maqāyīs · row 4667
- Mufradāt · row 1454
النِّطَاف
Sweat or perspiration.
- Maqāyīs · row 4667
نَاطِف
Something liquid that drips or flows.
The flowing-liquid sense is extended idiomatically in مَنْطِفُ المعروف, describing beneficence as flowing from a person.
- Mufradāt · row 1454
نَاطِف
A kind of sweetmeat, identified with قُبَّيْطَى.
- Lane · entry 32268
- Mufradāt · row 1454
نَطِفٌ / نَطِفَ الشَّيْءُ
Soiled, blemished, or defective; to become spoiled.
The adjectival use is especially associated with ugliness or defect. The related idiom يَنْطِفُ بسوء describes associating or besmirching someone with evil.
- Maqāyīs · row 4667
- Mufradāt · row 1454
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic occurrences in this packet support the seminal-fluid sense; the clear-water, pearl, rain, sweat, flowing-liquid, and blemish meanings are broader Classical Arabic usages.