Quranic root
نمل
n · m · l
The root is oriented toward gathering or aggregation together with smallness and lightness.
From the image of small, lightly moving creatures gathered together, the lexicon develops related uses for ants, ant-affected food, light-footedness, spreading sores, and the fingertips.
- Maqāyīs · row 4761
- Mufradāt · row 1490
- 3
- Quran-attested forms
- 3
- Quran senses
- 4
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
أُنْمُلَة
ʾunmulah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- 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.
Fingertip; the terminal part or nail-bearing joint of a finger.
The Quranic form is the plural أَنَامِل, referring to the fingertips.
- Lane · entry 32425
- Mufradāt · row 1490
Selected Quran examples
Quran 3:119word 17
“the finger tips”
نَمْلَة
namlah
- Part of speech
- Noun
- 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.
An ant.
Singular noun; in the Quranic passage, it denotes the individual ant addressing the other ants.
- Mufradāt · row 1490
Selected Quran examples
Quran 27:18word 8
“an ant”
نَمْل
naml
- 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.
Ants; the plural or collective designation of the ant.
Plural or collective noun, explicitly treated as the plural of نَمْلَة; the Quran uses its genitive and nominative forms in 27:18.
- Mufradāt · row 1490
Selected Quran examples
Quran 27:18word 6
“(of) the ants”
Quran 27:18word 10
“ants”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
View all 4 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 9 Classical meanings
نَمَّلَ الثَّوْبَ
To mend a garment.
Form II transitive construction.
- Lane · entry 32422
تَنَمُّلٌ
Formication: a tingling, stinging, or prickling sensation.
The cited lexical example is the sensation associated with a torpedo fish.
- Lane · entry 32423
نَمْلُ سُلَيْمَانَ
Red ants.
A conventional expression referring to red ants.
- Lane · entry 32424
طَعَامٌ مَنْمُولٌ
Food into which ants have entered or which has been affected by ants.
Used in the expression طَعَامٌ مَنْمُولٌ.
- Maqāyīs · row 4761
- Mufradāt · row 1490
نَمْلَة
A sore appearing on the side, named by resemblance to an ant in its appearance and spreading.
A distinct medical or bodily use of نَمْلَة, not the insect.
- Maqāyīs · row 4761
- Mufradāt · row 1490
نَمْلَة
A crack in a horse’s hoof.
A distinct equine use of نَمْلَة.
- Maqāyīs · row 4761
- Mufradāt · row 1490
فَرَسٌ نَمِلُ القَوَائِمِ
Light-footed or light in the legs, said of a horse.
Used in the construction فَرَسٌ نَمِلُ القَوَائِمِ, by comparison with the light movement of ants.
- Maqāyīs · row 4761
- Mufradāt · row 1490
نَمِلٌ / ذُو نَمْلَةٍ / نَمَّالٌ
Talebearing or gossip; a talebearer.
A figurative use based on the creeping or spreading movement associated with ants; the cited forms include نَمِلٌ, ذُو نَمْلَةٍ, and نَمَّالٌ.
- Maqāyīs · row 4761
- Mufradāt · row 1490
تَنَمَّلَ القَوْمُ
To disperse among people in order to gather, like ants spreading out.
A conventional figurative construction describing a group’s dispersal for gathering.
- Mufradāt · row 1490
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic form أَنَامِل is presented under the normalized singular citation form أُنْمُلَة; the supplied Lane evidence also records the variant spelling أَنْمَلَة.