Quranic root
نون
n · w · n
The evidence presents نُون chiefly as a concrete name for a great fish or whale, with related naming in the expression Dhū al-Nūn.
The whale designation appears in possessive names: Dhū al-Nūn is Jonah's Quranic epithet, while Classical Arabic also records it as the name of a sword, apparently by comparison with the nūn.
- Maqāyīs · row 4798
- Mufradāt · row 1501
- 1
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- Quran senses
- 1
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
نُونٌ
nūnun
- 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.
The Arabic letter nūn (ن).
Used as an isolated letter in the Quranic opening expression ن وَالْقَلَمِ.
- Mufradāt · row 1501
A great fish or whale; in Dhū al-Nūn, the creature associated with Jonah.
Occurs in the possessive epithet ذُو النُّونِ; the lexical explanation identifies it as the whale that swallowed Jonah.
- Mufradāt · row 1501
Selected Quran examples
Quran 21:87word 2
“And Dhun-Nun”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 21:87ٱلنُّونِAnd Dhun-Nun
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 2 Classical meanings
ذُو النُّونِ
The name of a sword belonging to al-Ḥārith ibn Ẓālim.
A proper-name expression, apparently based on a comparison with the nūn or whale; it is not a general word meaning “sword.”
- Maqāyīs · row 4798
- Mufradāt · row 1501
نَوْنَةٌ
A dimple in the chin of a young child.
A separately headed Classical Arabic noun for this anatomical feature.
- Lane · entry 32476
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The sole supplied QAC occurrence is the inflected form in Dhū al-Nūn; the letter sense is explicitly supported by Quran-focused lexical evidence but has no separate supplied QAC occurrence in this packet.