Quranic root
نخل
n · kh · l
The root centers on selecting and choosing, especially taking the best portion of something.
The lexical evidence extends this orientation to sifting, which separates material and leaves its bran, and to selecting the choicest part. The palm-tree term is connected with the palm's pre-eminence among trees with trunks; the root also denotes a palm-shaped ornament.
- Maqāyīs · row 4586
- Mufradāt · row 1424
- 3
- Quran-attested forms
- 3
- Quran senses
- 20
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
نَخْل
nakhl
- Part of speech
- Noun · singular/plural usage
- Quran occurrences
- 11 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.
Date palm; date palms collectively.
The noun is explicitly reported as usable for either a single palm or multiple palms, depending on context.
- Mufradāt · row 1424
Selected Quran examples
Quran 6:99word 20
“the date-palm”
Quran 26:148word 2
“and date-palms”
نَخِيل
nakhīl
- Part of speech
- Noun · plural
- Quran occurrences
- 7 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.
Date palms.
Identified in the lexical evidence as the plural of نَخْل.
- Mufradāt · row 1424
Selected Quran examples
Quran 16:67word 3
“the date-palm”
Quran 17:91word 6
“date-palms”
نَخْلَة
nakhlah
- Part of speech
- Noun · singular
- 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 date palm.
The singular form corresponding to the date-palm noun; the lexical evidence identifies نَخْلَة as the one palm, with نَخِيل as its plural.
- Mufradāt · row 1424
Selected Quran examples
Quran 19:23word 5
“(of) the date-palm”
Quran 19:25word 4
“(of) the date-palm”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
- 2:266نَّخِيلٍۢdate-palms
- 6:99ٱلنَّخْلِthe date-palm
- 6:141وَٱلنَّخْلَand the date-palm
- 13:4وَنَخِيلٌۭand date-palms
- 16:11وَٱلنَّخِيلَand the date-palms
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
نَخْل
Sifting flour through a sieve.
A lexical use of نَخْل distinct from the date-palm noun.
- Mufradāt · row 1424
اِنْتَخَلَ
To clear or sift something.
The Form VIII verb may describe removing or separating material by sifting.
- Lane · entry 32134
اِنْتَخَلَ
To select the best part of something, taking the choicest portion for oneself.
The verb can express thorough selection and appropriation of what is best.
- Lane · entry 32134
- Mufradāt · row 1424
نَخْلِيّ
A cultivator of palm trees.
- Lane · entry 32135
نُخَال / نُخَالَة
Bran, the residue falling away from flour during sifting.
The supplied evidence records both نُخَالٌ and نُخَالَةٌ for this residue.
- Lane · entry 32136
- Mufradāt · row 1424
نَخْل
A kind of ornament made in the shape of a palm.
A rare Classical Arabic use for a palm-shaped piece of jewelry.
- Maqāyīs · row 4586
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The supplied Lane material contains derived-form and related lexical entries rather than a direct nominal entry for the Quranic palm terms; the Quranic nominal senses are therefore supported by the supplied Quran-focused lexical evidence.