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Quranic root

سعر

s · ʿ · r

A root centered on kindling: ignition, burning, blazing, and rising in heat or intensity.

From the literal kindling and intensification of fire, the root extends to heat, spreading or inflamed activity, madness, contagion, vehement motion, and the rising or fixing of prices.

  • Maqāyīs · row 2425
  • Mufradāt · row 693
3
Quran-attested forms
4
Quran senses
19
Quran occurrences

Forms in the Quran

The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.

سَعَّرَ

saʿʿara

Part of speech
Verb · Form II
Form
II
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.

  1. To kindle, set ablaze, or make burn fiercely.

    Quranically attested in the passive feminine perfect, describing the blazing of the Fire; the doubled Form II can carry an intensive force.

    • Lane · entry 41174
    • Mufradāt · row 693
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 81:12word 3

    is set ablaze

سَعِير

saʿīr

Part of speech
Noun
Quran occurrences
16 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.

  1. A kindled, blazing fire; the fire or flame itself when blazing.

    Used substantively for the blazing fire, especially the eschatological fire and its punishment; the form is also explained as a فعيل form carrying the sense of مفعول, “kindled.”

    • Lane · entry 41193
    • Mufradāt · row 693
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 4:10word 13

    (in) a Blazing Fire

    Quran 67:5word 12

    (of) the Blaze

    Quran 17:97word 27

    the blazing fire

سُعُر

suʿur

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.

  1. Madness, insanity, or demonic possession.

    A Quranic interpretation of سُعُر in the expression occurring in al-Qamar 54:24 and 54:47.

    • Lane · entry 41181
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 54:24word 10

    and madness

    Quran 54:47word 5

    and madness

  2. Distress, affliction, or punishment.

    An alternative Quranic interpretation of the same expression; some explanations connect the distress or punishment with the error that occasions it.

    • Lane · entry 41181
    Selected Quran examples

    Quran 54:47word 5

    and madness

Occurrences in the Quran

Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.

  • 4:10سَعِيرًۭا(in) a Blazing Fire
  • 4:55سَعِيرًا(as a) Blazing Fire
  • 17:97سَعِيرًۭاthe blazing fire
  • 22:4ٱلسَّعِيرِ(of) the Blaze
  • 25:11سَعِيرًاa Blazing Fire
View all 19 occurrences

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 47 Classical meanings
  • سَعَرَ

    To kindle or inflame war.

    A figurative extension of kindling fire, used with war as object.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَرَ

    To excite or inflame people against one another or against a group.

    Figurative causative use with people, evil, or mischief as the provoking force.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَرَ

    To inflict extensive evil or mischief on people.

    An idiomatic figurative construction distinct from merely exciting or inflaming them.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَرَ

    To burn or painfully wound with arrows.

    A figurative or intensified description of the pain caused by shooting.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَرَ / سُعْرٌ

    To communicate mange or scab to other animals; the transmission of a contagious disease.

    Used of the spread of mange, scab, or another disease from one animal or person to another.

    • Lane · entry 41174
    • Lane · entry 41181
  • سُعِرَ

    To be struck by the hot wind called samūm.

    A passive or stative use describing a person affected by intense hot wind.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سُعِرَ

    To become vehemently hungry and thirsty.

    Describes an intense, burning state of hunger or thirst.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سُعِرَ

    To become mad, insane, or possessed by a demon.

    A non-Quranic lexical use of the verb distinct from the Quranic noun interpretation of سُعُر.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَرَ

    To make a circuit in pursuit of an objective; to go around or practice circumvention.

    An idiomatic use describing purposeful circuiting or comparable circumvention.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَرَ

    To travel throughout the night with riding camels or other beasts.

    Used of sustained night travel with mounts.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَرَتِ النَّاقَةُ

    For a she-camel to be quick or swift in going.

    A lexical use specifically describing the speed of a she-camel.

    • Lane · entry 41174
  • سَعَّرَ

    To assign, declare, or agree upon a price or rate.

    Used for fixing a known price, announcing the current selling rate, a governor’s price regulation, or agreement on a selling price.

    • Lane · entry 41175
  • سَاعَرَ

    To act with someone or something as though mad, like a mad dog.

    An expressly figurative Form III use.

    • Lane · entry 41176
  • أَسْعَرَ

    To excite or annoy by leaping or bounding.

    Used of a wild animal whose leaping provokes or disturbs others.

    • Lane · entry 41177
  • اِسْتَعَرَ

    For a fire to burn, blaze, flame, or burn fiercely.

    An intransitive Form VIII use describing fire itself becoming ablaze.

    • Lane · entry 41179
  • اِسْتَعَرَ

    For war or evil to rage or spread.

    Figurative intransitive use modeled on fire spreading.

    • Lane · entry 41179
  • اِسْتَعَرَ

    For thieves or robbers to set themselves in motion for mischief.

    A figurative use portraying their activity as though they had caught fire.

    • Lane · entry 41179
  • اِسْتَعَرَ

    For mange or scab to begin and spread in a camel’s vulnerable body regions.

    Used of the onset or spread of mange in the armpits, groins, lips, or similar parts of a camel.

    • Lane · entry 41179
  • اِسْتَعَرَ

    For people to move in every direction gathering and eating fresh ripe dates.

    A specialized figurative use describing widespread, vigorous movement to obtain dates.

    • Lane · entry 41179
  • سَعْرٌ

    A vehement, rapid, or burning-painful shooting or throwing.

    Used in the expression for shooting with extraordinary force or speed.

    • Lane · entry 41180
  • سُعْرٌ

    Vehement hunger, thirst, or burning desire for food.

    The evidence distinguishes intense hunger or thirst from the Quranic interpretation of سُعُر as madness or distress.

    • Lane · entry 41181
  • سِعْر

    The current price or selling rate of a thing.

    By idiom, something may be said to have a price when it is highly valuable, or to have no price when it is extremely cheap.

    • Lane · entry 41182
  • سَعِرٌ

    Mad, insane, or possessed by a demon.

    An adjective describing a person; the cited animal application is treated separately below.

    • Lane · entry 41184
  • مَسْعُورَةٌ

    Restless or unable to remain still, especially of a she-camel.

    The evidence connects this animal adjective with the idea of madness or excessive agitation.

    • Lane · entry 41184
  • سَعْرَةٌ

    A cough, especially a sharp cough.

    An archaic nominal use.

    • Lane · entry 41186
  • سَعْرَةٌ

    The beginning or newness of an affair or case.

    Refers to the onset or freshness of a matter, not to a cough.

    • Lane · entry 41186
  • سُعْرَةٌ

    A color inclining to blackness, somewhat darker than admah.

    A color term applied to complexion or other coloration.

    • Lane · entry 41187
  • سَعَرَانٌ

    Vehemence of running.

    A noun of intensity describing forceful or rapid motion.

    • Lane · entry 41188
  • سِعْرَارَةٌ / سُعْرُورَةٌ

    Daybreak.

    A specialized nominal use for the onset of daylight.

    • Lane · entry 41189
  • سِعْرَارَةٌ / سُعْرُورَةٌ

    Rays of sunlight entering an aperture, or the motes visible moving in those rays.

    The expression can refer either to the beams or to particles seen within them.

    • Lane · entry 41189
  • سُعَارٌ

    The heat of fire, and figuratively the heat of night.

    A heat noun extended from the burning heat of fire.

    • Lane · entry 41191
  • سُعَارٌ

    Evil or mischief that causes disturbance.

    An idiomatic figurative use describing destructive agitation.

    • Lane · entry 41191
  • سَعُورٌ

    A she-camel that is quick or swift in going.

    A specialized animal adjective or noun of description.

    • Lane · entry 41192
  • السُّعَيْرُ

    A particular idol belonging to the tribe of ʿAnazah.

    A proper cultic designation, distinct from the common noun سَعِير.

    • Lane · entry 41194
  • سَاعُورٌ

    A fire-place or oven dug in the ground for baking bread.

    A technical object noun.

    • Lane · entry 41196
  • سَاعُورٌ

    The chief of the Christians in knowledge of medicine and its instruments.

    A technical title reported as originally deriving from a Syriac term.

    • Lane · entry 41196
  • أَسْعَرُ

    Having a complexion of the color called suʿrah.

    An adjective applied to a man; the corresponding feminine form is reported separately in the lexical evidence.

    • Lane · entry 41198
  • أَسْعَرُ

    Lean, lank, slender, or emaciated, with little flesh and visible sinews.

    An adjective describing bodily leanness or a gaunt appearance.

    • Lane · entry 41198
  • مَسْعَرٌ

    The slender part of a camel’s tail.

    An anatomical animal term.

    • Lane · entry 41199
  • مِسْعَرٌ

    A tool, stick, or iron instrument used to stir or intensify a fire.

    The plural forms are reported as مساعر and مساعير.

    • Lane · entry 41200
  • مِسْعَرٌ

    A person who makes the fire of war rage; a stirrer of war.

    A figurative occupational or character description derived from the fire-stirring tool.

    • Lane · entry 41200
  • مِسْعَرٌ

    Long or strong.

    An adjectival use applied to a neck or another thing.

    • Lane · entry 41200
  • مِسْعَرٌ

    Mad, when applied to a dog.

    A specialized animal adjective linked with excessive agitation.

    • Lane · entry 41200
  • مِسْعَرٌ

    A horse whose legs are thrown apart in its movement.

    A specialized description of a horse’s gait, especially movement without a compact gathered leap.

    • Lane · entry 41200
  • مَسْعُورٌ

    A man struck by the hot wind called samūm.

    A passive participial description of someone affected by hot wind.

    • Lane · entry 41202
  • مَسْعُورٌ

    Vehemently hungry or thirsty; intensely eager for food or drink.

    Describes burning appetite, even when the belly is full.

    • Lane · entry 41202
  • مَسَاعِرُ

    The armpits, groins or similar parts, and lips of camels.

    A specialized plural anatomical term associated with places where mange begins or becomes severe.

    • Lane · entry 41203

Cautions

Points that affect how this root should be read.

  • The Quranic noun سُعُر in 54:24 and 54:47 has competing classical interpretations; both madness and distress or punishment are recorded rather than reduced to the contextual gloss alone.

  • The Quranic Form II verb is attested in a passive inflected form, but the public headword is normalized to the dictionary citation form سَعَّرَ. The Quranic reading tradition also includes a non-doubled form.