Quranic root
وسم
w · s · m
The root centers on an impressed أثر or معلم: a mark or sign that identifies something and can be recognized as evidence.
From making or bearing a mark, the lexicon develops meanings for identifying signs, discerning a thing through its outward signs, and things that mark or serve as landmarks, including seasonal rain and a gathering place.
- Maqāyīs · row 5110
- Mufradāt · row 1577
- Lane · entry 30505
- Lane · entry 30507
- Lane · entry 30508
- 2
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- Quran senses
- 2
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
وَسَمَ
wasama
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form I
- Form
- I
- 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.
To mark or brand someone with an identifying sign.
In the Quranic construction, the mark is placed on a person as a recognizable sign. The verb's broader physical marking use is the same lexical branch, while the attested passage specifically describes branding a person.
- Lane · entry 30503
- Mufradāt · row 1577
Selected Quran examples
Quran 68:16word 1
“We will brand him”
مُتَوَسِّمٌ
mutawassimun
- Part of speech
- Active participle
- 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.
One who discerns a thing's real state or character from its outward signs.
The Quranic participle denotes people who examine signs and form a sound perception from them; the usage is associated with discernment, sagacity, or keen perception.
- Lane · entry 30504
- Mufradāt · row 1577
Selected Quran examples
Quran 15:75word 5
“for those who discern”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
View all 2 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 14 Classical meanings
وَسَمَ
To stigmatize or figuratively mark someone with a distinguishing description, including through satire or speech.
A figurative extension of marking; the attributed quality may be adverse, such as a stigma, or favorable, such as being marked by goodness.
- Lane · entry 30503
- Mufradāt · row 1577
وَسَمَ
To place a superscription or title on a book or writing.
Used of assigning an identifying title to written material.
- Lane · entry 30503
وَسُمَ
To be beautiful in face or to bear the impress of beauty.
An intransitive description of a person's appearance; related nouns include وَسَامَةٌ and وَسَامٌ.
- Lane · entry 30503
وَسِيمٌ
Beautiful in face.
An adjectival description of physical beauty.
- Lane · entry 30503
- Mufradāt · row 1577
وَسَامَةٌ
Beauty, especially beauty of face.
The quality of being beautiful or bearing an impress of beauty.
- Lane · entry 30503
- Mufradāt · row 1577
سِمَةٌ
A brand or mark, especially one made with a hot iron; more broadly, an identifying sign, badge, token, or symptom.
The noun denotes the mark itself rather than the act of marking.
- Lane · entry 30505
- Mufradāt · row 1577
سِمَةٌ
A title or superscription of a book or writing.
A written identifier or heading.
- Lane · entry 30505
وَسْمَةٌ
A woad- or indigo-like plant whose leaves are used for tinting or dyeing.
A plant-name associated with coloring the hands or other materials.
- Lane · entry 30506
الوَسْمِيُّ
The first rain of a season.
The name reflects the rain's marking of the land through the vegetation it produces.
- Lane · entry 30507
- Maqāyīs · row 5110
مَوْسِمٌ
A periodic festival or fair; specifically, the fair and meeting place of pilgrims.
A gathering place or occasion marked out for recurring communal assembly.
- Lane · entry 30508
- Mufradāt · row 1577
- Maqāyīs · row 5110
وَسَّمَ
To attend or take part in a موسم, especially a festival or pilgrimage gathering.
A conventional usage equivalent to attending the designated seasonal gathering.
- Mufradāt · row 1577
تَوَسَّمَ
To seek the wasmī seasonal rain or the pasture associated with it.
A distinct traditional use of the Form V verb, separate from discerning through outward signs.
- Maqāyīs · row 5110
- Mufradāt · row 1577
مِيسَمٌ
A branding or marking instrument; also a brand or mark made with a hot iron.
The word can denote either the tool used for marking or the resulting impress.
- Lane · entry 30509
مِيسَمٌ
An impress or character of beauty.
Used of a visible sign of physical beauty borne by a person.
- Lane · entry 30509
- Mufradāt · row 1577
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Mufradat discussion also cites sīma forms in Quranic passages, but no corresponding QAC form group is supplied; that evidence is retained under the classical سِمَةٌ entry rather than assigned to a Quranic form.