رب

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See also: رپ, زب, and رث

Arabic

Etymology 1

Root
ر ب ب (r-b-b)

From Proto-Semitic *rabb-.

Pronunciation

Verb

رَبَّ (rabba) I, non-past يَرُبُّ‎ (yarubbu)

  1. to be master, to be lord
  2. to have possession, to gather, to control
  3. to have authority over, to govern
  4. to impact, to comprise, to contain
  5. to collect, to congregate
  6. to grow, to increase, to become greater
Conjugation

Verb

رَبَّ (rabba) I, non-past يَرُبُّ‎ (yarubbu)

  1. to bring up, to raise (a child)
Conjugation

Etymology 2

Root
ر ب ب (r-b-b)

From Proto-Semitic *rabb-.

Pronunciation

Noun

رَبّ (rabbm (plural أَرْبَاب (ʔarbāb) or رُبُوب (rubūb), feminine رَبَّة (rabba))

  1. verbal noun of رَبَّ (rabba) (form I)
  2. master, lord, king, sovereign, potentate
    Coordinate terms: عَبْد (ʕabd), خَادِم (ḵādim)
    رَبُّ الدَّارrabbu d-dārmaster of the house
    رَبُّ الْعَائِلَةrabbu l-ʕāʔilapaterfamilias
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 12:41:
      يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَمَّا أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْرًا ۖ وَأَمَّا الْآخَرُ فَيُصْلَبُ فَتَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِن رَّأْسِهِ
      yā ṣāḥibayi s-sijni ʔammā ʔaḥadukumā fayasqī rabbahu ḵamran waʔammā l-ʔāḵaru fayuṣlabu fataʔkulu ṭ-ṭayru min rraʔsihi
      “O my fellow inmates! One of you will serve his master wine; while the other will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. Thus the matter you are inquiring about is settled.”
  3. Lord, an epithet of God
    اَللهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينallāhu rabbu l-ʕālamīnGod is Lord of the Worlds
    الرَّبّar-rabbthe LORD
  4. god, deity
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 12:39:
      يَاصَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ ءَأَرْبَابٌ مُّتَفَرِّقُونَ خَيْرٌ أَمِ اللہُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ
      "O my two companions of the prison! Are many different deities better than God the One , the Overpowering?"
  5. leader, chief, head
    رَبُّ بَحْرِيّrabbu baḥriyyseaman (naval rank)
  6. owner, proprietor
  7. (with a following genitive) one possessed of, one endowed with
  8. (with a following genitive) having to do with
Declension
Related terms
Descendants
  • Afar: Rábbi
  • Azerbaijani: rəbb, Rəbb
  • Bashkir: раббы (rabbı)
  • Bengali: রব (rbo)
  • Ottoman Turkish: رب (rabb)
  • (via plural) Ottoman Turkish: ارباب

Etymology 3

Root
ر ب ب (r-b-b)

Pronunciation

Noun

رُبّ (rubbm (plural رِبَاب (ribāb) or رُبُوب (rubūb))

  1. thickened fruit juice, thickened juice
  2. mash, pulp
Declension
Derived terms
See also

Etymology 4

Root
ر ب ب (r-b-b)

From Proto-Semitic *rabb-.

Pronunciation

Adjective

رُبَّ (rubba)

  1. (with a following indefinite genitive) many
    رُبَّ رَجُلٍ (rubba rajulin, many a man)
    رُبَّ مَرَّةٍ (rubba marratin, many a time)
Declension

Indeclinable, followed by the indefinite genitive singular.

Adverb

رُبَّ (rubba) (with following genitive)

  1. likely, perhaps, mayhap, potentially

Usage notes

Sometimes considered a preposition, an adverb or an adjective, it can mean both profusion (something happens a lot) or rarity (something could possibly happen). See the following example:

  1. رُبَّ فَقِيرٍ مُهَانٍ وَهُوَ غَنِيُّ ٱلنَّفْسِ.
    rubba faqīrin muhānin wahuwa ḡaniyyu n-nafsi.
    Many a despised poor man may have a rich soul.
    رُبَّ طَالِبٍ مُجْتَهِدٍ يَفْشَلُ.
    rubba ṭālibin mujtahidin yafšalu.
    Even a hardworking student can possibly fail.

Derived terms

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

Verb

رَبِّ (rabbi) (form II)

  1. second-person masculine singular active imperative of رَبَّى (rabbā)

Persian

Etymology 1

From Arabic رَبّ (rabb).

Pronunciation

 

Readings
Classical reading? raḇḇ, raḇ
Dari reading? rabb, rab
Iranian reading? rabb, rab
Tajik reading? rabb, rab

Noun

Dari رب
Iranian Persian
Tajik раб

رب (rabb)

  1. master, lord

Proper noun

Dari رب
Iranian Persian
Tajik Раб

رب (rab)

  1. Lord
  2. God

Etymology 2

From Arabic رُبّ (rubb).

Pronunciation

 

Readings
Classical reading? ruḇḇ, raḇ
Dari reading? rubb, rab
Iranian reading? robb, rab
Tajik reading? rubb, rab

Noun

Dari رب
Iranian Persian
Tajik руб

رب (rob)

  1. tomato sauce

Punjabi

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian رب (rabb), from Arabic رَبّ (rabb).

Pronunciation

Noun

رَبّ (rabbm (Gurmukhi spelling ਰੱਬ)

  1. Lord; An epithet for God.
    Synonyms: خُدا (xudā), الله, واہِگُرُو (vāhigurū)
  2. (in compounds) owner; possessor

Declension

Declension of رب
dir. sg. رَبّ (rabb)
dir. pl. رَبّ (rabb)
singular plural
direct رَبّ (rabb) رَبّ (rabb)
oblique رَبّ (rabb) رَبّاں (rabbāṉ)
vocative رَبّا (rabbā) رَبّو (rabbo)
ablative رَبّوں (rabboṉ)
locative رَبّے (rabbe) رَبِّیں (rabbiīṉ)
instrumental رَبّے (rabbe) رَبِّیں (rabbiīṉ)

Further reading

  • Iqbal, Salah ud-Din (2002) “رب”, in vaḍḍī panjābī lughat‎ (in Punjabi), Lahore: ʻAzīz Pablisharz
  • ਰੱਬ”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2024

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian رب (rab, rabb), from Arabic رَبّ (rabb).

Pronunciation

Noun

رَب (rabm (formal plural ارباب, Hindi spelling रब)

  1. Lord; An epithet for God.
    Synonyms: خدا (xudā), الله (allāh), بھگوان (bhagvān)
  2. (in compounds) owner; possessor

Declension

Declension of رب
singular plural
direct رَب (rab) رَب (rab)
oblique رَب (rab) رَبوں (rabō̃)
vocative رَب (rab) رَبو (rabō)

Related terms

Further reading

  • رب”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
  • رب”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary , Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.
  • Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “رب”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.