معين

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Arabic

Etymology 1

Root
ع ي ن (ʕ-y-n)

Cognate with Hebrew מַעְיָן (ma'ayán, spring, fountain).

Pronunciation

Noun

مَعِين (maʕīnm (plural مُعُن (muʕun) or مُعْنَان (muʕnān)) (archaic)

  1. well, spring, water source
    Synonyms: عَيْن (ʕayn), جَدْوَل (jadwal)
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 56:17-18:
      يَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ بِأَكْوَابٍ وَأَبَارِيقَ وَكَأْسٍ مِّن مَّعِينٍ
      yaṭūfu ʕalayhim wildānun mmuḵalladūna biʔakwābin waʔabārīqa wakaʔsin mmin mmaʕīnin
      There will circulate among them young boys made eternal, with beakers, pitchers and a glass of spring water.
Declension

Etymology 2

Derived from the active participle and passive participle of عَيَّنَ (ʕayyana).

Pronunciation

Adjective

مُعَيِّن (muʕayyin)

  1. active participle of عَيَّنَ (ʕayyana).
Declension

Adjective

مُعَيَّن (muʕayyan)

  1. passive participle of عَيَّنَ (ʕayyana)
  2. definite, clear, determined, known
  3. rhombic
Declension
Descendants

Noun

مُعَيَّن (muʕayyanm (plural مُعَيَّنَات (muʕayyanāt))

  1. rhombus
Declension
Descendants

Etymology 3

From Old South Arabian 𐩣𐩲𐩬 (mʿn).

Pronunciation

Noun

مَعِين (maʕīnf

  1. the state of Maʿīn in ancient Yemen
Declension
Derived terms

References

  • Kazimirski, Albin de Biberstein (1860) “معين”, in Dictionnaire arabe-français contenant toutes les racines de la langue arabe, leurs dérivés, tant dans l’idiome vulgaire que dans l’idiome littéral, ainsi que les dialectes d’Alger et de Maroc (in French), volume 2, Paris: Maisonneuve et Cie, page 427
  • Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884) “معين”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary, London: W.H. Allen, page 1031

South Levantine Arabic

Root
ع ي ن
2 terms

Etymology

Equivalent to the passive participle of عيّن (ʕayyan, to designate).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mʕaj.jan/,
  • (file)

Adjective

معين (muʕayyan) (feminine معيّنة (muʕayyane), common plural معيّنين (muʕayyanīn))

  1. certain, specific, particular
    فيه شغلات معيّنة ما كنتش تحبّها؟
    fī šaḡlāt muʕayyane mā kunt-š tḥebbha
    Are there any specific things you weren't liking?