مسكين

Probably from Classical Syriac ܡܶܣܟܸܐܢܳܐ / ܡܶܣܟܸܢܳܐ / ܡܶܣܟܸܝܢܳܐ (meskēnā, “miserable, wretched”), from Akkadian 𒈦𒆕𒂗 (muškēnum, “commoner, poor”). Also passed into Hebrew מִסְכֵּן (miskēn, “miserable”) and via Aramaic מִסְכֵּינָא / ܡܶܣܟܸܝܢܳܐ (meskēnā) into Ge'ez ምስኪን (məskin), Amharic ምስኪን (məskin), Tigrinya መስኪን (mäskin), Harari ሚስኪን (miskin).

• IPA^(key): /mis.kiːn/
  • (Hijazi) IPA^(key): /maskiːn/

مِسْكِين • (miskīn) (feminine مِسْكِينَة (miskīna), masculine plural مَسَاكِين (masākīn))

1. poor
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 76:8:

     وَيُطْعِمُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا

     wayuṭʕimūna ṭ-ṭaʕāma ʕalā ḥubbihi miskīnan wayatīman waʔasīran

     "and give food—despite their desire for it—to the poor, the orphan, and the captive."

• “mskn”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1880) De vocabulis in antiquis Arabum carminibus et in Corano peregrinis‎ (in Latin), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 24
• Jeffery, Arthur (1938) The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (Gaekwad’s Oriental Series; 79), Baroda: Oriental Institute, pages 264–265
• Klein, Ernest (1987) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎, Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN
• Leslau, Wolf (1991) Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 364
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1910) Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎ (in German), Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner, page 45

From Arabic مِسْكِين (miskīn).

• IPA^(key): /mis.kiːn/

مسكين • (miskīn) (feminine مسكينة (miskīna), common plural مساكن (msākin), masculine plural مسكينين (miskīnīn), feminine plural مسكينات (miskīnāt))

1. poor (inspiring pity)