Core sense — a brother; a friend, a companion; the like, or fellow, of a thinggenerated
1figurative · مجاز — inferred[This is your brother, &c.]—هذَا أَخُوكَ
Originally أَخَوٌ, as is shown by the first of its dual forms mentioned below, and by its having a plural like آبَآءٍ and أَخٌّ, with the second letter doubled to compensate for the suppressed و, as in أَبٌّ and أَخًا [like أَبًا] and أَخُو.
[The last of these, with the article prefixed to it, is erroneously written in the CK الاُخُوٌّ.]
Also أَخْوٌ, like دَلْوٌ.
A well-known term of relationship: a brother, the son of one's father and mother, or of either of them; also applied to a foster-brother; and a friend; and a companion, an associate, or a fellow.
Derived from آخِيَّةٌ [q. v.], as though one أَخ were tied and attached to another as the horse is tied to the آخيّة; or, according to some of the grammarians, it is from وَخَى meaning قَصَدَ, because the أَخ has the same aim, endeavour, or desire, as his أَخ.
When أَخ is prefixed to another noun, its final vowel is prolonged.
[I passed by your brother, &c.]—مَرَرْتُ بِأَخِيكَ
[I saw your brother, &c.]—رَأَيْتُ أَخَاكَ
[The S also asserts that one does not say أَخُو without prefixing it to another noun; but this is inconsistent with the assertion of IAar and F that الأَخُو is a synonym of الأَخُ.]
The dual is أَخَوَانِ, or أَخْوَانِ with the خ sākin; some of the Arabs say أَخَانِ; and Kr mentions أَخُوَانِ, with damm to the خ, said by IB to occur in poetry, and held by ISd to be the dual of أَخُو, with damm to the خ.
The plural is إِخْوَةٌ and إِخْوَانٌ, the former generally applied to brothers and the latter to friends or the like, but not always: in the Kur 49:10 the former does not denote relationship, and in 24:60 of the same the latter does denote relationship; and sometimes the former is applied to a single man, as in the Kur 4:12.
Also أُخْوَةٌ [in the CK اَخْوَةٌ], or this is an ism jamʿ; and أُخْوَانٌ and آخَآءٌ, like آبَآءٌ and أُخُوٌّ; and أُخُوَّةٌ, mentioned by Lh, and thought by ISd to be formed from the one before it by the addition of ة marking the plural as feminine; and أَخُونَ and اخاوون.
The feminine of أَخٌ is أُخْتٌ [meaning a sister; and a female friend, &c.]: written with damm to show that the letter which has gone from it is و, the ت being a substitute for the و, and not a mark of the feminine gender, because the letter before it is sākin.
This is the opinion of Sb, and the correct opinion: for Sb says that if you were to use it as a proper name of a man you would make it perfectly declinable, whereas if the ت denoted the feminine gender the name would not be perfectly declinable; though in one place he says incidentally, through inadvertence, that it is the sign of the feminine gender.
Kh, however, says that its ت is [originally] ه [meaning ة]; and Lth says that أُخْتٌ is originally أَخَةٌ; and some say that it is originally أَخْوَةٌ.
The dual is أُخْتَانِ and the plural is أَخَوَاتٌ.
[You have no brother, or friend, in such a one]—لَا أَخَالَكَ بِفُلَانٍ
That is, لَيْسَ لَكَ بِأَخٍ: such a one is not a brother, or friend, to you.
[Who will be responsible to you for your brother, or your friend, altogether?]—مَنْ لَكَ بِأَخِيكَ كُلِّهِ
A proverb: that is, who will answer for his always acting to you as a brother, or friend?
[There is many a brother to you whom your mother has not brought forth]—رُبَّ أَخٍ لَكَ لَمْ تَلِدْهُ أُمُّكَ
Another proverb.
[Is it your brother, or the wolf?]—أَخُوكَ أَمِ الذَّئْبُ
Another proverb, said when one suspects something.
[Is it your brother, or is it the night that deceives you?]—أَخُوكَ أَمِ اللَّيْلُ
[The spear is your brother, but sometimes it is unfaithful to you]—الرُّمْحُ أَخُوكَ وَرُبَّمَا خَانَكَ
Qur’ān 49:10 approximate — somewhere between 49:9 and 49:18 Lane cites “Kur xlix. 10”
Qur’ān 49:10 approximate — somewhere between 49:9 and 49:18 Lane cites “Kur xlix. 10”
Qur’ān 4:12 approximate — somewhere between 4:2 and 4:20 Lane cites “Kur iv. 12”
Qur’ān 49:10 the verse Lane’s citation points to, and it uses this root
إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا۟ بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَThe Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that ye may receive Mercy.Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’ān (1934)
1.1figurative · مجاز — inferred[This garment, or piece of cloth, is the like, or fellow, of this]—هذَا الثَّوْبُ أَخُو هذَا
Ibn-'Arafeh says that when أُخُوَّةٌ does not relate to birth, it means conformity, or similarity; and combination, agreement, or unison, in action.
they are the likes, or fellows, of the devils—كَانُوا إِخْوَانَ الشَّيَاطِينِ
but it was greater than its like, or fellow—إِلَّا هِىَ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ أُخْتِهَا
[Sleep is the like of death]—النَّوْمُ أَخُ المَوْتِ
such a one met with the like of death—لَقِىَ فُلَانٌ أَخَا المَوْتِ
[God afflicted him with a night having none like to it]—وَمَاهُ آللّٰهُ بِلَيْلَةٍ لَا أُخْتَ لَهَا
I will not speak to him except the like of secret discourse—لَا أُكَلِّمُهُ إِلَّا أَخَا السِّرارِ
[The two sisters of Canopus]—أُخْتَا سُهَيْلٍ
In the Kur 17:29.
In the same, 43:47; that is, than what was like it in truth, &c.
Said in a tradition.
That is, a night in which he should die.
The two stars called الشّعْرَى العَبُورُ and الشّعْرَى الغُمَيْصَآءُ; see شعر.
digitisation corrected بِلَيْلَةٍ لَا أُخْتَ لَهَا for بِلَيْلَپٍ لَا أُخْتَ لَهَاپ for ة. لَهَا refers back to a feminine noun: بِلَيْلَةٍ.
1.2figurative · مجاز — inferredO you of [the tribe of] Bekr, or Temeem—يَاَ أَخَا بَكْرٍ
O you of [the tribe of] Bekr, or Temeem—تَمِيمٍ
1.3figurative · مجازthe people, or company of men, are in an evil state or condition—القُمْمُ بِأَخِى الشَّرَّ
Lh mentions this saying on the authority of Abu-d-Deenár and Ibn-Ziyád.
I left him in an evil state or condition—تَرَكْتُهُ بِأَخِى الخَيْرِ
But according to others, one says:
I left him in a good state or condition—بِأَخِى الشَّرِّ
1.4figurative · مجاز — inferredhe is one who keeps to veracity—هُوَأَخُو الصَّدْقِ
1.5figurative · مجاز — inferredworthy, or deserving, of trust, or confidence—أَخُو ثِقَةٍ
أِخُو, as a prefixed noun, is also used in the sense of أَهْلُ, meaning worthy, or deserving, of a thing; and fit, or fitted, for it.
he who is fit for hard striving for the mastery is not he who turns from it in disgust—لَيْسَ أَخُو الكِظَاظِ مَنْ يَسْأَمُهُ
Explained by W (p. 91) as meaning a person in whom one trusts, or confides.
A proverb; see كظ.
1.6figurative · مجاز — inferred[He is a possessor of wealth, or of competence, or sufficiency]—هُوَأَخُو الغِنَى
It is also used in the sense of ذُو.
a possessor of good, or of what is good—أَخُو الخَيْرِ
the low, base, or abject—أَخُو الخَنَعِ
That is, ذُو الخَنَعِ, i.e. ذُو الذِّلَّةِ, i.e. الّذَّلِيلُ.
our journeying is laborious—سَيْرُنَا أَخُو الجِيْدِ
That is, سَيْرُنَا ذُوالجَيْدِ, i.e. سَيْرُنَا جَاهِدٌ. See an example in the first paragraph of غدر.
1.7figurative · مجاز — inferreda fever that affects the patient two days and leaves him two days—حُمَّى الأَخَوَيْنِ
Or one that attacks on Saturday, leaves for three days, and comes again on Thursday; and so on.
1.8
دَمُ الأَخَوَيْنِ: see دَمٌ under دمى.
Qur’ānic occurrences أَخ 5 shown of 69
20:30
هَـٰرُونَ أَخِى"Aaron, my brother;
26:106
إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ نُوحٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَBehold, their brother Noah said to them: "Will ye not fear (Allah)?
50:13
وَعَادٌ وَفِرْعَوْنُ وَإِخْوَٰنُ لُوطٍThe 'Ad, Pharaoh, the brethren of Lut,
70:12
وَصَـٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَأَخِيهِHis wife and his brother,
80:34
يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ ٱلْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِThat Day shall a man flee from his own brother,
Occurrences of this form in the Qur’ān, not Lane’s choice of verse. They show the word in use; they do not say which sense above applies. Where more occur than are shown, the shortest āyāt are chosen.
Show Lane's original text
, (S, Msb, K,) originally أَخَوٌ , (Kh, S, Msb,) as is shown by the first of its dual forms mentioned below, and by its having a pl. like آبَآءٍ , (S,) and أَخٌّ , (K,) with the second letter doubled to compensate for the و suppressed, as is the case in أَبٌّ , (TA,) and أَخًا , [like أَبًا ,] and أَخُو , (IAar, K, TA, [the last, with the article prefixed to it, erroneously written in the CK الاُخُوٌّ ,]) and أَخْوٌ , like دَلْوٌ , (Kr, K,) a well-known term of relationship, (K, TA,) i. e. A brother; the son of one's father and mother, or of either of them: and also applied to a foster-brother: (TA:) and a friend; and a companion, an associate, or a fellow: (K:) derived from آخِيَّةٌ [q. v.]; as though one أَخ were tied and attached to another like as the horse is tied to the آخيّة : (Har p. 42 :) or, accord. to some of the grammarians, it is from وَخَى meaning قَصَدَ ; because the أَخ has the same aim, endeavour, or desire, as his أَخ : (TA:) when أَخ is prefixed to another noun, its final vowel is prolonged: (Kh:) you say, هذَا أَخُوكَ [This is thy brother, &c.], and مَرَرْتُ بِأَخِيكَ [I passed by thy brother, &c.], and رَأَيْتُ أَخَاكَ [I saw thy brother, &c.] : (S: [in which it is also asserted that one does not say أَخُو without prefixing it to another noun; but this is inconsistent with the assertion of IAar and F, that الأَخُو is a syn. of الأَخُ :]) the dual is أَخَوَانِ , (S, Msb, Kur xlix. 10, Ham p. 434,) or أَخْوَانِ , with the خ quiescent, (TA, [but this I have found nowhere else,]) and some of the Arabs say أَخَانِ , (S, Msb,) and Kr mentions أَخُوَانِ , with damm to the خ , said by IB to occur in poetry, and held by ISd to be dual of أَخُو , with damm to the خ : (TA:) the pl. is إِخْوَةٌ and إِخْوَانٌ , (S, Msb, K, &c.,) the former generally applied to brothers, and the latter to friends [or the like], (T, S,*) but not always, as in the Kur xlix. 10, where the former does not denote relationship, and in xxiv. 60 of the same, where the latter does denote relationship, (T, TA,) and sometimes the former is applied to a [single] man, as in the Kur iv. 12, (S,) and أُخْوَةٌ , (Fr, S, Msb, K, [in the CK اَخْوَةٌ ,]) or this is a quasi-pl. n., (Sb, TA,) and أُخْوَانٌ , (Kr, Msb, K,) and آخَآءٌ , (S, K,) like آبَآءٌ , (S,) and أُخُوٌّ , and أُخُوَّةٌ , (ISd, K,) the last mentioned by Lh, and thought by ISd to be formed from the next preceding by the addition of ة characterizing the pl. as fem., (TA,) and أَخُونَ , (S, Msb, K,) and اخاوون . (Msb: [there written without any syll. signs, and I have not found it elsewhere.]) The fem. of أَخٌ is أُخْتٌ [meaning A sister: and a female friend, &c.]: (S, Msb, K, &c. :) written with damm to show that the letter which has gone from it is و ; (S;) the ت being a substitute for the و ; (TA;) not to denote the fem. gender, (K, TA,) because the letter next before it is quiescent: this is the opinion of Sb, and [accord. to SM] it is the correct opinion: for Sb says that if you were to use it as a proper name of a man, you would make it perfectly decl.; and if the ت were to denote the fem. gender, the name would not be perfectly decl.; though in one place he incidentally says that it is the sign of the fem. gender, through inadvertence: Kh, however, says that its ت is [originally] ه [meaning ة ]: and Lth, that أُخْتٌ is originally أَخَةٌ : and some say that it is originally أَخْوَةٌ : (TA:) the dual. is أُخْتَانِ : (Kh:) and the pl. is أَخَوَاتٌ . (Kh, S, Msb, K.) The saying لَا أَخَالَكَ بِفُلَانٍ [Thou hast no brother, or friend, in such a one] means لَيْسَ لَكَ بِأَخٍ [such a one is not a brother, or friend, to thee]. (S, K.) It is said in a prov., مَنْ لَكَ بِأَخِيكَ كُلِّهِ [Who will be responsible to thee for thy brother, or thy friend, altogether? i. e., for his always acting to thee as a brother, or friend]. (JK.) And in another, رُبَّ أَخٍ لَكَ لَمْ تَلِدْهُ أُمُّكَ [ There is many a brother to thee whom thy mother has not brought forth]. (TA.) And in another, أَخُوكَ أَمِ الذَّئْبُ [Is it thy brother, or the wolf?]; said in suspecting a thing: as also أَخُوكَ أَمِ اللَّيْلُ [Is it thy brother, or is it the night that deceives thee?]. (Har p. 554.) And another saying is, الرُّمْحُ أَخُوكَ وَرُبَّمَا خَانَكَ [ The spear is thy brother, but sometimes, or often, it is unfaithful to thee]. (TA.) Ibn-'Arafeh says that when أُخُوَّةٌ does not relate to birth, it means conformity, or similarity; and combination, agreement, or unison, in action: hence the saying, هذَا الثَّوْبُ أَخُو هذَا [ This garment, or piece of cloth, is the like, or fellow, of this] : and hence the saying in the Kur [xvii. 29], كَانُوا إِخْوَانَ الشَّيَاطِينِ They are the likes, or fellows, of the devils: and in the same [xliii. 47], إِلَّا هِىَ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ أُخْتِهَا But it was greater than its like, or fellow; i. e., than what was like to it in truth &c. (TA.) It is said in a trad., النَّوْمُ أَخُ المَوْتِ [Sleep is the like of death]. (El-Jámi' es-Sagheer.) One says also, لَقِىَ فُلَانٌ أَخَا المَوْتِ Such a one met with the like of death. (Msb, TA.) And they said, وَمَاهُ آللّٰهُ بِلَيْلَپٍ لَا أُخْتَ لَهَا [ God afflicted him with a night having none like to it], i. e., a night in which he should die. (TA.) And لَا أُكَلِّمُهُ إِلَّا أَخَا السِّرارِ I will not speak to him save the like of secret discourse. (As, TA.) [And hence,] أُخْتَا سُهَيْلٍ [ The two sisters of Canopus;] the two stars called الشّعْرَى العَبُورُ and الشّعْرَى الغُمَيْصَآءُ . (S and K in art. شعر , q. v.) يَاَ أَخَا بَكْرٍ , or تَمِيمٍ , means O thou of [the tribe of] Bekr, or Temeem. (Ham p. 284.) Lh mentions, on the authority of Abu-d-Deenár and Ibn-Ziyád, the saying, القُمْمُ بِأَخِى الشَّرَّ , as meaning The people, or company of men, are in an evil state or condition. (TA.) [But accord. to others,] one says, تَرَكْتُهُ بِأَخِى الخَيْرِ , meaning I left him in an evil state or condition: (JK, * Msb, K, TA:) and بِأَخِى الشَّرِّ in a good state or condition. (TA.) You say also, هُوَأَخُو الصَّدْقِ He is one who cleaves, or keeps, to veracity. (Msb.) [ أِخُو , as a prefixed noun, is also used in the sense of أَهْلُ , meaning Worthy, or deserving, of a thing: and meet, fit, or fitted, for it. So in the phrase أَخُو ثِقَةٍ Worthy, or deserving, of trust, or confidence; expl. by W (p. 91) as meaning a person in whom one trusts, or confides. And so in the prov., لَيْسَ أَخُو الكِظَاظِ مَنْ يَسْأَمُهُ He who is fit, or fitted, for vehement striving for the mastery is not he who turns away from it with disgust: see art. كظ .] It is also used in the sense of ذُو : as in the phrase, هُوَأَخُو الغِنَى [ He is possessed, or a possessor, of wealth, or competence, or sufficiency]. (Msb.) [So too in the phrase, أَخُو الخَيْرِ Possessed, or a possessor, of good, or of what is good. And in like manner,] أَخُو الخَنَعِ means [ ذُو الخَنَعِ , i. e. ذُو الذِّلَّةِ , i. e.] الّذَّلِيلُ [ The low, base, or abject]. (Ham p. 44.) [So too] سَيْرُنَا أَخُو الجِيْدِ means [ سَيْرُنَا ذُوالجَيْدِ , i. e.] سَيْرُنَا جَاهِدٌ [ Our journeying is laborious: see an ex. in the first paragraph of art. غدر ]. (TA.) حُمَّى الأَخَوَيْنِ A fever that affects the patient two days, and quits him two days; or that attacks on Saturday, and quits for three days, and comes [again] on Thursday; and so on. (Msb.) دَمُ الأَخَوَيْنِ : see دَمٌ , in art. دمى .