Core sense — free, freeborn; generous, noble; the best part of anythinggenerated
1literally, I will certainly make you become free women—لَأَرُدَّنَّكْنَّ حَرَائِرَ
Free, ingenuous, or freeborn; the opposite of عَبْدٌ. Feminine حُرَّةٌ; masculine plural أَحْرَارٌ and حِرَارٌ, not حَرَارٌ as some say; nor is حِرَارٌ a maṣdar as well as a plural, as others say.
Feminine plural حَرَائِرُ, against analogy; and, as Suh says, the only instance of the kind except شَجَرٌ مَرَائِرُ as plural of شَجَرَةٌ مُرَّةٌ, for the [regular] plural of فُعْلَةٌ is فْعَلٌ; but حُرَّةٌ has this form of plural because it means the same as كَرِيمَةٌ and عَقِيلَةٌ, and مُرَّةٌ because it means خَبِيثَةُ الطَّعْمِ.
Said by Omar to the women who used to go out to the mosque; he meant, I will certainly make you keep to the houses, for the curtain is lowered before free women, not before slave women. [See also حُرِّيَّةٌ.]
1.1figurative · مجاز[she passed a virgin's night]—بَاتَتْ بِلَيْلَةِ حُرَّةٍ
Generous, noble, or well-born, just as عَبْدٌ is used to mean ignoble, or base-born; and so the feminine حُرَّةٌ, said of a woman and of a she-camel, and so the masculine said of a horse.
Said of a woman whose husband has not been able to take her virginity on the night when she is first brought to him, because the حُرَّة is modest and shrinking. In the opposite case one says بِلَيْلَةِ شَيْبَآءَ; and one says also بِلَيْلَةٍ حُرَّةٍ and بِلَيْلَةٍ شَيْبَآءَ.
the first night of the [lunar] month—لَيْلَةُ حُرَّة
لَيْلَةٌ حُرَّةٌ has the same meaning; the last night of the month is called لَيْلَةُ شَيْبَآءَ and لَيْلَةٌ شَيْبَآءُ.
[apparently, an ingenuous countenance]—وَجْهٌ حُرٌّ
1.2figurative · مجازa cloud bountiful with rain, or abounding with rain—سَحَابَةٌ حُرَّةٌ
Generous, or ingenuous, in conduct, as in the saying of Imra-el-Keys: [By your life, my heart is not generous in conduct to its, or his, companion]
shāhidلَعَمْرُكَ مَا قَلْبِى إِلَى أَهْلِهِ بِحْرْ
. He means that it turns away from that companion and inclines to another.
1.3figurative · مجازthis is not good of you—مَاهٰذَا مِنْكَ بِحُرٍّ
A good deed or action.
1.4figurative · مجازapparently, good, or excellent, speech or language—كَلَامٌ حُرٌّ
Anything good, or excellent, such as poetry.
1.5figurative · مجازgood earth, or clay, and sand—رَمْلَةٌ حُرَّةٌ
Or earth, or clay, with no sand in it; or sand with no earth or clay in it; or sand that has good herbage. The plural is حَرَائِرُ.
Or sand with nothing else mixed into it; by this account that is the primary meaning, from which comes the meaning "free", the opposite of عَبْدٌ, though according to the A and TA it is figurative.
land in which there is no salt earth—أَرْضٌ حُرَّةٌ
Or land in which there is no sand. Applied to land on which no tithe is levied, it is post-classical.
1.6figurative · مجاز
The middle, and best part, of sand, and of a house.
1.7figurative · مجاز — inferred
The best of anything, as, for instance, of fruit.
1.8figurative · مجازherbs, or leguminous plants, eaten without being cooked—أَحْرَارُ البُقُولِ
Also the singular of أَحْرَار.
Also حُرِّيَّةُ البُقُولِ; or these are the slender and succulent ones, while ذُكُورُ البُقُولِ means the thick and rough ones; or the former are the slender and soft ones and the latter the hard and thick ones; or the former are the slender and sweet ones and the latter the thick ones, inclining to bitterness; or the former are the rough ones, and these are three: النَّفَلُ, الحُرْبُثُ and القَفْعَآءُ.
Or الحُرُّ is applied to a plant of the kind called النَّجِيل that grows in salt ground.
1.9figurative · مجازwhat shows of the face—حُرُّ الوَجْهِ
Or what shows of the raised part of the cheek, [that is,] the ball, or most prominent place, of the cheek; and الحُرَّةُ means [the same, or] the raised part of the cheek. Or it is the part of the face that faces one; or the four tracks of the tears, from each corner of each eye.
[he slapped him on the ball of his cheek]—لَطَمَهُ عَلَى حُرِّ وَجْهِهِ
2
The young one of a gazelle.
2.1
The young one of a serpent, or of a slender serpent; or a slender serpent, like the جَانّ, of a white colour; or a white serpent; or a serpent generally.
2.2
The young one of a pigeon, or the male pigeon.
2.3[is said to mean] the male of the قَمَارِىّ—سَاقُ حُرٍّ
[Or the kind of collared turtle-doves whose female is called قُمْرِيَّة.]
Homeyd Ibn-Thowr says: [And nothing stirred this desire but a pigeon that called ساق حرّ, sorrowing and warbling]
shāhid 1وَمَا هَاجَ هٰذَا الشَّوْقَ إِلَّا حَمَامَةٌدَعَتْ سَاقَ حُرٍّ تَرْحَةً وَتَرَنُّمَا
. Or, according to IJ, the right reading is: [that called ساق حرّ among other pigeons, warbling]
shāhid 2دَعَتْ سَاقَ حُرٍّ فِى حَمَامٍ تَرَنُّمَا
.
But some say that الساق is the pigeon and حرّ its young one; or that ساق حرّ is the cry of the قمارىّ, and is an onomatopoeia. According to Aboo-'Adnán it is ساق حَرّ, and means the warbling of the pigeon.
[she calls ساق حرّ]—تُنَادِى سَاقَ حُرَّ
Sakhr El-Gheí treats it as a compound and as indeclinable.
On this IJ remarks: As says that ساق حرّ is thought to mean the young one of the bird, but it is her cry; and he adds that the poet's not making it declinable is evidence that As is right, for if it were declinable he would have said سَاقَ حُرٍّ, if it consisted of two nouns the first of which was prefixed to the other so as to govern it in the genitive case, or ساق حُرًّا, if it were a compound, since it is indeterminate. Its being made declinable by Homeyd does not show that it does not signify a sound, for sometimes an expression signifying a sound consists of two nouns the first of which is prefixed to the second so as to govern it in the genitive case, like خَازُ بَازٍ.
Qur’ānic occurrences حُرّ
2:178
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِصَاصُ فِى ٱلْقَتْلَى ۖ ٱلْحُرُّ بِٱلْحُرِّ وَٱلْعَبْدُ بِٱلْعَبْدِ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰ بِٱلْأُنثَىٰ ۚ فَمَنْ عُفِىَ لَهُۥ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَىْءٌ فَٱتِّبَاعٌۢ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَآءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَـٰنٍ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۗ فَمَنِ ٱعْتَدَىٰ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَهُۥ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌO ye who believe! the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman. But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude, this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty.
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
Free, ingenuous, or free-born; contr. of عَبْدٌ : (S, A, Mgh, Msb, K:) fem. حُرَّةٌ : (S, Mgh, Msb, K:) pl. masc. أَحْرَارٌ (Msb, K) and حِرَارٌ ; (IJ, K;) not حَرَارٌ , as some say; nor is حِرَارٌ an inf. n. as well as a pl., as others say: (MF:) pl. fem. حَرَائِرُ , (Msb, K,) contr. to analogy, and, as Suh says, the only instance of the kind except شَجَرٌ مَرَائِرُ as pl. of شَجَرَةٌ مُرَّةٌ ; for the [regular] pl. of فُعْلَةٌ is فْعَلٌ ; but حُرَّةٌ has this form of pl. because it is syn. with كَرِيمَةٌ and عَقِيلَةٌ [as will be seen in what follows]; and مُرَّةٌ , because it means خَبِيثَةُ الطَّعْمِ . (Msb.) Omar said to the women who used to go forth to the mosque, لَأَرُدَّنَّكْنَّ حَرَائِرَ [lit. I will assuredly make you to become free women]; meaning I will assuredly make you to keep to the houses: for the curtain is lowered before free women; not before slavewomen. (TA.) [See also حُرِّيَّةٌ .] Generous, noble, or well-born; like as عَبْدٌ is used to signify “ ignoble, ” or “ base-born: ” (Mgh:) and so the fem. حُرَّةٌ ; (S, Mgh, K;) applied to a woman; (TA;) and to a she-camel: (S:) and so the masc. applied to a horse. (K, TA.) [Hence,] بَاتَتْ بِلَيْلَةِ حُرَّةٍ [She passed a virgin's night] is said of her whose husband has not been able to devirginate her (S, A, K) in the night when she has been first brought to him: (TA:) because the حُرَّة is modest and repugnant: (Har p. 418:) in the contr. case one says, بِلَيْلَةِ شَيْبَآءَ : (S, L:) and one says also بِلَيْلَةٍ حُرَّةٍ ; and بِلَيْلَةٍ شَيْبَآءَ . (TA.) [And hence,] لَيْلَةُ حُرَّة and لَيْلَةٌ حُرَّةٌ signify also The first night of the [lunar] month: (K:) its last night is called لَيْلَةُ شَيْبَآءَ and لَيْلَةٌ شَيْبَآءُ . (TA.) You say also وَجْهٌ حُرٌّ [app. meaning An ingenuous countenance]. (A.) Generous, or ingenuous, in conduct: as in the saying of Imra-el-Keys, 1 [By thy life, my heart is not generous in conduct to its, or his, companion]; meaning that it is averse therefrom, and inclines to another. (Az, TA.) [Hence,] سَحَابَةٌ حُرَّةٌ A cloud bountiful with rain; (A;) or abounding with rain. (S, K.) لَعَمْرُكَ مَا قَلْبِى إِلَى أَهْلِهِ بِحْرْ A good deed or action. (K, TA.) You say, مَاهٰذَا مِنْكَ بِحُرٍّ This is not good, or well, of thee. (S, A.) Anything good, or excel-lent; as poetry, &c. (TA.) You say كَلَامٌ حُرٌّ [app. meaning good, or excellent, speech or language]. (A.) Good earth, or clay, and sand: (K, TA:) or earth, or clay, in which is no sand: (S, A:) and sand in which is no earth or clay: (S:) or sand that has good herbage: (A:) you say رَمْلَةٌ حُرَّةٌ ; (S, A;) and the pl. is حَرَائِرُ : (S:) or sand in which is no mixture of any other thing: (Msb: [accord. to which, this is the primary meaning of the word, whence the meaning of “ free, ” i. e. the “ contr. of عَبْدٌ : ” but accord. to the A and TA, it is tropical:]) and أَرْضٌ حُرَّةٌ land in which is no salt earth: (A:) or in which is no sand: as applied to that upon which no tithe is levied, it is post-classical. (Mgh.) The middle, (S, A, K,) and best part, (TA,) of sand, (S, K, TA,) and of a house. (S, A, TA.) The best of anything; (K, TA;) as, for instance, of fruit. (TA.) Also sing. of أَحْرَار in the term أَحْرَارُ البُقُولِ , (TA,) which means Herbs, or leguminous plants, that are eaten without being cooked; (S, A;) as also حُرِّيَّةُ البُقُولِ : (A:) or such as are slender and succulent; and ذُكُورُ البُقُولِ means “ such as are thick and rough: ” (AHeyth:) or the former are such as are slender and soft; and the latter, “ such as are hard and thick: ” (TA in art. عشب :) or the former are such as are slender and sweet; and the latter, “ such as are thick, and inclining to bitterness: ” (TA in art. ذكر :) or the former are such as are rough; and these are three, namely, النَّفَلُ and الحُرْبُثُ and القَفْعَآءُ : or الحُرُّ is applied to a plant of the kind called النَّجِيل , growing in salt grounds. (TA.) حُرُّ الوَجْهِ What appears of the face: (K, TA:) or what appears of the elevated part of the cheek; (S;) [i. e.] the ball, or most prominent place, of the cheek; (W p. 28;) and الحُرَّةُ signifies [the same, or] the elevated part of the cheek: (TA:) or the former is what fronts one, of the face: or the four tracks of the tears, from each corner of each eye. (TA.) One says, لَطَمَهُ عَلَى حُرِّ وَجْهِهِ [He slapped him on the ball of his cheek]. (S, TA. *) The young one of a gazelle. (S, K.) The young one of a serpent: (S, K:) or of a slender serpent: or it is a slender serpent, like the جَانّ , of a white colour: or a white serpent: or a serpent, absolutely. (TA.) The young one of a pigeon: (S, K:) or the male thereof. (TA.) سَاقُ حُرٍّ [is said to signify] The male of the قَمَارِىّ [or kind of collared turtle-doves of which the female is called قُمْرِيَّة (see قُمْرِىٌّ )]: (S, Msb, K:) Homeyd Ibn-Thowr says, 1 [And nothing excited this desire but a pigeon (see حَمَامٌ ) that called ساق حرّ , sorrowing and warbling]: or, accord. to IJ, the right reading is 2 [that called ساق حرّ among other pigeons, warbling]: but some say that الساق is the pigeon; and حرّ , its young one: or ساق حرّ is the cry of the قمارىّ , and is an onomatopœia: accord. to Aboo- 'Adnán, it is ساق حَرّ , and means the warbling of the pigeon: and Sakhr El-Gheí makes it a compound, and indecl.; using the phrase, تُنَادِى سَاقَ حُرَّ [she calls ساق حرّ ]: on which IJ observes, As says, ساق حرّ is thought to mean the young one of the bird; but it is her cry: and he (IJ) adds, the fact that the poet [Sakhr] does not make it decl. is an evidence of the correctness of the assertion of As; for, were it decl., he would have said سَاقَ حُرٍّ if it consisted of two nouns whereof the former was prefixed to the other so as to govern it in the gen. case, or ساق حُرًّا if it were a compound; as it is indeterminate: and its being made decl. by Homeyd does not show it to be not significant of a sound; for sometimes an expression significant of a sound consists of two nouns whereof the former is prefixed to the latter so as to govern it in the gen. case, like خَازُ بَازٍ . (M, MF, TA.) وَمَا هَاجَ هٰذَا الشَّوْقَ إِلَّا حَمَامَةٌ | دَعَتْ سَاقَ حُرٍّ تَرْحَةً وَتَرَنُّمَا دَعَتْ سَاقَ حُرٍّ فِى حَمَامٍ تَرَنُّمَا