نور
root: ن-و-ر / noun / plural: أَنْوار / definition: light
Perhaps I was too busy playing in the tides of the summer heatwaves to realise that the season was ebbing into the horizon—and then, at six this morning, I woke up to a Sun-less sky and realised the days do feel shorter again.
I got up and made lentil soup and stared at the colour of autumn in the bowl. Somehow, it’s September.
And as the window of light begins to close, I can only think about نور.
So here we are with another Root Exploration, exploring the root of light, ن-و-ر:
ن-و-ر
Form I
الفعل / verb:
نارَ / يَنورُ = to light or illuminate*
(*Note: this form I verb doesn’t actually appear in the Hans Wehr, which is the dictionary I use to structure these posts. But it appears in other (older) dictionaries, and it’s useful to have here for the sake of appreciating the form I derivatives below!)
general nominal derivatives:
نار / نيران = fire
نور / أَنْوار = light
abstract nouns:
نورانيّة = luminosity, brilliance
collective nouns / اسم الجمع:
نَوْر = blossoms
نُوّار = blossoms, flowers
nomen unitatis / اسم الوحدة:
نَوْرة / ـات = a blossom
نُوّارة / نَواوير = blossoms, flowers
nouns of place:
مَنار، مَنارة / مَنائِر، مَناوِر = lighthouse, minaret
مَنوَر / مَناوِر = skylight
active participle (اسم الفاعل) derivative:
نائِرة = hatred, flame of war
adjectives derived from nouns:
ناري = fiery, burning
نوري = luminous, radiant
other adjectives:
نَيِّر = luminous, illuminated, clear
نوراني = luminous
collocations:
- النَّيِّران = the Sun and Moon (lit.: the two luminous ones), see Five Dual Nouns Meaning “the Sun and the Moon” for more
Form II
الفعل / verb:
نَوَّرَ / يُنَوّرُ = to flower or blossom; to light or illuminate; to enlighten; to shed light on
المصدر / verbal noun:
تَنْوير = blossoming, illumination, enlightenment
passive participle / اسم المفعول:
مُنَوَّر = luminated, enlightened, brilliant
collocations:
- المَدينة المُنَوَّرة = Medina
Form IV
الفعل / verb:
أَنارَ / يُنيرُ = to light, illuminate, fill with light; to throw light on, to clarify
أَنْوَرَ / يُنوِرُ = to come to light, to be disclosed or revealed
المصدر / verbal noun:
إنارة = lighting, illumination, enlightenment
active participle / اسم الفاعل:
مُنير = luminous, enlightening
Form V
الفعل / verb:
تَنَوَّرَ / يَتَنَوَّرُ = to be illuminated; to receive enlightenment
active participle / اسم الفاعل:
مُتَنَوِّر = illuminated
Form X
الفعل / verb:
اِستَنارَ / يَستَنيرُ = to seek (or obtain) enlightenment; to gain insight
active participle / اسم الفاعل:
مُستَنير = educated, enlightened
I hope we’re all feeling a little more educated and enlightened at the end of this post.
And now I’m thinking about the other common root associated with light: ض-و-ء. Maybe we’ll compare these roots one day. But for now…
!مع السلامة
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