Grammar term · Foundations · Murakkab — the construct
Grammatical construct (al-murakkab)
al-murakkab
الْمُرَكَّب
FoundationsMurakkab — the constructcore term
Also written: Murakkab · Al-murakkab · Construct · Compound
In one line
A murakkab (مُرَكَّب) is a meaningful grammatical construct: two or more words coming together to give a meaning, which may be complete or incomplete.
Definition
الْمُرَكَّبُ مَا تَأَلَّفَ مِنْ كَلِمَتَيْنِ فَأَكْثَرَ لِفَائِدَةٍ، وَهُوَ تَامٌّ وَنَاقِصٌ.
“A construct is what is assembled from two or more words to give a meaning; it is either complete (a sentence) or incomplete (a phrase).”
(بتصرف من جامع الدروس العربية)
Understand it
A construct is one of two kinds.
مُرَكَّبٌ تَامٌّ (murakkabun tāmmun) — complete. It gives a full message, and you can stop on it. That is a sentence.
مُرَكَّبٌ نَاقِصٌ (murakkabun nāqisun) — incomplete. It carries meaning but leaves you waiting. That is a phrase.
Take كِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ (kitābu muhammadin), “Muhammad’s book”. It means something, but nothing has been said about it yet — it is nāqis. Add one word — كِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ مُفِيدٌ (kitābu muhammadin mufīdun), “Muhammad’s book is useful” — and something is now asserted. That is tām.
In the language — فِي اللُّغَة
In ordinary Arabic مُرَكَّب means assembled or put together — a thing made of parts.