Grammar term · Sarf · morphology
مَصْدَر
masdar
Verbal noun (masdar)
Sarf · morphologyDerived noun (mushtaqq)core term2,657+ in the Qur'an
Also written: Sarf · Mizan · Meezan · Roots · Word scales
In one line
The verbal noun — the action itself as a noun (e.g. ضَرْب, “striking”).
Classical definition
المَصْدَرُ هُوَ الاسْمُ الدَّالُّ عَلَى الحَدَثِ مُجَرَّدًا عَنِ الزَّمَانِ.
“The masdar is the noun that points to the event itself, stripped of any time.”
(بتصرف من شذا العرف)
Key words in the Arabic
الحَدَثthe event, the action
مُجَرَّدًا عَنِstripped of, free from
Understand it
Where English chooses between “to strike” and “striking”, Arabic has one noun for the pure action: ضَرْب. The grammarians call it the masdar — the “source” — because the verb forms spring from it. Each verb pattern has its own masdar shape, and the Quran wields them for emphasis: وَكَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا (an-Nisa 4:164) — “Allah spoke to Musa with (real) speaking”.
How to spot it
Recognition test
The name of the action with no time attached — the “-ing” idea as a noun.
Forms it takes
سماعيقياسي
Related terms