What does خَلْف mean literally?

It is the verbal noun of خَلَفَ, meaning the act of coming after or following someone; by extension it also means 'behind' in position, and in the Qur'an can refer to a later, succeeding generation.

خَلْف behind/pursuit in Arabic

خَلْف is how you say “behind/pursuit” in Arabic.

Root خ ل ف kh-l-f. noun (verbal noun / maṣdar), also used adverbially. khalf.

Arabic

English

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Meaning of behind/pursuit in Arabic

behind, at the back of used adverbially of position, e.g. جَآءَ خَلْفَهُ "he came behind him"
the act of following, coming after, or succeeding another as the verbal noun of خَلَفَ, said especially of one who follows after a person who has died or perished
posterity, a generation that comes after and succeeds another Qur'anic usage (7:169, 19:59), often implying an inferior or evil later generation

Example sentence

وما علم أن هبوط الغائص في اللجّة خلف الدرّ صعود

And did not know that the diver's descent into the depth in pursuit of the pearl is an ascent.

خَلْفَ in pursuit of

khalf means 'behind, after'; here 'in pursuit of'; the noun after it takes the 'of' ending.

From Adam's Descent

The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used

خَلْف is the basic verbal noun tied to the idea of coming after someone or something; it can function adverbially for 'behind' in place, and in the Qur'an it names a 'posterity' or later generation that succeeds an earlier one, sometimes with a negative shade (an unworthy successor generation).

Words from the same root

خَلَفَ to come after, follow, succeed, or remain after someone (form I verb)
خَلِيفٌ successor, one who takes another's place or acts on their behalf
خِلَافَةٌ succession; the office or state of being someone's successor/deputy
خَلَفٌ one who takes another's place, a substitute or successor
خِلْفَةٌ alternation, coming one after another (e.g. night after day, fruit after fruit)

Common questions

How do you say "behind" in Arabic?: خَلْف (khalf).
What does خَلْف mean literally?: It is the verbal noun of خَلَفَ, meaning the act of coming after or following someone; by extension it also means 'behind' in position, and in the Qur'an can refer to a later, succeeding generation.

Related words

Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).