Arabic vocabulary
مَحْضpure in Arabic
مَحْض is how you say “pure” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root م ح ض (m-ḥ-ḍ)noun/adjective (verbal-noun form used as an invariable epithet)Pronounced maḥḍ
Meaning of pure in Arabic
- pure milk, unmixed with water — the base sense: milk (sweet or sour) with nothing added — no other milk is properly called this
- pure, unmixed, unalloyed (of any substance) — e.g. فضّة محض 'pure, unalloyed silver'
- genuine, of unmixed lineage — figurative use, e.g. عربيّ محض 'a genuine Arab of pure lineage'; used the same in masculine, feminine, dual and plural
- sincere, true (of love, faith, advice) — figurative use, e.g. حبّ محض 'a pure/sincere love', محض الإيمان 'pure faith'
محض starts from pure, unmixed milk and extends figuratively to anything free of admixture: pure silver, a person of unmixed Arab lineage, or a sincere, unmixed love, faith, or piece of advice. As an epithet it is often kept in the same form for masculine, feminine, dual, and plural alike, though inflected forms also occur.
Words from the same root
- مَحَضَهُhe gave him pure milk to drink; he made it (milk, or anything) pure/unmixed
- مَحُضَhe was/became pure in lineage or in grounds for respect
- مَحِضَhe drank pure milk
- أَمْحَضَhe gave pure milk to drink (also: fed a beast with clover)
- اِمْتَحَضَhe drank pure milk
- مَاحِضٌone who possesses, or eagerly desires, pure milk
- أُمْحُوضَةٌtrue, sincere advice
- مَمْحُوضٌgiven pure milk to drink; made pure/unmixed
Common questions
- How do you say "pure" in Arabic?
- مَحْض (maḥḍ) — literally pure, unmixed milk, and by extension anything free from admixture.
- What does محض mean besides "pure"?
- Figuratively it describes genuine or unmixed lineage (عربيّ محض, a pure-blooded Arab) and sincere love, faith, or advice (حبّ محض, أُمْحُوضَة).
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
فَإِن غفرها لَهُ فبمحض إحسانه وَكرمه
So if He forgives it for him, it is by His pure kindness and generosity.
فَبِمَحْضِ — it is by pure. fa- = 'then'; bi- = 'by, with'; mahd means 'sheer, pure' — 'then by sheer…', heading an 'of…' phrase with the next word.
From: Returning to God →
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