ضَلَّ stray in Arabic
ضَلَّ is how you say “stray” in Arabic.
Root ض ل ل ḍ-l-l. verb (form I). ḍalla.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of stray in Arabic
- to err, stray, or go astray; deviate from the right way opposite of rashād/hudā, right guidance
- to lose one's way, or miss the place of something used of a road, a stationary object, or a stray animal
- to become lost, perish, come to nothing figurative, of effort or wealth
- to become hidden, unperceived, or forgotten figurative, also used of memory slipping away
Example sentence
فَإِنْ فَتَرَ سَائِقُهَا ضَلَّتْ عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ
If its driver weakens, it strays from the path.
ضَلَّتْ it strays
Past-tense verb 'dallat' = 'it went astray'; the '-at' ending marks a feminine 'it' (the soul).
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
Common in the Qur'an, often set against hudā (guidance) or rashād (right conduct); covers both the literal sense of losing one's way and the figurative senses of moral error, forgetting, or something becoming lost or hidden.
Words from the same root
- ضَلَالٌ error, straying from the right path
- اضلّهُ to lead someone astray, mislead
- ضَالٌّ one who has strayed, misguided
- ضَالَّةٌ a stray or lost animal
- ضَلَالَةٌ error, a going astray
Common questions
- How do you say "stray" in Arabic?
- ضَلَّ (ḍalla) — to stray, err, or go astray from the right way.
- What is the difference between ضَلَّ and ضَالٌّ?
- ضَلَّ (ḍalla) is the verb "to stray/err"; ضَالٌّ (ḍāll) is the active participle from it, meaning "one who has strayed, misguided."
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).