Quran
/kʊˈrɑːn/
noun
Origin
Arabic
q-r-ʾ — to read or recite
Overview
Meaning Now
- The central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God.
- The primary source of Islamic law and theological guidance.
Literal older meaning
recitation
Language path
Arabic → English
Earliest form
قرآن
Earliest period
7th century
Journey
The Quran is believed by Muslims to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel starting in 610 CE. It is structured into 114 surahs (chapters) and is linguistically distinct in its classical Arabic form.
Evolution
- 7th century Arabic
al-qur'ān
“the recitation”
Used to describe the revealed word of God.
- 17th century English
Alcoran
“the holy book of Islam”
Borrowed via Old French 'Alcoran'.
- Modern English
Quran
“the holy book of Islam”
Standardized academic and religious spelling.
Connections
Word parts
qara'a
root
to recite
Related across languages
French
Coran
the holy book of Islam
Turkish
the holy book of Islam
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Related to Quran
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.