description Al-Jawhari Overview
Al-Jawhari (c. 1185-1256) was an influential Arabic lexicographer originating from Farab. He is primarily recognized for *al-Sihah*, a monumental dictionary compiling approximately 40,000 entries. This work utilized root-based definitions, establishing it as a foundational resource for understanding the nuances of the Arabic language during the medieval period.
Scholars, historians, and linguists studying classical Arabic and its development rely on *al-Sihah* to this day.
help Al-Jawhari FAQ
What is al-Jawhari's al-Sihah?
Al-Sihah fi al-Lugha is a major medieval Arabic dictionary whose title refers to sound or correct language. It became influential for its careful selection of vocabulary and its systematic organization.
How do readers look up words in al-Sihah?
Al-Jawhari arranged entries by Arabic roots, with special importance given to the root's final letter and then its first letter. This rhyme-based system proved useful to poets but differs from the initial-root ordering familiar in many modern dictionaries.
Was al-Jawhari really a 13th-century lexicographer?
No, that dating is incorrect: Isma'il ibn Hammad al-Jawhari lived around the 10th and early 11th centuries. He came from Farab in Central Asia and later worked in the Arabic-speaking scholarly world.
Is the story that al-Jawhari died while trying to fly accepted as fact?
Later biographical accounts say he attached wooden wings to himself and died after attempting flight from a mosque roof in Nishapur. The story is famous, but its distance from the event means it is safer treated as a traditional account rather than firmly documented fact.
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