فعال

Arabic

Etymology 1

Root
ف ع ل (f ʕ l)
18 terms

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faʕ.ʕaːl/

Adjective

فَعَّال • (faʕʕāl) (feminine فَعَّالَة (faʕʕāla))

1. (of a person) who does things or realizes them; effecting
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 85:14-16:

     وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ / ذُو الْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدُ / فَعَّالٌ لِّمَا يُرِيدُ

     wahuwa l-ḡafūru l-wadūdu / ḏū l-ʕarši l-majīdu / faʕʕālun limā yurīdu

     And He is the Most-Forgiving, the Most-Loving, / Of the Throne, the Glorious, / Effecting what He wills.

2. (of a thing) that causes effects; affecting; active

   Synonym: مُؤَثِّر (muʔaṯṯir)

   1. effective; effectual; efficacious

Declension

Declension of adjective فَعَّال (faʕʕāl)

singular	masculine		feminine
	basic singular triptote		singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	فَعَّال faʕʕāl	الْفَعَّال al-faʕʕāl	فَعَّالَة faʕʕāla	الْفَعَّالَة al-faʕʕāla
nominative	فَعَّالٌ faʕʕālun	الْفَعَّالُ al-faʕʕālu	فَعَّالَةٌ faʕʕālatun	الْفَعَّالَةُ al-faʕʕālatu
accusative	فَعَّالًا faʕʕālan	الْفَعَّالَ al-faʕʕāla	فَعَّالَةً faʕʕālatan	الْفَعَّالَةَ al-faʕʕālata
genitive	فَعَّالٍ faʕʕālin	الْفَعَّالِ al-faʕʕāli	فَعَّالَةٍ faʕʕālatin	الْفَعَّالَةِ al-faʕʕālati
dual	masculine		feminine
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	فَعَّالَيْن faʕʕālayn	الْفَعَّالَيْن al-faʕʕālayn	فَعَّالَتَيْن faʕʕālatayn	الْفَعَّالَتَيْن al-faʕʕālatayn
nominative	فَعَّالَانِ faʕʕālāni	الْفَعَّالَانِ al-faʕʕālāni	فَعَّالَتَانِ faʕʕālatāni	الْفَعَّالَتَانِ al-faʕʕālatāni
accusative	فَعَّالَيْنِ faʕʕālayni	الْفَعَّالَيْنِ al-faʕʕālayni	فَعَّالَتَيْنِ faʕʕālatayni	الْفَعَّالَتَيْنِ al-faʕʕālatayni
genitive	فَعَّالَيْنِ faʕʕālayni	الْفَعَّالَيْنِ al-faʕʕālayni	فَعَّالَتَيْنِ faʕʕālatayni	الْفَعَّالَتَيْنِ al-faʕʕālatayni
plural	masculine		feminine
	plural unknown		sound feminine plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	?	?	فَعَّالَات faʕʕālāt	الْفَعَّالَات al-faʕʕālāt
nominative	?	?	فَعَّالَاتٌ faʕʕālātun	الْفَعَّالَاتُ al-faʕʕālātu
accusative	?	?	فَعَّالَاتٍ faʕʕālātin	الْفَعَّالَاتِ al-faʕʕālāti
genitive	?	?	فَعَّالَاتٍ faʕʕālātin	الْفَعَّالَاتِ al-faʕʕālāti

Derived terms

• مَادَّة فَعَّالَة (mādda(t) faʕʕāla, “active ingredient”)
• نَقْل فَعَّال (naql faʕʕāl, “active transport”)

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: fəal
• → Chagatai: فعال (fʿāl)
  • Uyghur: پائال (pa'al)
  • Uzbek: faol
• → Ottoman Turkish: فعال (faʿʿâl)
  • Turkish: faal
• → Persian: فعال (fa'âl)

Etymology 2

Noun

فِعَال • (fiʕāl) pl

1. plural of فِعْل (fiʕl)

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَعَّال (faʕʕāl).

Noun

فعال • (faʿʿâl)

1. a constant, habitual actor, or worker; especially, God

Descendants

• Turkish: faal

Further reading

• Redhouse, James W. (1890), “فعال”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[1], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1390

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَعَّال (faʕʕāl).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /fa.ˈʔaːl/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ʔɑ́ːl]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ʔɑ́ːl]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [fɑːɑ́ːl]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [fɔːɔ́ːl̥]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [fæ.ʔɒ́ːl̥]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [fä.ʔɔ́l]

Readings
Classical reading?	fa'āl
Dari reading?	fa'āl
Iranian reading?	fa'âl
Tajik reading?	fa'ol

Dari	فعال
Iranian Persian
Tajik	фаол

Adjective

فعال • (fa'âl) (comparative فعال‌تَر, superlative فعال‌تَرین)

1. active
2. energetic, vivacious, efficacious
   • c. 1030, Farrukhī Sīstānī, “Qaṣīda 112”, in دیوان فرخی سیستانی [Dīvān of Farrukhī]‎^[2]:

     ای نه جمشید و بصدر اندر جمشید سیر
     ای نه خورشید و ببزم اندر خورشید فعال

     ay na jamšēd u ba sadr andar jamšēd-i sēr
     ay na xwaršēd u ba bazm andar xwaršēd-i fa'āl

     O you are not Jamshid, but you are [like] a satisfied Jamshid in the seat of honor,
     O you are not the sun, but you are [like] the energetic sun in the feast.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Noun

فعال • (fa'âl) (plural فعالان (fa'âlân))

1. activist

   فعال سیاسی ― fa'âl-e siyâsi ― political activist

   فعال حقوقی ― fa'âl-e hoquqi ― legal activist

Derived terms

• فعالیت (fa'âliyat, “activism”)

Related terms

• فاعل (fâ'el, “(grammar) subject”)
• فعل (fe'l, “act; verb”)
• مفعول (maf'ul, “(grammar) object”)

Further reading

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934), “فعال”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim
• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–), “فعال”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press.