قرطاس

Arabic

Alternative forms

• قَرْطَس (qarṭas) — obsolete

Etymology

From Aramaic קַרְטֵיסָא /‎ ܩܪܛܝܣܐ (qarṭīsā), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qir.tˤaːs/, /qur.tˤaːs/

Noun

قِرْطَاس or قُرْطَاس • (qirṭās or qurṭās) m (plural قَرَاطِيس (qarāṭīs))

1. paper, page
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 6:7:

     وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا فِي قِرْطَاسٍ فَلَمَسُوهُ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ لَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ

     wa-law nazzalnā ʿalayka kitāban fī qirṭāsin fa-lamasūhu bi-ʾaydīhim la-qāla ʾallaḏīna kafarū ʾin hāḏā ʾillā siḥrun mubīnun

     And even if we had sent down to you, a written scripture on a page and they touched it with their hands, the disbelievers would say, “This is not but obvious magic.

   • 10th century, Al-Mutanabbi

     اَلْخَيْلُ وَٱللَّيْلُ وَٱلْبَيْدَاءُ تَعْرِفُنِي / وَٱلسَّيْفُ وَٱلرُّمْحُ وَٱلْقِرْطَاسُ وَٱلْقَلَمُ

     al-ḵaylu wa-l-laylu wa-l-baydāʔu taʕrifunī / wa-s-sayfu wa-r-rumḥu wa-l-qirṭāsu wa-l-qalamu

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. book, scroll, parchment
3. papyrus

Declension

Declension of noun قِرْطَاس (qirṭās)‎; قُرْطَاس (qurṭās)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قِرْطَاس‎; قُرْطَاس qirṭās‎; qurṭās	الْقِرْطَاس‎; الْقُرْطَاس al-qirṭās‎; al-qurṭās	قِرْطَاس‎; قُرْطَاس qirṭās‎; qurṭās
Nominative	قِرْطَاسٌ‎; قُرْطَاسٌ qirṭāsun‎; qurṭāsun	الْقِرْطَاسُ‎; الْقُرْطَاسُ al-qirṭāsu‎; al-qurṭāsu	قِرْطَاسُ‎; قُرْطَاسُ qirṭāsu‎; qurṭāsu
Accusative	قِرْطَاسًا‎; قُرْطَاسًا qirṭāsan‎; qurṭāsan	الْقِرْطَاسَ‎; الْقُرْطَاسَ al-qirṭāsa‎; al-qurṭāsa	قِرْطَاسَ‎; قُرْطَاسَ qirṭāsa‎; qurṭāsa
Genitive	قِرْطَاسٍ‎; قُرْطَاسٍ qirṭāsin‎; qurṭāsin	الْقِرْطَاسِ‎; الْقُرْطَاسِ al-qirṭāsi‎; al-qurṭāsi	قِرْطَاسِ‎; قُرْطَاسِ qirṭāsi‎; qurṭāsi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قِرْطَاسَيْن‎; قُرْطَاسَيْن qirṭāsayn‎; qurṭāsayn	الْقِرْطَاسَيْن‎; الْقُرْطَاسَيْن al-qirṭāsayn‎; al-qurṭāsayn	قِرْطَاسَيْ‎; قُرْطَاسَيْ qirṭāsay‎; qurṭāsay
Nominative	قِرْطَاسَانِ‎; قُرْطَاسَانِ qirṭāsāni‎; qurṭāsāni	الْقِرْطَاسَانِ‎; الْقُرْطَاسَانِ al-qirṭāsāni‎; al-qurṭāsāni	قِرْطَاسَا‎; قُرْطَاسَا qirṭāsā‎; qurṭāsā
Accusative	قِرْطَاسَيْنِ‎; قُرْطَاسَيْنِ qirṭāsayni‎; qurṭāsayni	الْقِرْطَاسَيْنِ‎; الْقُرْطَاسَيْنِ al-qirṭāsayni‎; al-qurṭāsayni	قِرْطَاسَيْ‎; قُرْطَاسَيْ qirṭāsay‎; qurṭāsay
Genitive	قِرْطَاسَيْنِ‎; قُرْطَاسَيْنِ qirṭāsayni‎; qurṭāsayni	الْقِرْطَاسَيْنِ‎; الْقُرْطَاسَيْنِ al-qirṭāsayni‎; al-qurṭāsayni	قِرْطَاسَيْ‎; قُرْطَاسَيْ qirṭāsay‎; qurṭāsay
Plural	basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَرَاطِيس qarāṭīs	الْقَرَاطِيس al-qarāṭīs	قَرَاطِيس qarāṭīs
Nominative	قَرَاطِيسُ qarāṭīsu	الْقَرَاطِيسُ al-qarāṭīsu	قَرَاطِيسُ qarāṭīsu
Accusative	قَرَاطِيسَ qarāṭīsa	الْقَرَاطِيسَ al-qarāṭīsa	قَرَاطِيسَ qarāṭīsa
Genitive	قَرَاطِيسَ qarāṭīsa	الْقَرَاطِيسِ al-qarāṭīsi	قَرَاطِيسِ qarāṭīsi

Synonyms

• وَرَق (waraq)
• كَاغِد (kāḡid)

Derived terms

• قِرْطَاسِي (qirṭāsī)
• قِرْطَاسِيَّة (qirṭāsiyya)

Descendants

• Egyptian Arabic: قرطاس (ʾúrṭās)
• → Brunei Malay: keratas
• → Dhivehi: ކަރުދާސް (karudās)
• → Indonesian: tákàr̃dáa
• → Malagasy: taratàsy
• → Malay: kertas
  • > Indonesian: kertas (inherited)
  • → Javanese: ꦏꦼꦂꦠꦱ꧀ (kertas)
  • → Khmer: ក្រដាស (krɑdaah)
  • → Ternate: kartas
• → Portuguese: cartaz
• → Somali: qardaas
• → Spanish: alcatraz, alcartaz
• → Sundanese: ᮊᮨᮁᮒᮞ᮪ (kertas)
• → Swahili: karatasi
• → Thai: กระดาษ (grà-dàat) (uncertain)

References

• “qrṭys²”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 245
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1880) De vocabulis in antiquis Arabum carminibus et in Corano peregrinis‎^[1] (in Latin), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 17
• Jeffery, Arthur (1938) The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (Gaekwad’s Oriental Series; 79), Baroda: Oriental Institute, pages 235–236
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “قرطاس”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[2], London: Williams & Norgate
• Löw, Immanuel (1928) Die Flora der Juden‎^[3] (in German), volume 1, Wien und Leipzig: R. Löwit, page 567