نبي

See also: نبی

Arabic

Etymology

Borrowed from Aramaic נְבִיָּא (n'ḇiyyā) (absolutive form: נְבִי (n'ḇī)), the root of which is cognate to the Arabic root ن ب ء (n-b-ʔ). Compare Hebrew נָבִיא (nāḇīʔ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na.bijj/
• Rhymes: -ijj

Noun

نَبِيّ • (nabiyy) m (plural نَبِيُّون (nabiyyūn) or أَنْبِيَاء (ʔanbiyāʔ))

1. prophet
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 4:163:

     إِنَّا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ كَمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ نُوحٍ وَٱلنَّبِيِّينَ مِن بَعْدِهِ ۚ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَٱلْأَسْبَاطِ وَعِيسَى وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُونُسَ وَهَارُونَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ

     ʔinnā ʔawḥaynā ʔilayka kamā ʔawḥaynā ʔilā nūḥin wan-nabiyyīna min baʕdihī waʔawḥaynā ʔilā ʔibrāhīma waʔismāʕīla waʔisḥāqa wayaʕqūba wal-ʔasbāṭi waʕīsā waʔayyūba wayūnusa wahārūna wasulaymāna

     Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him. And we revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Descendants, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon

Declension

Declension of noun نَبِيّ (nabiyy)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	نَبِي nabī	النَّبِي an-nabī	نَبِي nabī
Nominative	نَبِيٌّ nabiyyun	النَّبِيُّ an-nabiyyu	نَبِيُّ nabiyyu
Accusative	نَبِيًّا nabiyyan	النَّبِيَّ an-nabiyya	نَبِيَّ nabiyya
Genitive	نَبِيٍّ nabiyyin	النَّبِيِّ an-nabiyyi	نَبِيِّ nabiyyi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	نَبِيَّيْن nabiyyayn	النَّبِيَّيْن an-nabiyyayn	نَبِيَّيْ nabiyyay
Nominative	نَبِيَّانِ nabiyyāni	النَّبِيَّانِ an-nabiyyāni	نَبِيَّا nabiyyā
Accusative	نَبِيَّيْنِ nabiyyayni	النَّبِيَّيْنِ an-nabiyyayni	نَبِيَّيْ nabiyyay
Genitive	نَبِيَّيْنِ nabiyyayni	النَّبِيَّيْنِ an-nabiyyayni	نَبِيَّيْ nabiyyay
Plural	sound masculine plural‎; basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	نَبِيِّين‎; أَنْبِيَاء nabiyyīn‎; ʔanbiyāʔ	النَّبِيِّين‎; الْأَنْبِيَاء an-nabiyyīn‎; al-ʔanbiyāʔ	نَبِيِّي‎; أَنْبِيَاء nabiyyī‎; ʔanbiyāʔ
Nominative	نَبِيُّونَ‎; أَنْبِيَاءُ nabiyyūna‎; ʔanbiyāʔu	النَّبِيُّونَ‎; الْأَنْبِيَاءُ an-nabiyyūna‎; al-ʔanbiyāʔu	نَبِيُّو‎; أَنْبِيَاءُ nabiyyū‎; ʔanbiyāʔu
Accusative	نَبِيِّينَ‎; أَنْبِيَاءَ nabiyyīna‎; ʔanbiyāʔa	النَّبِيِّينَ‎; الْأَنْبِيَاءَ an-nabiyyīna‎; al-ʔanbiyāʔa	نَبِيِّي‎; أَنْبِيَاءَ nabiyyī‎; ʔanbiyāʔa
Genitive	نَبِيِّينَ‎; أَنْبِيَاءَ nabiyyīna‎; ʔanbiyāʔa	النَّبِيِّينَ‎; الْأَنْبِيَاءِ an-nabiyyīna‎; al-ʔanbiyāʔi	نَبِيِّي‎; أَنْبِيَاءِ nabiyyī‎; ʔanbiyāʔi

Alternative forms

• نَبِيء (nabīʔ)

Derived terms

• نَبَوِيّ (nabawiyy)

Descendants

• → Bengali: নবী (nobi)
• → Fula: annabi
• → Hausa: ànnabī̀
• → Hindustani:
  • Hindi: नबी (nabī)
  • Urdu: نبی (nabī)
• → Malay: nabi
  • Indonesian: nabi
• → Northern Kurdish: nebî
• → Ottoman Turkish: نبی
  • Turkish: nebi
• → Persian: نبی (nabi)
• → Pashto: نبي (nabi)
• → Swahili: nabii
• → Tamil: நபி (napi)
• → Tausug: nabi

References

• Jeffery, Arthur (1938) The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (Gaekwad’s Oriental Series; 79), Baroda: Oriental Institute
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “نبو”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

Pashto

Etymology

From Arabic نَبِيّ (nabiyy), from Aramaic נְבִיָּא (n'ḇiyyā) (absolutive form: נְבִי (n'ḇī)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naˈbi/

Noun

نبي • (nabi) m

1. (religion) prophet