Arabic word sheet
عَدْلٌ
Justice, fairness
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ع د ل
Meaning and usage
Justice, fairness
Giving each person what is due and judging without leaning to one side. It is said of the conduct of a judge, a leader or anyone who treats others evenly.
يُحِبُّ الطُّلَّابُ عَدْلَ الْمُعَلِّمَةِ.
The students like the teacher's fairness.
A just, trustworthy person
It is also said of the person: someone who acts uprightly and whose word is accepted without reserve. It is used in particular of a witness held to be reliable.
يَثِقُ الْقَاضِي بِالشَّاهِدِ لِأَنَّهُ رَجُلٌ عَدْلٌ.
The judge trusts the witness because he is an upright man.
Word family
What the root means ع د ل
The root carries the idea of acting with equity, of treating people as is fair; its verb also means to make one thing equal to another, to balance them. From it come justice, the one who is just, equalling and equivalence.
to act justly
عَدَلَ
just, fair
عَادِلٌ
justice, fairness
عَدَالَةٌ
to equal, to be equivalent to
عَادَلَ
equivalence, balance
مُعَادَلَةٌ
Synonyms
equity
It stresses the fair share given to each in a division or a measure; the headword is more general.
fair-mindedness
إِنْصَافٌ
It names giving the other person his due, even against oneself; it is used of an attitude more than of a principle.
Opposites
injustice, bias
جَوْرٌ
injustice, oppression
ظُلْمٌ