Arabic word sheet
مِسْكِينٌ
Needy, destitute
- Type
- noun
- Root
- س ك ن
Meaning and usage
Needy, destitute
One who has nothing, or who has not enough for his own needs and those of his family.
سَاعَدَتْ لَيْلَى مِسْكِينًا فِي الشَّارِعِ.
Layla helped a needy man in the street.
Lowly, humble, submissive
The word’s first sense according to the dictionaries: one who keeps low, without strength or pride, even if he lacks nothing.
وَقَفَ الْخَادِمُ مِسْكِينًا أَمَامَ سَيِّدِهِ.
The servant stood humble before his master.
Poor thing (a word of pity)
Used to pity someone to whom something bad happens, rich or not: “the poor fellow”, “poor thing”.
سَقَطَ الْمِسْكِينُ عَنِ الدَّرَّاجَةِ.
The poor fellow fell off the bicycle.
Plural
مَسَاكِينُ
Word family
What the root means س ك ن
The basic verb means to become still and calm after moving; hence the idea of dwelling in a place and that of resting on someone. The dictionary ties the headword to this stillness: it is the one who relies on others. Same family: “stillness”, “dwelling”, “to calm”, “the state of want” and “to play the pauper”.
to become still, to calm down; to dwell
سَكَنَ
stillness, calm
سُكُونٌ
dwelling, residence
سُكْنَى
to calm, to still
سَكَّنَ
want, lowliness
مَسْكَنَةٌ
to become poor, to play the pauper
تَمَسْكَنَ
Synonyms
poor
فَقِيرٌ
It names the lack of means itself, whereas the headword adds lowliness and pity; the old scholars debated which of the two is the worse off.
in need, wanting
مُحْتَاجٌ
It only says that one needs something at a given moment, without necessarily being poor or lowly.
Opposites
rich
غَنِيٌّ