محراب

Borrowed from Old South Arabian 𐩣𐩢𐩧𐩨‎ attested several times for a certain architectural feature of a palace or court, and for a “part of a temple where 𐩩𐩢𐩧𐩨‎ oracles are obtained”, compare 𐩩𐩢𐩧𐩨𐩩‎ (“votive relief”), 𐩩𐩢𐩧𐩨‎ (“to obtain a vision or an oracle”), 𐩢𐩧𐩨‎ (“to obtain an oracle”). Possibly also related to Old South Arabian 𐩣𐩫𐩧𐩨‎ (“sanctuary, temple”), Ge'ez ምኵራብ (məkʷrab, “sanctuary, temple”), Old South Arabian 𐩫𐩧𐩨‎ (“to carry out instructions”), Old South Arabian 𐩫𐩧𐩨‎ (“to bless”) = Arabic بَرَّكَ‎ (barraka, “to bless”), Akkadian 𒅗𒊏𒁍 (/karābu/, “to pray”), Hebrew כְּרוּב‎ (kerūḇ, “cherub”).

• IPA^(key): /miħ.raːb/ (singular)
• IPA^(key): /ma.ħaː.riːb/ (plural)

مِحْرَاب • (miḥrāb) m (plural مَحَارِيب‎ (maḥārīb))

1. a high sitting place, private chamber whither people of high standing retreat, closet
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 34:13:

     ‏يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ مَا يَشَاءُ مِن مَّحَارِيبَ وَتَمَاثِيلَ وَجِفَانٍ كَالْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَّاسِيَاتٍ‎

     yaʿmalūna lahu mā yašāʾu min mmaḥārība watamāṯīla wajifānin kāljawābi waqudūrin rrāsiyātin

     They made for him what he willed, of closets, bowls, effigies, and standing kettles.

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 19:11:

     ‏فَخَرَجَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ مِنَ الْمِحْرَابِ فَأَوْحَى إِلَيْهِمْ أَن سَبِّحُوا بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا‎

     faḵaraja ʿalā qawmihi mina l-miḥrābi faʾawḥā ʾilayhim ʾan sabbiḥū bukratan waʿašiyyan

     And he went out from the chamber to his people and made signs that they shall praise in the morning and evening.

2. a niche in a place of prayer in the praying direction, mihrab
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 3:37:

     ‏كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِنْدَهَا رِزْقًا‎

     kullamā daḵala ʿalayhā zakariyyā l-miḥrāba wajada ʿindahā rizqan

     Whenever Zacharias entered upon her in the miḥrāb he encountered her with provisions.

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 3:39:

     ‏فَنَادَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ يُصَلِّي فِي الْمِحْرَابِ‎

     fanādathu l-malāʾikatu wahuwa qāʾimun yuṣallī fī l-miḥrābi

     So the angels called him while prayed standing in the miḥrāb.

• → Azerbaijani: mehrab
• → Middle Armenian: մէհրապ (mēhrap), մեհրաբ (mehrab), մահրապ (mahrap)
• → Persian: محراب‎ (mehrâb)

• Dillmann, August (1865), “ምኵራብ”, in Lexicon linguae aethiopicae cum indice latino (in Latin), Leipzig: T. O. Weigel, column 836
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 274
• Lane, Edward William (1863), “محراب”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate, page 541
• Leslau, Wolf (1991) Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 341
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1910) Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎ (in German), Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner, page 52
• Praetorius, Franz (1907), “Äthiopische Etymologien”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft‎ (in German), volume 61, page 621
• Schwally, Friedrich (1901), “Zur ältesten Baugeschichte der Moschee des ʿamr in Alt-Kairo”, in Straßburger Festschrift zur XLVI. Versammlung deutscher Philologen und Schulmänner, , herausgegeben von der philosophischen Fakultät der Kaiser Wilhelms-Universität‎, Karl. J. Trübner, page 110
• Wehr, Hans; Kropfitsch, Lorenz (1985), “محراب”, in Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart (in German), 5th edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, published 2011, →ISBN, page 242
• Wellhausen, Julius (1897) Reste arabischen Heidentumes‎ (in German), Berlin: Georg Reimer, page 232

From Arabic مِحْرَاب‎ (miḥrāb)

محراب • (mehrâb) (plural محراب‌ها‎ (mehrâb-hâ))

1. mihrab