See also: حضن

Arabic edit

Etymology 1 edit

Root
ح ص ن (ḥ-ṣ-n)

Borrowed from Aramaic חִצְנַא / ܚܶܨܢܳܐ (ḥeṣnā, stronghold, fortress), assimilating the laryngeal from earlier 𐡇𐡎𐡍𐡀 / ܚܶܣܢܳܐ (ḥesnā, stronghold, fortress), also חוּסנַא / ܚܽܘܣܢܳܐ (ḥusnā), already attested in Old Aramaic 𐤇𐤎𐤍𐤀 (ḥsnʾ), deriving from a well-used root ח־ס־ן ܚ-ܣ-ܢ (ḥ-s-n), which would be cognate to the Arabic root خ ش ن (ḵ-š-n) related to roughness, or perhaps ح س ن (ḥ-s-n) related to goodliness, comeliness, if one relates pulchritude with brawn, and fortresses with exaltedness of appearance. This ascription of Aramaic origin is corroborated by the consideration that fortresses are not to be sought in the original place of the Arabic language, and in conformity with this, most other terms for fortresses, castles, and towers are borrowed, بُرْج (burj), قَصْر (qaṣr), بَلَاط (balāṭ), مِجْدَل (mijdal), صَرْح (ṣarḥ), مِحْرَاب (miḥrāb), صَوْمَعَة (ṣawmaʕa), سَرَاي (sarāy), إِيوَان (ʔīwān), قَشْلَة (qašla).

The root’s other formations, containing meanings related to inaccessibility, protection, strength, are denominal from the word for the fortress, حِصْن (ḥiṣn)

Though the root ح ص ن (ḥ-ṣ-n) contains حِصَان (ḥiṣān, horse, stallion, stud), not even this is a strong contender for a native origin in this root, since this word for a stud or stallion, of high register, could have been invented easily in folk poetry from the idea of strength a fortress is connected to, which is supported by the fact that horses aren’t to be sought in Arabia either, and the other word فَرَس (faras) has also been picked up.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ħisˤn/
    • (Hijazi) IPA(key): /ħi.sˤin/, [ħɪ.sˤɪn]

Noun edit

حِصْن (ḥiṣnm (plural حُصُون (ḥuṣūn) or حِصَنَة (ḥiṣana) or أَحْصَان (ʔaḥṣān))

  1. (also figuratively) stronghold, fortress, entrenchment
    • لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ حِصْنِي فَمَنْ دَخَلَ حِصْنَي أَمِنَ مِنْ عَذَابِي
      lā ʔilāha ʔillā llāhu ḥiṣnī faman daḵala ḥiṣnay ʔamina min ʕaḏābī
      "There is no god but God" is my fortress and whomever enters my fortress is saved from my torture (hadith)
  2. armor or weapons
Declension edit
Descendants edit
  • Georgian: ისანი (isani)
  • Spanish: izn

References edit

  • Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, pages 235–236
  • Praetorius, Franz (1907) “Äthiopische Etymologien”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft[1] (in German), volume 61, pages 616–617
  • ḥṣn”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
  • ḥsn2”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
  • ḥsn3”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
  • ḥsn”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–

Etymology 2 edit

After the root ح ص ن (ḥ-ṣ-n).

Verb edit

حَصُنَ (ḥaṣuna) I, non-past يَحْصُنُ‎ (yaḥṣunu)

  1. to be inaccessible, to be unattainable
Conjugation edit

Verb edit

حَصُنَ (ḥaṣuna) I, non-past يَحْصُنُ‎ (yaḥṣunu)

  1. to be continent, to be chaste, to keep decor (by keeping in husbandly home or unapproached)
Conjugation edit

Noun edit

حَصْن or حُصْن or حِصْن (ḥaṣn or ḥuṣn or ḥiṣnm

  1. verbal noun of حَصُنَ (ḥaṣuna, to be continent, to be chaste, to keep decor) (form I)
Declension edit

Verb edit

حَصَّنَ (ḥaṣṣana) II, non-past يُحَصِّنُ‎ (yuḥaṣṣinu)

  1. to render inaccessible, to make unattainable
  2. to immunize, to vaccinate (that is, to make unattainable for pathogens)
Conjugation edit

Etymology 3 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

حُصُن (ḥuṣunm pl

  1. plural of حِصَان (ḥiṣān)

Ottoman Turkish edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Arabic حِصْن (ḥiṣn, stronghold, fortress).

Noun edit

حصن (hısn) (plural حصون)

  1. natural or artificial stronghold, especially a castle, fortress or citadel
    Synonyms: حصار (hisar), دز (diz), قسطل (kastel), قلعه (kale)

Descendants edit

Further reading edit