عليون

Arabic

Root
ع ل ي (ʕ-l-y)

Etymology 1

عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy) +‎ ـُونَ (-ūna)

Adjective

عَلِيُّونَ • (ʕaliyyūna) m pl

1. plural of عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy)

Etymology 2

عِلِّيّ (ʕilliyy) +‎ ـُونَ (-ūna)

Adjective

عِلِّيُّونَ • (ʕilliyyūna) m pl

1. plural of عِلِّيّ (ʕilliyy)

Etymology 3

From a merger of Hebrew עֶלְיוֹן (ʿelyṓn, “high, upper; God”) and the root ع ل ي (ʕ-l-y), with the last segment of the Hebrew word being taken to be a masculine plural suffix appended to عِلِّيّ (ʕilliyy), hence blending with the pluralizing inflection عِلِّيّ (ʕilliyy) +‎ ـُونَ (-ūna).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʕil.lij.juːn/

Proper noun

عِلِّيُّون • (ʕilliyyūn) m (hapax, in the singular)

1. The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include: Antonym: سِجِّين (sijjīn)
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 83:18-19:

     كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْأَبْرَارِ لَفِي عِلِّيِّينَ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ

     kallā ʔinna kitāba l-ʔabrāri lafī ʕilliyyīna wamā ʔadrāka mā ʕilliyyūna

     Forsooth the record of the righteous is in ʿilliyyīn, and what makes you know what ʿilliyyūn is?

   1. God, Allah
   2. the heaven, Heaven, the empyrean, or the welkin, a place that’s only accessible to divines. It’s usually decipted higher than the seven heavens and the Heavenly chamber.
   3. the paradise (garden group), Paradise, Elysium, or the Garden of Eden.

      Synonyms: جَنَّة (janna), نَعِيم (naʕīm)

      1. the uppermost paradise of the celestial garden.

         Synonym: فِرْدَوس

   4. a list of deeds of mortals kept in such a place
   5. godly wardens who keep a list of deeds of mortals or other special knowledge
   6. the seventh heaven; Araboth.

Declension

Declension of noun عِلِّيُّون (ʕilliyyūn)

Plural	sound masculine plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	—	عِلِّيِّين ʕilliyyīn	—
Nominative	—	عِلِّيُّونَ ʕilliyyūna	—
Accusative	—	عِلِّيِّينَ ʕilliyyīna	—
Genitive	—	عِلِّيِّينَ ʕilliyyīna	—

References

• Ahrens, Karl (1930) “Christliches im Qoran. Eine Nachlese”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft‎^[1] (in German), volume 84, page 20
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1880) De vocabulis in antiquis Arabum carminibus et in Corano peregrinis‎^[2] (in Latin), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 23
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 157
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1910) Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎^[3] (in German), Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner, page 28