Qur'an
/kʊrˈɑːn/noun
The central sacred scripture of Islam, regarded by Muslims as the revealed word of God.
Did you know?The word Qur'an comes from the same Arabic root as iqraʾ, traditionally identified with the first revealed command: “Recite” or “Read.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*q-r-ʔ
“A reconstructed root associated with calling out, reading, or reciting”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
qaraʾa (قرأ)
“To read, recite, or proclaim aloud”
7th Century
Arabic
al-Qurʾān (القرآن)
“The recitation; the proclaimed reading”
Medieval Latin
Latin
Alcoranus
“The Qur'an, borrowed through Arabic al-Qurʾān”
17th Century
English
Koran
“An established English rendering of the Arabic name”
Modern English
English
Qur'an
“The standard modern transliteration increasingly used in English”