Quran
/kʊˈrɑːn/noun
The central sacred scripture of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the revealed word of God.
Did you know?The Arabic name al-Qurʾān comes from the root q-r-ʾ, meaning “to read” or “recite,” though some scholars have also debated influence from the related Syriac religious term qeryānā, meaning “scripture reading” or “lection.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*q-r-ʾ
“A reconstructed root associated with reading, reciting, or proclaiming aloud”
Pre-Islamic Arabic
Arabic
qaraʾa
“To read, recite, or proclaim aloud”
7th Century
Quranic Arabic
al-Qurʾān
“The recitation or proclamation”
8th–10th Centuries
Classical Arabic
al-Qurʾān
“The established name of Islam’s revealed scripture”
17th Century
English
Alcoran
“An early English form borrowed through European spellings of the Arabic name”
Modern English
English
Quran
“The standard modern English form of the name”