See also: Quran, Qu'ran, Qur'ân, and Qur'ān

English

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A page of the Qur'an.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Arabic الْقُرْآن (al-qurʔān), definite form of قُرْآن (qurʔān, act of reciting), verbal noun of قَرَأَ (qaraʔa, to recite; to read (aloud)). (The obsolete alternative spellings with "al-", like the Alcoran, redundantly retained the Arabic definite article.) Compare Classical Syriac ܩܪܝܢܐ (qeryānā, reading; scripture).

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /kəˈɹɑːn/
  • (US) IPA(key): /kəˈɹɑn/, /kəˈɹæn/, /koʊˈɹæn/, /kɔˈɹɑn/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːn

Proper noun

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the Qur'an (plural Qur'ans)

  1. (Islam) The Islamic holy book, considered by Muslims to be the word of God as revealed to Muhammad.
    • 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.5:
      Thus it is not without wonder, how those learned Arabicks so tamely delivered up their belief unto the absurdities of the Alcoran.
    • 1817, Walter Scott, Rob Roy:
      ‘A poor forlorn and ignorant stranger, unacquainted with the very Alcoran of the savage tribe whom you are come to reside among—Never to have heard of Markham, the most celebrated author on farriery!’
    • 1923 December 16, “Gandhi spends his time”, in Time:
      He reads largely religious books, chiefly the Gita and Upanishads. He has read the Koran and he is now re-reading the Bible.
    • 2011 July 1, Malise Ruthven, The Guardian:
      In the summer of 2002, responding to the 9/11 atrocity, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill made a selection of verses from the Qur'an a mandatory text for new students.

Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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Qur'an (plural Qur'ans)

  1. A specific version, edition, translation, or copy of one of the above-mentioned book.

Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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