لدن

Arabic

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -un

Etymology 1

Uncertain, often considered a variation of لَدَى (ladā) perhaps the /ن/ reflecting a vestigial duality; at one's two hands. Alternatively, by analogy with one's feet, developed from a contraction of لَ (la, “to, for”) + دُون (dūn, “beneath; by one's feet”); hence coming to or being at a space or duration close or near, right at their feet, immediately before them, in the presence of, happening or being near, following in a location or time.

Preposition

لَدُنْ • (ladun)

1. at, by, near, since, from the moment that
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 18:10:

     إِذْ أَوَى الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى الْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا

     ʔiḏ ʔawā l-fityatu ʔilā l-kahfi faqālū rabbanā ʔātinā min ladunka raḥmatan wahayyiʔ lanā min ʔamrinā rašadan

     Mufti Taqi: When the young men took refuge in the Cave and said, “Our Lord, bless us with mercy from Your own and provide us with guidance in our matters.”

Usage notes

• Usually preceded by مِنْ (min, “from”).

Inflection

Inflected forms
Base form					لَدُنْ (ladun)
Personal-pronoun- including forms	Singular		Dual	Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Common	Masculine	Feminine
First person	لَدُنِّي / لَدُنِّيَ (ladunnī / ladunniya)		لَدُنَّا (ladunnā)
Second person	لَدُنْكَ (ladunka)	لَدُنْكِ (ladunki)	لَدُنْكُمَا (ladunkumā)	لَدُنْكُمْ (ladunkum)	لَدُنْكُنَّ (ladunkunna)
Third person	لَدُنْهُ (ladunhu)	لَدُنْهَا (ladunhā)	لَدُنْهُمَا (ladunhumā)	لَدُنْهُمْ (ladunhum)	لَدُنْهُنَّ (ladunhunna)

Synonyms

• لَدَى (ladā)
• عِنْدَ (ʕinda)

Derived terms

• لَدُنِّيّ (ladunniyy, adjective)
  • اَلْعِلْمُ اللَّدُنِّيّ (al-ʕilmu l-ladunniyy)

Etymology 2

Verb

لِدْنَ • (lidna) (form I) /lid.na/

1. second-person feminine plural imperative of وَلَدَ (walada)

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic لَدُنْ (ladun, “at, near”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [la.ðun]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [lä.d̪ʊn]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [lä.d̪ʊn]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [lä.d̪ʊn]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [lä.d̪un]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [læ.d̪on]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [lä.d̪un]

Readings
Classical reading?	laḏun
Dari reading?	ladun
Iranian reading?	ladon
Tajik reading?	ladun

Adverb

Dari	لدن
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ладўи

لدن • (ladon)

1. near, close
2. near God, divine, mystical
   • c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 3642:

     ای برادر دست وا دار از سخن
     خود خدا پیدا کند علم لدن‌‌

     ay barādar dast-i-ō dār az suxan
     xwad xudā paydā kunad 'ilm-i-ladun

     O brother, refrain from speech:
     God himself will make manifest the knowledge that is with Him.