About the Comparative Rhetoric (Balāgha) Glossary

Purpose

The purpose of this glossary is to assist in the translation of technical terms related to the traditional Islamic Arabic science of rhetoric (balāgha), including ʿilm al-maʿānī, ʿilm al-bayān, and some of ʿilm al-badīʿ, by compiling the past translation choices of various translators. It is by no means comprehensive or systematic; the source works were for the most part chosen on the basis of convenient and efficient glossary-to-glossary copying. Terms were incorporated selectively from the sources that are included.

How to Use

Search for the desired term by typing a portion of either the Arabic term or its transliteration (per the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies). Note: be sure to use terms that will be common among the alternative morphological and syntactical renderings of the term in Arabic.

The following conventions are used:

• * indicates an extrapolation, usually with respect to the form of the term, i.e. that the author used the term in a different form
• ** indicates an old translation that the author replaced in a more recent work; only used when the author translates the same Arabic term in the same usage (this is only used in cases where we were aware of the discrepancy; there are no doubt many such translations that are not marked)
• ~ indicates that it is unclear for which among the different usages of the term the author intended the translation
• [ ] indicates that what is enclosed functions to identify the usage
• ( ) indicates that what is enclosed is a completion of the term and does not literally render any equivalent in the Arabic term; often the noun normally paired with an adjective