Different Affixal Forms with the Same Meaning: A Morphological‑Linguistic Study

Abstract

This study investigates augmented morphological patterns that differ in structure yet share the same meaning. It documents these forms based on works of morphology, lexicographical sources, and linguistic studies, re-examines the principle that an increase in meaning necessarily corresponds to an increase in form, interprets Qurʾanic readings occurring on these patterns, and clarifies scholars’ positions regarding the linguistic overlap among them.

A key finding of the study is that the principle “an increase in meaning corresponds to an increase in form” admits exceptions and cannot be applied without qualification. Certain augmented patterns differ in morphological structure while remaining semantically equivalent, resulting in cases where the basic and augmented forms converge in meaning, such as tafāʿala and iftaʿala (tajāwarū / ijtawarū), istafʿala and faʿala (istaqarra / qarra), and istafʿala and tafaʿʿala (istakbara / takabbara), among others.

Sībawayh and subsequent linguists attributed this phenomenon to dialectal interpenetration. They maintained that doubling the second radical of a transitive verb typically indicates frequency of action, whereas in intransitive verbs it often serves to render the verb transitive rather than to denote multiplicity. They further observed that the form faʿala may occasionally correspond to faʿʿala in expressing intensification, though this is rare and remains linguistically acceptable as attested in classical Arabic. Moreover, not every verb on the pattern fāʿala implies reciprocity, as in sāfara, which denotes an action performed by a single agent.