Abstract
This article discusses the contribution of the Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ dictionary written by Buṭrus al-Bustānī, one of the leading figures of the Nahḍa, to the development of modern Arabic lexicography. This lexical endeavor is examined not only as part of a proto-national project, but as a pivotal moment in the development of modern Arabic lexical thought and in particular in al-Bustānī’s vision.
 Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ constituted an important pedagogical step in transforming classical Arabic into “a living” language adapted to the needs of the Arab nation. However, although Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ took the first crucial steps toward creating a modern Arabic lexical source, this dictionary mainly extends the age-old Arabic tradition of lexicography. It nevertheless paved the way to al-Bustānī’s final work, the encyclopedia Dāʾirat al-maʿārif, his most monumental effort and the cornerstone of al-Bustānī’s modern lexical vision.
Highlights
By the end of the eighteenth century, Classical Arabic, the formal literary language, was only written by small numbers of the elite, whose output was limited to traditional Muslim writings
To better understand the contribution of Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ in the transition to modern lexicography this section provides a short overview of the origins and the development of Arabic lexicography in the Arab world, including the main paradigmatic models found in Arabic lexical works
The features of Muḥīṭ al-Muḥīṭ can be better understood when comparing the entries against four key sources: (1) Dāirat al-maārif; (2) Lisān al-ʿArab; (3) The modern dictionary al-Munjid by Père Louis Malūf (1367H/1946CE), which first appeared in 1326H/1908CE along with a bio-bibliographical and literary supplement that was added in 1376H/1956CE, which remains the handiest lexicon of our time for the student of the language;[31] (4) the modern online dictionary al-maānī
Summary
By the end of the eighteenth century, Classical Arabic, the formal literary language, was only written by small numbers of the elite, whose output was limited to traditional Muslim writings. It was far removed from the language of the population at large, the overwhelming majority of whom were illiterate and spoke only colloquial Arabic, which was as distant from the literary language as dialects are today. Though Classical Arabic was the norm, it is clear from eighteenth century literary sources that very few authors possessed the required skills since there were many deviations from the norm—either straightforward errors or colloquialisms.[1]
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