# رب
## Arabic
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *rabb-.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /rab.ba/

#### Verb

رَبَّ • (rabba) I (non-past يَرُبُّ (yarubbu), verbal noun رَبّ (rabb) or رِبَاب (ribāb))
* to be master, to be lord
* to have possession, to gather, to control
* to have authority over, to govern
* to impact, to comprise, to contain
* to collect, to congregate
* to grow, to increase, to become greater

##### Conjugation
#### Verb

رَبَّ • (rabba) I (non-past يَرُبُّ (yarubbu), verbal noun رَبّ (rabb))
* to bring up, to raise (a child)

##### Conjugation
### Etymology 2

From Proto-Semitic *rabb-.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /rabb/

#### Noun

رَبّ • (rabb) m (plural أَرْبَاب (ʔarbāb) or رُبُوب (rubūb), feminine رَبَّة (rabba))
* Lord, an epithet of God
    اَللهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِين ― allāhu rabbu l-ʕālamīn ― God is Lord of the Worlds
    الرَّبّ ― ar-rabb ― the LORD
* god, deity
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 12:39:يَاصَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ ءَأَرْبَابٌ مُّتَفَرِّقُونَ خَيْرٌ أَمِ اللہُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ[Joseph said:] "O my two companions of the prison! Are many different deities better than God the One [Who is the Source of all things], the Overpowering?"
* master, lord, king, sovereign, potentate
    Coordinate terms: عَبْد (ʕabd), خَادِم (ḵādim)
    رَبُّ الدَّار ― rabbu d-dār ― master of the house
    رَبُّ الْعَائِلَة ― rabbu l-ʕāʔila ― paterfamilias
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 12:41:يَا صَاحِبَيِ السِّجْنِ أَمَّا أَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِي رَبَّهُ خَمْرًا ۖ وَأَمَّا الْآخَرُ فَيُصْلَبُ فَتَأْكُلُ الطَّيْرُ مِن رَّأْسِهِyā ṣāḥibayi s-sijni ʔammā ʔaḥadukumā fayasqī rabbahu ḵamran waʔammā l-ʔāḵaru fayuṣlabu fataʔkulu ṭ-ṭayru min raʔsihi“O my fellow inmates! One of you will serve his master wine; while the other will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. Thus the matter you are inquiring about is settled.”
* leader, chief, head
    رَبُّ بَحْرِيّ ― rabbu baḥriyy ― seaman (naval rank)
* owner, proprietor
* (with a following genitive) one possessed of, one endowed with
* (with a following genitive) having to do with
* verbal noun of رَبَّ (rabba) (form I)

##### Related terms

* رُبُوبِيَّة (rubūbiyya)
* رُبَّان (rubbān)
* إِلَٰه (ʔilāh)
* الله (allāh)

##### Descendants

* → Afar: Rábbi
* → Azerbaijani: rəbb, Rəbb
* → Bashkir: раббы (rabbı)
* → Bengali: রব (robo)
* → Ottoman Turkish: رب (rabb)
** Serbo-Croatian: rȁb, ра̏б
* (via plural) → Ottoman Turkish: ارباب
** Turkish: erbap
** → Macedonian: ербап (erbap)

### Etymology 3
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /rubb/

#### Noun

رُبّ • (rubb) m (plural رِبَاب (ribāb) or رُبُوب (rubūb))
* thickened fruit juice, thickened juice
* mash, pulp

##### Derived terms

* → Middle Armenian: ռուպ (ṙup), ըռուպ (əṙup)
* → Persian: رب (rob)
* → Spanish: arrope
** → English: arrope

##### See also

* مُرَبَّب (murabbab, “jam, marmalade”)

### Etymology 4

From Proto-Semitic *rabb-.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /rub.ba/

#### Adjective

رُبَّ • (rubba)
* (with a following indefinite genitive) many
    رُبَّ رَجُلٍ (rubba rajulin, “many a man”)
    رُبَّ مَرَّةٍ (rubba marratin, “many a time”)

##### Declension

Indeclinable, followed by the indefinite genitive singular.

#### Adverb

رُبَّ • (rubba) (with following genitive)
* likely, perhaps, mayhap, potentially

#### Usage notes

Sometimes considered a preposition, an adverb or an adjective, it can mean both profusion (something happens a lot) or rarity (something could possibly happen). See the following example:
    رُبَّ فَقِيرٍ مُهَانٍ وَهُوَ غَنِيُّ ٱلنَّفْسِ.rubba faqīrin muhānin wahuwa ḡaniyyu n-nafsi.Many a despised poor man may have a rich soul.
    رُبَّ طَالِبٍ مُجْتَهِدٍ يَفْشَلُ.rubba ṭālibin mujtahidin yafšalu.Even a hardworking student can possibly fail.

#### Derived terms

* رُبَّمَا (rubbamā)

### Etymology 5
#### Verb

رَبِّ • (rabbi) (form II) /rab.bi/
* second-person masculine singular imperative of رَبَّى (rabbā)

## Persian
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic رَبّ (rabb).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [ɾabβ]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [räb(ː)]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [räb(ː)]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [räb(ː)]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [räb(ː)]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [ɹæb̥(ː)]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [ɾäb(ː)]

#### Proper noun

رب • (rab)
* the Lord, God

#### Noun

رب • (rabb)
* (obsolete) master, lord

##### Usage notes

* In modern Persian, ارباب (arbâb, originally the Arabic plural of رب) should be used for "lord," even in the singular. رب should be used only for God.

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic رُبّ (rubb).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [ɾubβ], [ɾaβ]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [rʊb(ː)], [räb]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [rʊb(ː)], [räb]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [rʊb(ː)], [räb]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [rub(ː)], [räb̥]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [ɹob̥(ː)], [ɹæb̥]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [ɾub(ː)], [ɾäb]

#### Noun

رب • (rob)
* tomato sauce

## Punjabi
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian رب (rabb), from Arabic رَبّ (rabb).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Punjabi) IPA: /ɾəb.bə̆/, [ɾɐbˑə̆]

### Noun

رَبّ • (rabb) m (Gurmukhi spelling ਰੱਬ)
* Lord; An epithet for God.
    Synonyms: خُدا (xudā), اللہ (allāh), واہِگُرُو (vāhigurū)
* (in compounds) owner; possessor

#### Declension
### Further reading

* Iqbal, Salah ud-Din (2002) “رب”, in vaḍḍī panjābī lughat‎ (in Punjabi), Lahore: ʻAzīz Pablisharz
* “ਰੱਬ”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2025

## Urdu
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian رب (rab, rabb), from Arabic رَبّ (rabb).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /ɾəb/
* Rhymes: -əb
* Hyphenation: رَب

### Noun

رَب • (rab) m (formal plural ارباب, Hindi spelling रब)
* Lord; An epithet for God.
    Synonyms: خدا (xudā), اللہ (allāh), بھگوان (bhagvān)
* (in compounds) owner; possessor

#### Related terms

* رَبّا (rabbā)

### Further reading

* “رب”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* “رب”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
* Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “رب”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.