# ابن
## Arabic
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *bin-.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ibn/
* Audio:(file)

#### Noun

اِبْن • (ibn) m (plural أَبْنَاء (ʔabnāʔ) or بَنُون (banūn) or بَنَات (banāt), feminine اِبْنَة (ibna) or بِنْت (bint))
* son
    بُنَيَّ/بُنَيَّتِي ― bunayya/bunayyatī ― my dear son/daughter (diminutive)
    اِبْنُ آدَمَ ― ibnu ʔādama ― human (literally, “son of Adam”)
* descendant, scion
* offspring, son of the fatherland
* member (of a group or set of people or things)

##### Usage notes

* The plural بَنَات (banāt) is used as the plural of اِبْن (ibn) if and only if the referents are things or non-human animals.

##### Alternative forms

* بْن (bn)

##### Related terms

* بُنُوَّة (bunuwwa)
* بَنَوِيّ (banawiyy)
* تَبَنٍّ (tabannin)

##### Descendants

* Hijazi Arabic: ابن (ibin)
* Maltese: iben
* Moroccan Arabic: بن (bin)
* → Swahili: bin

### Etymology 2
#### Verb

اِبْنِ • (ibni) (form I) /ib.ni/
* second-person masculine singular imperative of بَنَى (banā)

### References

* Wehr, Hans (1979) “بن”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

## North Levantine Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic اِبْن (ibn).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Aleppo) /ʔibn/, [ˈʔɨbən]
* IPA: (Beirut) /ʔibn/, [ˈʔɪb(ɪ)n]

### Noun

ابن • (ibin) m (plural ولاد (wlād) or صبيان (ṣibyān, ṣubyān))
* son

#### Usage notes

* The plural ولاد (wlād) can mean “sons” specifically, but also “children” in general. The alternative plural is used to explicitly specify the masculine.

#### See also

* بنت (bint)
* شب (šabb)
* صبيه (ṣabīye)
* طفل (ṭifil, ṭufil)
* ولد (walad)

## Persian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic اِبْن (ibn).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [ʔiβn]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ʔɪbn]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [ʔɪbn]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [ʔɪbn]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [ʔibn]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [ʔebn]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [ʔibn]

### Noun

اِبن • (ebn)
* ibn; a word meaning "son", used only in patronymic names and certain literary expressions borrowed from Arabic.
    ابن سینا ― ebn-e sinâ ― Avicenna
    ابن عربی ― ebn-e 'arabi ― Ibn Arabi
    ابن هیثم ― ebn-e heysam ― Ibn al-Haytham

#### Usage notes

* In names, it is used with the ezâfe.

## South Levantine Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic اِبْن (ibn).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʔibn/, [ʔi.b(ɪ)n]
* Audio (al-Lidd):(file)

### Noun

ابن • (ʔibn) m (plural ولاد (wlād), feminine بنت (bint))
* son
    Synonym: ولد (walad)

## Urdu
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian اِبْن (ibn), from Arabic اِبْن (ibn).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /ɪbn/

### Noun

اِبْن • (ibn) m (Hindi spelling इब्न)
* son, child
* offspring
* slave

### References

* “ابن”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* “ابن”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.

## Yemeni Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic اِبْن (ibn).

### Noun

ابن (ibn, ubn) m (plural بني (banī))
* son
* side-branch of a tree

### References

* Piamenta, Moshe (1991) Dictionary of Post-Classical Yemeni Arabic, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 39b–40b