ملح

Core meaning

Salt: salty water, set against sweet water in the pair of the two seas.

Uses

1. مِلْحٌ → "salty" : a quality of one of the two waters, always followed by أُجَاج, "bitter".

   • «وَهَٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌۭ» — "and that one salty, bitter" (25:53)
   • «وَهَٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌۭ» — "and that one is salty, bitter" (35:12)

Evidence from the text

Both occurrences use the same pair: one water "sweet, fresh", the other "salty, bitter" (25:53, 35:12). مِلْح never appears alone; with عَذْب it forms the contrast of the two seas that God makes meet (25:53) and that are not equal (35:12).

Distinctions

• عذب — sweet water, the opposite pole
• اجج — bitterness, which always follows

See also

بحر (the two seas)