Girl · Arabic · Muslim
Tabassum
تبسمSay it ta-BUS-sum
- Meaning
- Smiling; a smile, less than a laugh Lane, p. 206
- Say it
- ta-BUS-sum
- Written
- تبسم
- Other spellings
- Tabbasum, Tabasum
Tabassum
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Tabassum meaning
Tabassum (تبسم) is a Muslim girl's name of Arabic origin.
Smiling; a smile, less than a laugh
Tabassum is the Arabic verbal noun of tabassama, 'to smile', from the root b-s-m. Lane's lexicon explains that it means less than laughing: opening the lips as one who shows the teeth, or laughing in the least degree and in the most beautiful manner, without a sound. Lane adds that clouds were said to 'smile' when they showed a faint flash of lightning, and that bassām means 'one who smiles much'. The verb appears in the Quran (27:19), where Solomon smiles at the words of an ant. In Urdu tabassum is the ordinary literary word for a smile. The name is used for girls in India and Pakistan; the actress and television host Tabassum (1944–2022) used it as her screen name.
Source: Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon, Book I, Part 1 (1863), p. 206 · entry تَبَسَّمَ (root بسم) · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Lane, tabassama, p. 206 (scan) · Quran 27:19 (quran.com) · Wikipedia, Tabassum (actress)
Famous namesakes
- Tabassum (1944–2022), Indian actress and host of the television talk show Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan
Spellings
Tabassum · Tabbasum · Tabasum