Lamis — Name Meaning in Islam

Root: ل-م-س (l-m-s), "to touch, to feel with the hand". Lamīs is on the faʿīl pattern, and the classical dictionaries record it plainly as the woman who is soft to the touch — a name that describes by way of a sense rather than a virtue, which is characteristic of the older layer of Arabic women's names.

From the same root: lams (touch, one of the five senses), malmūs (tangible, what can be felt), mulāmasa (contact), and iltimās — literally the feeling-about for something in the dark, and so a request or petition, the word modern Arabic uses for an appeal. The Qur'an uses the verb for the disbelievers' demand that a scripture be sent down on paper so that they could touch it with their hands (al-Anʿam 6:7).

Note: the name belongs with Rīm, Mahā and Ward — names taken from a quality perceived directly rather than from an abstract virtue like patience or faith. Both kinds are old in Arabic, and neither is a later invention.

Spellings: Lamis, Lamees, Lamice (French), Lemis (Turkish transcription), Lamis (Indonesian), Lamees (Urdu), لميس.

Pronunciation: la-MEES, stress on the long second syllable; the final s is sīn, unvoiced.

Masculine counterpart: none in common use.