In his book of tafsir, Imam al-Shawkaani brought the following discussion about the meaning of the term al-Maseeh (the Messiah). Imam al-Shawkaani generally borrowed heavily – even word for word – from Imam al-Qurtubi’s linguistic discussions, often summarizing and simplifying them into a list format. Some supplementary notes from al-Qurtubi will be mentioned here in brackets [] for the sake of clarity:

[والمسيح لقب لعيسى ومعناه الصديق ; قاله إبراهيم النخعي . ـ]

[al-Maseeh is a title for ‘Eesaa (Jesus) and its meaning is al-Siddeeq (“the truthful one”) – this is what Ibrahim al-Nakha’ee said.]

والمسيح اختلف فيه مماذا أخذ ؟ فقيل : من المسح ; لأنه مسح الأرض ; أي : ذهب فيها فلم يستكن بكن ، وقيل : إنه كان لا يمسح ذا عاهة إلا برئ ، فسمي مسيحا ، فهو على هذين فعيل بمعنى فاعل ، ـ

al-Maseeh – there is differing as to where it was derived. So it is said: (it was derived) from al-mash (wiping), for he swept over the earth, meaning he traversed over it and did not take residence in any dwelling place.

And it is said: It was the case that he would not touch someone with an infirmity except that they would be cured, so he was called Maseeh.

So according to these two meaning, it takes the form of an adjective with the meaning of an active participle.

وقيل : لأنه كان يمسح بالدهن [البركة] الذي كانت الأنبياء تمسح به [ طيب الرائحة ; فإذا مسح به علم أنه نبي . ] ، وقيل : لأنه كان ممسوح الأخمصين ، وقيل : لأن الجمال مسحه ، وقيل : لأنه مسح بالتطهير من الذنوب ، وهو على هذه الأربعة الأقوال فعيل بمعنى مفعول . ـ

And it is said: (He is called that) because he was anointed with [blessed] oil, as the prophets used to be anointed with that, [having a good scent. So if one was anointed with it, then it was known that he was a prophet].

And it is said: because the soles of his feet were anointed (with ointment).

And it is said:because beauty of his cleanliness.

And it is said: because he was cleansed with purity from sins.

And according to these four meaning, it is an adjective taking the meaning of a passive participle.

وقال أبو الهيثم : المسيح ضد المسيخ بالخاء المعجمة . وقال ابن الأعرابي المسيح الصديق . ـ

And Abu Haytham said: al-Maseeh is the opposite of the obscure word al-maseekh (meaning “misshapen”). And ibn al-‘Arabi said: al-Maseeh means al-Siddeeq (“the truthful one”).

وقال أبو عبيد : أصله بالعبرانية مشيخا بالمعجمتين فعرب كما عرب موشى بموسى . وأما الدجال فسمي مسيحا ; لأنه ممسوح إحدى العينين ، وقيل : لأنه يمسح الأرض أي يطوف بلدانها إلا مكة والمدينة وبيت المقدس . ـ

Abu ‘Ubayd said: It’s root in Hebrew is Masheekh according to the two lexicons, so it was arabized just as Moshe was arabized as Moosaa. As for al-Dajjaal, then he is called maseeh because one of his eyes is rubbed over. And it is said: because he will sweep over the earth, meaning he will tour its lands, except for Mecca, al-Madeenah and Bait al-Maqdis.

[وقد قيل : إن المسيح اسم لعيسى غير مشتق سماه الله به . فعلى هذا يكون عيسى بدلا من المسيح من البدل الذي هو هو . ـ]

[And it has been said that al-Maseeh is a proper name for ‘Eesaa which is not derived from anything; that Allah named him with it. So according to this, the name ‘Eesaa can be substituted for al-Maseeh just as ‘him’ and ‘him’ can substituted for one another.]