Mashrabaمشربة

سيبa root indicating the continuing of a thing and its going on, as water running in its … (root syb)

السين والياء والباء أصل يدل على استمرار شيء وذهابه

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

سيب
Patterns computed · our data

The words of س ي ب that our sources attest: the root's letters in green, the added letters in gold.

14 words4 verbs2 verbal nouns1 participle4 other nouns3 plurals

  • اِنْسابَflow; stream
  • سَابَit ran
  • سيّبَhe left, left alone, or neglected, a thing
  • سَائِبrunning water
  • سِيبplace, or channel, in which water runs
The whole family5 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs4سَابَ · اِنْسابَ · سيّبَ

The root as an action: the bare Form I, and the Forms made by adding letters before, inside or after the root.grammar →

  • سَابَit ranLaneForm ILane
  • اِنْسابَflow; streamauto · Lane: see Form IForm VIIlibrary ×6Lane
  • سيّبَhe left, left alone, or neglected, a thingLaneForm IILaneIbn Fāris
  • اسابَForm IVLane
Verbal nouns2سَيْب · سَيَبَان

The action itself, named as a noun (maṣdar).grammar →

  • سَيْبForm I · Lane: inf. n.LaneIbn Fāris
  • سَيَبَانForm I · Lane: inf. n.Lane
Participles1سَائِب

The one who does it, and the one it is done to.grammar →

  • سَائِبrunning waterLaneactive, Form ILane
Other nouns4سَيَاب · سَيَابَة · سُيَّاب

Nouns on other patterns; their meaning is learned word by word.grammar →

Plurals3سُيَّب · سُيُوب · سَوَائِب

Broken plurals rebuild the word on a new pattern; sound plurals add an ending.grammar →

  • سُيَّبbroken plural of سَائِبَةLaneIbn Fāris
  • سُيُوبbroken plural of سَيْبLaneIbn Fāris
  • سَوَائِبbroken plural of سَائِبَةLane
Why this shape?What each of the 8 patterns does

What each pattern does. The pattern gives a tendency, not a rule: many words have drifted into meanings of their own.

The pattern machinePour the root into a pattern; see whether the word exists

Choose a pattern; the root's letters pour into it. Then see whether the word exists in our sources. The machine makes shapes; only usage makes words.

مَفْعَلَةس ي بمَسْيَبَة

Not in our sources. A possible shape, not a word we can show: the Quran, the library and Lane do not have it for this root.

Place noun with -a. The place noun with the feminine -a. Sometimes it is only a variant of mafʿal; often it names the place where a thing is found in abundance (maʾsada, 'a place full of lions'). So maktab is the place of writing, and maktaba, where writings are gathered: a library, a bookshop. Our summary

But: maktaba is not in our classical dictionaries for k-t-b: Lane and al-Jawharī give maktab ('a school'), none gives maktaba. Its sense of 'library, bookshop' fits the pattern of abundance, but that is our reading of the pattern, not a classical entry. Many mafʿala words are single items of usage (maqbara 'cemetery'), which the grammarians call heard, not formed by rule.

The grammarians on this pattern (4)
  • ما يكون مفعلة لازمة لها الهاء والفتحة … وذلك إذا أردت أن تكثر الشيء بالمكان، وذلك قولك: أرض مسبعة، ومأسدة

    Chapter on what is mafʿala, with the -a and the a-vowel always: that is when you mean that a thing abounds in a place, as you say 'a land of many beasts of prey (masbaʿa), of many lions (maʾsada)'

    Sībawayh (d. c. 180/796), al-Kitāb, ed. ʿAbd al-Salām Hārūn, 3rd ed. (Cairo: al-Khānjī, 1988), 4:94 · OpenITI line 21027–21028 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  • و نحو المظنة و المقبرة فتحا و ضما ليس بقياس

    and words like maẓinna and maqbara (with a or u) are not by rule

    Ibn al-Ḥājib (d. 646/1249), al-Shāfiya fī ʿilm al-taṣrīf, ed. Ḥasan Aḥmad al-ʿUthmān (Mecca: al-Maktaba al-Makkiyya, 1995), 1:30 · OpenITI line 223 ↗ · on this site · OpenITI RELEASE v2025.1.9, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  • “designate the place where the object signified by the noun from which they are formed, is found in large numbers or quantities” Wright, Grammar I, §247, p. 148 ↗ · on nouns of abundance, maf'ala · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain
  • “Nouns of time and place not unfrequently take the feminine form” Wright, Grammar I, §225, p. 128 ↗ · on maf'ala as a variant of maf'al · 3rd ed. (Cambridge, 1896) · public domain

This root has a weak or doubled letter, so real words change shape (qāla → qāʾil, not qāwil); the machine pours the letters in as they are, and matches attested words by their regular pattern.

About thisWhat “attested” means here; the sources

Attested means found in our data: the Quranic Arabic Corpus (lemmas, verb Forms, participles, verbal nouns, plurals), the library's words (automatic analysis), Lane's Lexicon (his headwords, the Forms he numbers, the verbal nouns and plurals he names) and Ibn Fāris's entry. Nothing is generated for this list. Meanings are Lane's first gloss in his entry, or else the analyser's gloss (“auto”). Vowelling follows the corpus, then Lane, then the analyser; verbs are given in the regular perfect. Lane's Lexicon thins out after qāf, and a few of his entries cover several roots at once: those roots show no Lane. The patterns, written with ف ع ل, are computed by us.

English: AI translation
  • al-Khalīl · 170As-sayb (السيب): kindness/favor (al-ma'rūf) and a gift.

    al-Khalīl b. Aḥmad (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn. The first Arabic dictionary, arranged by permutations of the root letters.

    As-sayb (السيب): kindness/favor (al-ma'rūf) and a gift. He said [poem #368]: "I spread out for them my sayb (سيبي) with a generous hand, which gives generously whenever the deceiving soul withholds its generosity." [And as-sayb (السيب): the course of water, its plural being suyūb (سيوب); one says sāba al-mā' yasību (ساب الماء يسيب) when it flows] [#369]. And the snake tasību (تسيب) and tansābu (تنساب) when it moves along continuously. And sayyabtu ad-dābbah (سيبت الدابة), or any thing, means: I left it to go (yasību) wherever it wished. And as-sā'ibah (السائبة): the slave who is freed and then made sā'ibah (سائبة) for God's sake, so that his patronage (walā') does not belong to the one who freed him, and he disposes of his property wherever he wishes after his death. And as-suyūb (السيوب): buried treasure (rikāz). And as-siyāb (السياب) and as-siyyāb (السيّاب), whether light or doubled: unripe dates. And sāyabat an-nakhlah (سايبت النخلة) its fruit before it ripened means: it dropped it. And the camel, when it has borne young in two [successive breeding cycles] and its offspring's offspring has appeared, grazes wherever it wishes, and is neither ridden nor put to use. Bys [#370]: Baysān is a place name.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السيب: المعروف والعطاء، قال «368» : بسطت لهم سيبي بكف مشيعة ... تجود إذا ما خادع النفس جودها [والسيب: مجرى الماء، وجمعه: سيوب، وقد ساب الماء يسيب، إذا جرى] «369» . والحية تسيب وتنساب، إذا مرت مستمرة. وسيبت الدابة أو الشيء: تركته يسيب حيث شاء. والسائبة: العبد، يعتق ثم يجعل سائبة لله لا يكون ولاؤه لمن يعتقه، ويضع ماله حيث شاء بعد موته. والسيوب: الركاز. والسياب والسياب، يخفف ويشدد: البلح. وسايبت النخلة ثمرتها قبل أن تدرك، أي: ألقتها. والبعير إذا نتج سنتين، وأدرك نتاج نتاجه يرعى حيث شاء، لا يركب ولا يستعمل. بيس «370» : بيسان: موضع.

  • al-Jawharī · 393As-sayb (السيب): a gift.

    al-Jawharī (d. c. 393/1003), al-Ṣiḥāḥ. Admits only usage he judged sound.

    As-sayb (السيب): a gift. As-suyūb (السيوب): buried treasure (rikāz). As-sayb (السيب): the verbal noun of sāba al-mā' yasību (ساب الماء يسيب), i.e., it flowed. As-sayb (السيب), with kasra: the course of water. 'Insāba fulān naḥwakum' (انساب فلان نحوكم) means he went back/returned toward you. 'Insābat al-ḥayyah' (انسابت الحية): the snake glided along. 'Sayyabtu ad-dābbah' (سيبت الدابة): I left it to go (tasību) wherever it wished. As-sā'ibah (السائبة): the she-camel that used to be set loose (tusayyab) in the Jāhiliyyah on account of a vow or the like. It has also been said: she is the mother of al-baḥīrah (البحيرة) — when a she-camel had given birth to ten offspring, all of them female, she was set loose (sayyibat), not ridden, and her milk was drunk by none but her young or a guest, until she died; and when she died, both men and women together ate her, and her last daughter's ear was slit (buḥḥirat), so she was called al-baḥīrah (البحيرة), occupying the same status as her mother in being sā'ibah (سائبة). The plural is sayyib (سيّب), like nā'iḥah/nūḥ (نائحة ونوح) and nā'imah/nawm (نائمة ونوم). As-sā'ibah (السائبة): the slave — if a man said to his slave-boy, 'You are sā'ibah (سائبة),' he was thereby freed, and his patronage (walā') did not belong to the one who freed him, and he could dispose of his property wherever he wished; this is the practice concerning which the prohibition [in ḥadīth] came. As-siyāb (السياب), on the pattern of as-saḥāb (السحاب): unripe dates. As-sayābah (السيابة): a single unripe date, and a man was named after it; when you double [the yā'] you also give it ḍamma, saying: sayyāb (سيّاب) and sayyābah (سيّابة). As-sawbān (السوبان): the name of a valley.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السيب: العطاء. والسيوب: الركاز. والسيب: مصدر ساب الماء يسيب، أي جرى. والسيب، بالكسر: مجرى الماء. وانساب فلان نحوكم، أي رجع. وانسابت الحية: جرت. وسيبت الدابة: تركتها تسيب حيث شاءت. والسائبة: الناقة التي كانت تسيب في الجاهلية لنذر ونحوه. وقد قيل: هي أم البحيرة، كانت الناقة إذا ولدت عشرة أبطن كلهن إناث سيبت فلم تركب ولم يشرب لبنها إلا ولدها أو الضيف حتى تموت، فإذا ماتت أكلها الرجال والنساء جميعا وبحرت أذن بنتها الاخيرة فتسمى البحيرة، بمنزلة أمها في أنها سائبة. والجمع سيب، مثل نائحة ونوح، ونائمة ونوم. والسائبة: العبد، كان الرجل إذا قال لغلامه أنت سائبة فقد عتق، ولا يكون ولاؤه لمعتقه، ويضع ماله حيث شاء، وهو الذي ورد النهي عنه. والسياب، مثال السحاب: البلح. والسيابة: البلحة، وبها سمي الرجل، فإذا شددته ضممته، قلت: سياب وسيابة. والسوبان: اسم واد.

  • Ibn Fāris · 395The letters sīn, yā', and bā' form a root indicating the continuity of something and its going away/flowing off.

    Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004), Maqāyīs al-Lugha. Seeks each root's original sense (aṣl).

    The letters sīn, yā', and bā' form a root indicating the continuity of something and its going away/flowing off. From this: sayb al-mā' (سيب الماء) is its course/channel, and the snake 'insābat' (انسابت) - meaning it glided along continuously (insiyāban). It is said 'sayyabtu ad-dābbah' (سيبت الدابة) - I left it (the riding animal) to go wherever it wished. And as-sā'ibah (السائبة) is a slave who is set loose/freed (yusayyab) without patronage (walā'), and who disposes of his property wherever he wishes. From this same chapter is as-sayb (السيب), meaning a gift, as if it were something made to flow to him. And as-suyūb (السيوب) is buried treasure (rikāz), as if it were a gift that God, exalted is He, caused to flow to whoever found it. What deviates from this root is as-siyāb (السياب), meaning unripe dates, the singular of which is sayābah (سيابة).

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السين والياء والباء أصل يدل على استمرار شيء وذهابه من ذلك سيب الماء مجراه وانسآبت الحية انسيابا ويقال سيبت الدابة تركته حيث شاء والسائبة العبد يسيب من غير ولاء يضع ماله حيث شاء ومن الباب السيب وهو العطاء كأنه شيء أجري له والسيوب الركاز كأنه عطاء أجراه الله تعالى لمن وجده ومما شذ عن هذا الأصل السياب وهو البلح الواحدة سيابة

  • al-Rāghib · 502As-sā'ibah (السائبة): the [she-camel] that is set loose (tasību) to pasture, not being turned away from a watering-trough nor from fodder;

    al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī (d. c. 502/1108), al-Mufradāt. Quranic vocabulary, from core sense to Quranic usage.

    As-sā'ibah (السائبة): the [she-camel] that is set loose (tasību) to pasture, not being turned away from a watering-trough nor from fodder; that is when she has borne five offspring. 'Insābat al-ḥayyah insiyāban' (انسابت الحية انسيابا): the snake glided along. And as-sā'ibah (السائبة): the slave who is freed, whose patronage (walā') belongs to the one who freed him, and who disposes of his property wherever he wishes — this is what the prohibition [note 1] concerns. As-sayb (السيب): a gift. As-sayb (السيب): the course of water, its origin being from 'sayyabtuhu fa-sāba' (سيبته فساب), i.e., I let it loose and it flowed.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السائبة: التي تسيب في المرعى، فلا ترد عن حوض، ولا علف، وذلك إذا ولدت خمسة أبطن، وانسابت الحية انسيابا، والسائبة: العبد يعتق، ويكون ولاؤه لمعتقه، ويضع ماله حيث شاء، وهو الذي ورد النهي «1» عنه، والسيب: العطاء، والسيب: مجرى الماء، وأصله من: سيبته فساب.

  • Lisān · 711An-Nihāyah of Ibn al-Athīr: In the ḥadīth of Ibn 'Umar, may God be pleased with them both, as-sawbiyyah (السوبية) is mentioned — with ḍamma on the sīn, kasra on the single-dotted bā', followed by a yā' with two dots bene

    Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711/1311), Lisān al-ʿArab. The great compendium of the earlier dictionaries (entry shortened).

    An-Nihāyah of Ibn al-Athīr: In the ḥadīth of Ibn 'Umar, may God be pleased with them both, as-sawbiyyah (السوبية) is mentioned — with ḍamma on the sīn, kasra on the single-dotted bā', followed by a yā' with two dots beneath it: a well-known fermented drink (nabīdh) made from wheat, which the people of Egypt frequently drink.

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    السيب: العطاء، والعرف، والنافلة. وفي حديث الاستسقاء: واجعله سيبا نافعا أي عطاء، ويجوز أن يريد مطرا سائبا أي جاريا. والسيوب: الركاز، لأنها من سيب الله وعطائه؛ وقال ثعلب: هي المعادن. وفي كتابه لوائل بن حجر: وفي السيوب الخمس؛ قال أبو عبيد: السيوب: الركاز؛ قال: ولا أراه أخذ إلا من السيب، وهو العطاء؛ وأنشد: فما أنا، من ريب المنون، بجبإ، ... وما أنا، من سيب الإله، بآيس وقال أبو سعيد: السيوب عروق من الذهب والفضة، تسيب في المعدن أي تتكون فيه «2» وتظهر، سميت سيوبا لانسيابها في الأرض. قال الزمخشري: السيوب جمع سيب، يريد به المال المدفون في الجاهلية، أو المعدن لأنه، من فضل الله وعطائه، لمن أصابه. وسيب الفرس: شعر ذنبه. والسيب: مردي السفينة. والسيب مصدر ساب الماء يسيب سيبا: جرى. والسيب: مجرى الماء، وجمعه سيوب. وساب يسيب: مشى مسرعا. وسابت الحية تسيب إذا مضت مسرعة؛ أنشد ثعلب: أتذهب سلمى في اللمام، فلا ترى، ... وبالليل أيم حيث شاء يسيب؟ وكذلك انسابت تنساب. وساب الأفعى وانساب إذا خرج من مكمنه. وفي الحديث: أن رجلا شرب من سقاء؛ فانسابت في بطنه حية، فنهي عن الشرب من فم السقاء ، أي دخلت وجرت مع جريان الماء. يقال: ساب الماء وانساب إذا جرى. وانساب فلان نحوكم: رجع. وسيب الشيء: تركه. وسيب الدابة، أو الناقة، أو الشيء: تركه يسيب حيث شاء. وكل دابة تركتها وسومها، فهي سائبة. والسائبة: العبد يعتق على أن لا ولاء له. والسائبة: البعير يدرك نتاج نتاجه، فيسيب، ولا يركب، ولا يحمل عليه. والسائبة التي في القرآن العزيز، في قوله تعالى: ما جعل الله من بحيرة ولا سائبة ؛ كان الرجل في الجاهلية إذا قدم من سفر بعيد، أو برئ من علة، أو نجته دابة من مشقة أو حرب قال: ناقتي سائبة أي تسيب فلا ينتفع بظهرها، ولا تحلأ عن ماء، ولا تمنع من كلإ، ولا تركب؛ وقيل: بل كان ينزع من ظهرها فقارة، أو عظما، فتعرف بذلك؛ فأغير على رجل من العرب، فلم يجد دابة يركبها، فركب سائبة، فقيل: أتركب حراما؟ فقال: يركب الحرام من لا حلال له، فذهبت مثلا. وفي الصحاح: السائبة الناقة التي كانت تسيب، في الجاهلية، لنذر ونحوه؛ وقد قيل: هي أم البحيرة؛ كانت الناقة إذا ولدت عشرة أبطن، كلهن إناث، سيبت فلم تركب، ولم يشرب لبنها إلا ولدها أو الضيف حتى تموت، فإذا ماتت أكلها الرجال والنساء جميعا، وبحرت أذن بنتها الأخيرة، فتسمى البحيرة، وهي بمنزلة أمها في أنها سائبة، والجمع سيب، مثل نائم ونوم، ونائحة ونوح. وكان الرجل إذا أعتق عبدا وقال: هو سائبة، فقد عتق، ولا يكون ولاؤه لمعتقه، ويضع ماله حيث شاء، وهو الذي ورد النهي عنه. قال ابن الأثير: قد تكرر في الحديث ذكر السائبة والسوائب؛ قال: كان الرجل إذا نذر لقدوم من سفر، أو برء من مرض، أو غير ذلك قال: ناقتي سائبة، فلا تمنع من ماء، ولا مرعى، ولا تحلب، ولا تركب؛ وكان إذا أعتق عبدا فقال: هو سائبة، فلا عقل بينهما، ولا ميراث؛ وأصله من تسييب الدواب، وهو إرسالها تذهب وتجيء، حيث شاءت. وفي الحديث: رأيت عمرو بن لحي يجر قصبه في النار ؛ وكان أول من سيب السوائب، وهي التي نهى الله عنها بقوله: ما جعل الله من بحيرة ولا سائبة ؛ فالسائبة: أم البحيرة، وهو مذكور في موضعه. وقيل: كان أبو العالية سائبة، فلما هلك، أتي مولاه بميراثه، فقال: هو سائبة، وأبى أن يأخذه. وقال الشافعي: إذا أعتق عبده سائبة، فمات العبد وخلف مالا، ولم يدع وارثا غير مولاه الذي أعتقه، فميراثه لمعتقه، لأن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، جعل الولاء لحمة كلحمة النسب، فكما أن لحمة النسب لا تنقطع، كذلك الولاء؛ وقد قال، صلى الله عليه وسلم: الولاء لمن أعتق. وروي عن عمر، رضي الله عنه، أنه قال: السائبة والصدقة ليومهما. قال أبو عبيدة، في قوله ليومهما، أي يوم القيامة، واليوم الذي كان أعتق سائبته، وتصدق بصدقته فيه. يقول: فلا يرجع إلى الانتفاع بشيء منها بعد ذلك في الدنيا، وذلك كالرجل يعتق عبده سائبة، فيموت العبد ويترك مالا، ولا وارث له، فلا ينبغي لمعتقه أن يرزأ من ميراثه شيئا، إلا أن يجعله في مثله. وقال ابن الأثير: قوله الصدقة والسائبة ليومهما، أي يراد بهما ثواب يوم القيامة؛ أي من أعتق سائبته، وتصدق بصدقة، فلا يرجع إلى الانتفاع بشيء منها بعد ذلك في الدنيا، وإن ورثهما عنه أحد، فليصرفهما في مثلهما، قال: وهذا على وجه الفضل، وطلب الأجر، لا على أنه حرام، وإنما كانوا يكرهون أن يرجعوا في شيء، جعلوه لله وطلبوا به الأجر. وفي حديث عبد الله: السائبة يضع ماله حيث شاء ؛ أي العبد الذي يعتق سائبة، ولا يكون ولاؤه لمعتقه، ولا وارث له، فيضع ماله حيث شاء، وهو الذي ورد النهي عنه. وفي الحديث: عرضت علي النار فرأيت صاحب السائبتين يدفع بعصا ، السائبتان: بدنتان أهداهما النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، إلى البيت، فأخذهما رجل من المشركين فذهب بهما؛ سماهما سائبتين لأنه سيبهما لله تعالى. وفي ح …

  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

    E. W. Lane (d. 1876), An Arabic-English Lexicon. English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

    سَابَ

    1. سَابَ, (S, M, A, Mgh, Msb, K,) aor. يَسِيبُ, (S, A,) inf. n. سَيْبٌ, (S, M, A, K,) It ran; (S, M, A, * Mgh, Msb, K;) said of water: (S, M, A, Msb:) and انساب, likewise said of water, it ran of itself. (Msb.) [Hence,] سابت الحَيَّةُ, (M,) aor. as above; (M, A;) and انسابت; (S, M, A, Msb;) (tropical:) The serpent ran: (S, A, * Msb:) or went along (M, TA) in a uniform, or continuous, course, (M,) or quickly. (TA.) ساب and انساب both signify (assumed tropical:) He, or it, walked, or went along, quickly: (K, TA:) [or] so the former verb. (M.) It is said in a trad., respecting a man who drank from the mouth of a skin, فِى بَطْنِهِ حَيَّةٌ اِنْسَابَتْ (tropical:) A serpent entered and ran into his belly with the running of the water: wherefore it was forbidden to drink from the mouth of a skin. (TA.) El-Hareeree, in [his first Makámeh, entitled] the San'áneeyeh, [p. 20,] uses the phrase, فِيهَا عَلَى غَرَارَةٍ انساب, meaning He entered into it as the serpent enters into its lurking place. (TA.) And you say of a viper, ساب and انساب, meaning (tropical:) It came forth from its lurkingplace. (TA.) And نَحْوَكُمْ انساب (assumed tropical:) He returned towards you. (S.) ساب, (Mgh, Msb,) aor. as above, inf. n. سَيَبَانٌ, said of a horse and the like, (assumed tropical:) He went away at random: (Msb:) or (assumed tropical:) he [app. a horse or the like] went any, or every, way: (Mgh:) or سابت الدَّابَّةُ (tropical:) The beast was left alone, or by itself, to pasture, without a pastor. (S, * A, TA.) And ساب فِى مَنْطِقِهِ (tropical:) He took every way [or roved at large] in his speech: (TA:) or he dilated, or was profuse, without consideration, in his speech. (A, TA.) And ساب فِى الكَلَامِ (tropical:) He entered into talk, or discourse, with loquacity, or irrationality. (TA.) It is said in a trad., إِنَّ الحِيلَةَ بِالمَنْطِقِ أَبْلَغُ مِنَ السُّيُوبِ فِى الكَلِمِ, meaning (tropical:) [Verily art, or skill, in speech is more eloquent, or effective,] than what is loose, or unrestrained, [or rambling,] in words; i. e. elegance of speech, with paucity, [is more eloquent, or effective,] than profusion. (L, TA. [السُّيُوب is here an inf. n.])

    سيّب

    2. سيّب (assumed tropical:) He left, left alone, or neglected, a thing. (M.) (tropical:) He left a beast, (S, A,) or a she-camel, (Mgh,) alone, or by itself, to pasture where it would, without a pastor. (S, A, Mgh.) (assumed tropical:) He emancipated a slave so that he (the emancipator) had no claim to inherit from him, and no control over his property; he made him to be such as is termed سَائِبَة. (Msb.) See also what next follows.

    اساب

    4. اساب, said of a horse, [and جُرْدَانَهُ سيّب has the same or a similar meaning,] i. q. رَفَّضَ, q. v. (TA in art. رفض.)

    إِنْسَيَبَ

    7: see 1, in seven places.

    سَيْبٌ

    سَيْبٌ [is an inf. n. of 1, used in the sense of سَائِبٌ (q. v.), as will be shown in what follows in this paragraph. And hence,] (tropical:) A gift: (S, M, A, Mgh, Msb, K:) and a voluntary gift, by way of alms, or as a good work: (TA:) and a benefaction, an act of beneficence or kindness, a favour, or a benefit: (M, K:) pl. سُيُوبٌ. (L, TA.) It is said in a trad. respecting a prayer for rain, وَٱجْعَلْهُ سَيْبًا نَافِعًا (tropical:) And make Thou it to be a beneficial gift: or the meaning in this instance may be, a flowing rain. (TA.) And one says, فَاضَ سَيْبُهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ (tropical:) His gifts flowed abundantly upon the people. (A, TA.) [See also an ex. in a verse cited voce جُبَّأٌ.] Also i. q. رِكَازٌ (tropical:) [i. e. Metal, or mineral; or pieces of gold or silver, that are extracted from the earth; or any metals or other minerals; or buried treasure of the people of the Time of Ignorance]: (A, Msb:) or so سُيُوبٌ; (A 'Obeyd, S, M, Mgh, K;) which is the pl.: (A, Msb:) the latter signifies, accord. to Th, metals, or minerals: (M, TA:) accord. to Aboo-Sa'eed, veins of gold and of silver, that come into existence, and appear, in the mines: so called because of their running (لِٱنْسِيَابِهَا) in the earth: accord to Z, treasure buried in the Time of Ignorance: or metal, or mineral: (TA:) because of the gift of God, (M, Z, Mgh, TA,) to him who finds it. (Z, TA.) The Prophet said, (Mgh, TA,) فِى السُّيُوبِ الخُمْسُ, i. e. In the case of رِكَاز, the fifth part [is for the government-treasury]. (A, Mgh, TA.) Also The hair of the tail of a horse. (M, K.) And A pole with which a ship or boat is propelled. (M, K.)

    سِيبٌ

    سِيبٌ A place, or channel, in which water runs: (S, M, K:) or so سِيبُ مَآءٍ: (A:) pl. سُيُوبٌ. (M.) And The apple: in this sense a Pers. word [arabicized]: and hence the name of [the celebrated grammarian] سِيبَوَيْهِ; as though meaning “ the scent of apples; ” (M, K, * TA;) accord. to Abu-l-'Alà, (M, TA,) and Seer: (TA:) by some, [app. such as mispronounce it,] this name is said to be from the Pers. سِىْ signifying “ thirty ” and بُويَهْ signifying “ odour; ” as though meaning “ thirty odours: ” (MF, TA:) and some say that وَيْهِ is an ejaculation; and that the relaters of traditions dislike pronouncing this name therewith, as also other similar names, and therefore say سِيبُويَهْ, changing the ه into ة, but pausing upon it [so as to pronounce it ه]. (TA.)

    سَيَابٌ

    سَيَابٌ and سُيَّابٌ (S, M, K) and سَيَّابٌ (K) [Unripe dates in the state in which they are called] بَلَح: (S, M, K:) or [in the state in which they are called] بُسْر: (K:) or green بُسْر: (AHn, M:) As says that the flowers of the palm-tree when they have become بَلَح are termed سَيَابٌ, without teshdeed: (TA:) [but see بُسْرٌ:] the n. un. is سَيَابَةٌ (S, M) and سُيَّابَةٌ (S) [and سَيَّابَةٌ]: Sh says that they are called سَدَآء in the dial. of ElMedeeneh, and one is called سيابة in the dial. of Wádi-l-Kurà: and he adds, I have heard the Bahránees say سُيَّاب and سُيَّابَة. (TA.)

    سَيَابَةٌ

    سَيَابَةٌ n. un. of سَيَابٌ; (S, M;) like as سُيَّابَةٌ is of سُيَّابٌ. (S.) Also Wine. (K.)

    سُيَّابٌ

    سُيَّابٌ and سَيَّابٌ: see سَيَابٌ, in three places.

    سَائِبٌ

    سَائِبٌ Running water. (Msb.) [See also سَيْبٌ, first sentence.]

    سَائِبَةٌ

    سَائِبَةٌ (tropical:) Any beast that is left to pasture where it will, without a pastor: (M, A, K: *) pl. سَوَائِبُ and سُيَّبٌ. (A.) (assumed tropical:) A camel that has lived until his offspring have had offspring, and is therefore set at liberty, and not ridden, (M, K,) nor laden with a burden. (M.) In the Kur v. 102, (TA,) (assumed tropical:) A she-camel that was set at liberty to pasture where it would, (S, Mgh, Msb, K,) in the Time of Ignorance, (S, K,) on account of a vow (S, Mgh, Msb, K) and the like: (S, K:) or the mother of a بَحِيرَة; (S, Mgh; [in the Msb, said to be a بَحِيرَة (itself); and in one place in the TA said to be a she-camel of which the dam is a بَحِيرة; but both of these explanations require consideration, as will be seen from what follows;]) or (K) a she-camel which, having brought forth females at ten successive births, was set at liberty to pasture where she would, (S, K,) and not ridden, nor was here milk drunk except by her young one or a guest, until she died, when the men and the women ate her together; and the ear of her last female young one was slit, and she was [therefore] called بَحِيرَة, and was a سَائِبَة like her mother: (S:) or a she-camel of which a man, (M, IAth, K,) in the Time of Ignorance, (M,) when he came from a far journey, (M. IAth, K,) or re- covered from a disease, (IAth, TA,) or had been saved by his beast from difficulty or trouble, (M, IAth,) or when his beast had been saved therefrom, (K,) or from war, said, هِىَ سَائِبَةٌ; (M, IAth, K;) i. e. she was left to pasture where she would, without a pastor, and no use was made of her back, nor was she debarred from water, nor from herbage, nor ridden: (IAth, TA:) thus it signifies in the Kur: (M:) or a she-camel from whose back a vertebra or [some other] bone was taken forth, (M, K,) so that she became known thereby, (M,) and which was not debarred from water nor from herbage, nor ridden, (M, K,) nor milked: (TA:) the pl. is سُيَّبٌ, like نُوَّحٌ pl. of نَائِحَةٌ, and نُوَّمٌ pl. of نَائِمَةٌ; (S;) and سَوَائِبُ. (TA.) It is said in a trad., “ I saw 'Amr Ibn-Loheí dragging his intestines in the fire [of Hell]: ” and he was the first who set at liberty سَوَائِب: the doing of which is forbidden in the Kur v. 102. (TA.) And it is related that a hostile attack was made upon a certain man of the Arabs, and he found not any [other] beast to ride, so he rode a سَائِبَة: whereupon it was said to him, “ Dost thou ride what is forbidden? ” and he replied, يَرْكَبُ الحَرَامَ مَنْ لَا حَلَالَ لَهُ [He rides what is forbidden who has not what is allowed]: and this saying became a proverb. (M.) السَّائِبَتَانِ means The بَدَنَتَانِ [i. e. two camels, or cows or bulls, for sacrifice,] which the Prophet brought as offerings to the House [of God at Mekkeh], and which one of the believers in a plurality of gods took away: they are thus called because he gave them up (سَيَّبَهُمَا) to God. (TA.) Also (assumed tropical:) A slave emancipated so that the emancipator has no claim to inherit from him, (S, M, A, Mgh, Msb, K,) except, accord. to EshSháfi'ee, in the case of the slave's dying without appointing any heir, in which case his inheritance belongs to his emancipator, (TA,) [for] such an emancipated slave may bestow his property where [or on whom] he pleases, (S, Mgh, Msb, TA,) agreeably with a trad.: (Mgh, TA:) [in the S, and in the Msb as on the authority of IF, it is added, that “ this is what is related to have been forbidden: ” but from what has been stated above, this appears to be a mistake; and I think that these words have been misplaced in the S and Msb, and that they relate only to the she-camel termed سَائِبَة:] a slave is thus emancipated by his owner's saying to him, أَنْتَ سَائِبَةٌ. (S.) 'Omar said, السَّائِبَةُ وَالصَّدَقَةُ لِيَوْمِهِمَا [The sáïbeh and alms are for their day]: i. e., for the day of resurrection; so that one may not return to the deriving of any advantage from them in the present world. (AO, Mgh, TA.)

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗

The same three letters in all six orders. Choose one.

س ي ب

السين والياء والباء أصل يدل على استمرار شيء وذهابه

s-y-b: a root indicating the continuation of something and its going.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗al-Khalīl: used ↗Quran ×1

an entry in Ibn Fārislater sources onlyin none of them

Do these six share one core meaning?

About thisal-Khalīl, Ibn Jinnī, Ibn Fāris; the counts across the dictionary

al-Khalīl (d. c. 170/786), Kitāb al-ʿAyn, as transmitted by al-Layth: a two-letter word “turns in two ways”, a three-letter word “in six ways” (masdūsa), four letters in 24, five in 120; “its used forms are written down and its unused ones dropped” (line 975 ↗). The dictionary is built on this: each chapter takes a set of letters and names which orders are used (mustaʿmal) and which unused (muhmal). The ring shows that verdict, from the chapter heading as edited (documented in the text; how much of the book is al-Khalīl's own is disputed).

A reported total. al-Suyūṭī transmits, from Ḥamza al-Iṣfahānī, that al-Khalīl put the possible forms, used and unused, of two to five letters at 12,305,412 (al-Muzhir, line 1347 ↗). It is reported, not found in the ʿAyn. It equals exactly the arrangements of 2 to 5 different letters out of 28 (756 + 19,656 + 491,400 + 11,793,600); the breakdown printed beside it is corrupt, and al-Zubaydī's count, given next, differs (6,659,400).

Ibn Jinnī (d. 392/1002), al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, names the greater derivation (al-ishtiqāq al-akbar): bind a three-letter root and its six orders to one meaning, and bring stray members back “by the subtlety of the craft and interpretation” (line 7536 ↗). He says himself that it does not hold for every root (line 167 ↗; line 7603 ↗).

Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004) gives each root its own aṣl and treats a rearranged word as maqlūb, “turned round”, and so not a root of its own: “j-b-dh is not a root, because it is a single word, turned round” (Maqāyīs, line 6147 ↗). The ring sets his aṣl for each order side by side; whether they meet is the question.

Neighbours on the ring differ by one swap of two letters.

The critique. A source quoted by al-Suyūṭī calls the greater derivation Ibn Jinnī's innovation, “not relied on in the language” (al-Muzhir, line 6159 ↗).

The other axis. The root's letters also go into patterns that keep their order and change the frame: the patterns (awzān) and the verb Forms I–X.

Across Ibn Fāris's dictionary. Of the 2,300 possible sets of three different sound letters (no hamza, w or y), 1,021 have at least one order as an entry. How many of their six orders are entries:

Ibn Fāris, entries found (1,021 letter-sets)
  1. 1 of 6319
  2. 2 of 6218
  3. 3 of 6164
  4. 4 of 6155
  5. 5 of 6107
  6. 6 of 658
al-Khalīl, orders his headings call used (746 letter-sets)
  1. 1 of 6148
  2. 2 of 6108
  3. 3 of 6157
  4. 4 of 6179
  5. 5 of 6111
  6. 6 of 643

Of the orders al-Khalīl calls used, 2,097 are entries in Ibn Fāris and 267 are not; 17 that he calls unused are entries in Ibn Fāris.

Our computation from the OpenITI texts; heading detection can miss entries

Attested here means found in our digital texts (Ibn Fāris, Lisān al-ʿArab, Lane, the Quranic Arabic Corpus), with w and y kept apart and hamza spellings merged; it is our data, not a classical verdict. English beside the Arabic is AI translation. Sources and grades: docs/research/root-permutations.md.

How each letter is made, in brief, from Sībawayh's and Ibn Jinnī's own sentences (linked); their words are under Reference.

How it is madeSībawayh and Ibn Jinnī · phonetics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

س

ومما بين طرف اللسان وفويق الثنايا مخرج الزاي، والسين، والصاد

From between the tip of the tongue and just above the front teeth is the place of the zāy, the sīn and the ṣād. Sībawayh, line 26560 ↗

ومما بين الثنايا وطرف اللسان، مخرج الصاد والزاي والسين

From between the front teeth and the tip of the tongue is the place of the ṣād, the zāy and the sīn. Ibn Jinnī, line 983 ↗

ي

ومن وسط اللسان بينه وبين وسط الحنك الأعلى مخرج الجيم والشين والياء

From the middle of the tongue, between it and the middle of the upper palate, is the place of the jīm, the shīn and the yāʾ. Sībawayh, line 26553 ↗

ومن وسط اللسان بينه وبين وسط الحنك الأعلى، مخرج الجيم والشين والياء

From the middle of the tongue, between it and the middle of the upper palate, is the place of the jīm, the shīn and the yāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 974 ↗

ب

ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء، والميم، والواو

From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Sībawayh, line 26563 ↗

ومما بين الشفتين مخرج الباء والميم والواو

From between the two lips is the place of the bāʾ, the mīm and the wāw. Ibn Jinnī, line 986 ↗

Sībawayh, al-Kitāb (ed. Hārūn) and Ibn Jinnī, Sirr ṣināʿat al-iʿrāb; OpenITI digital texts (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Full credits on each letter's page.

In the Breath of the All-MercifulIbn ʿArabī · metaphysics

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

س

Level of existence: ما ظهر في الماء · what appears in water

Divine Name: المحيي · al-Muḥyī, the Life-Giver

Lunar mansion: النعائم · al-Naʿāʾim

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62110

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 9 line 2572 ↗

السين والشين فطبعهما الحرارة واليبوسة

Sīn and shīn: their nature is heat and dryness.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2581

ي

Level of existence: السماء الأولى · The First Heaven

Divine Name: الرب · The Lord (al-Rabb)

Lunar mansion: الخرتان · al-Kharatān

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64500

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582

ب

Level of existence: الجن · the jinn

Divine Name: اللطيف · al-Laṭīf, the Subtle

Lunar mansion: الفرع المقدم · al-Farʿ al-Muqaddam

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 62118

Spheres of its simples (ch. 2): 10 line 2573 ↗

المرتبة العشرية فحروفها حارة يابسة

The tenfold rank: its letters are hot and dry.

Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, line 2582
Meaning by vowelal-Dabbāgh · a visionary claim about a primordial “Syriac”, not historical Syriac

English throughout: AI translation of the Arabic

س

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء المليح الذي من طبعه الرقة.

It is an indication of the comely thing whose nature is delicacy.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء القبيح الخشن، أو إشارة إلى سواد حسا ومعنى.

It is an indication of the ugly, rough thing, or of blackness, sensible and figurative.

وبالكسر إشارة إلى الشيء الطابع وتكون الإشارة منه.

With kasra it is an indication of the impressing/stamping thing, and the indication proceeds from it.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī

ي

فهي للنداء، وقد يؤكد بها.

It is for the vocative (calling), and it may be used for emphasis.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي لا يثبت كالبرق ونحوه.

It is an indication of the thing that does not remain fixed, like lightning and the like.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي يستحيا به أو يستحيا منه كالعورة.

It is an indication of the thing that causes shame, or of which one is ashamed, like the private parts.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī

ب

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي هو في غاية العز أو في غاية الذل.

It is an indication of the thing that is at the utmost of might or at the utmost of abasement.

فهي إشارة معها قبض.

It is an indication accompanied by contraction (qabḍ).

فهي إشارة إلى ما دخل أو هو داخل على الذات.

It is an indication of what has entered, or is entering, upon the self.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
Two-letter nucleus4 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterس ي

Ibn Fāris groups his roots under two-letter chapters (“the X and the Y and what makes them three”). These are the roots of this root's chapter with the core sense he gives each. Setting them side by side is our juxtaposition; he does not himself draw a shared meaning. His chapter heading, line 14355 ↗

  • سيبالسين والياء والباء أصل يدل على استمرار شيء وذهابهQ 1 · L14356
  • سيحالسين والياء والحاء أصل صحيح وقياسه قياس ما قبلهQ 3 · L14361
  • سيدالسين والياء والدال كلمة واحدة وهى السيدL14368
  • سيفالسين والياء والفاء أصل يدل على امتداد في شيء وطولL14380
In the sister scriptsHebrew ס/ש י בSyriac ܣ/ܫ ܝ ܒ
Arabicس ي ب
Hebrewס/ש י ב
Syriacܣ/ܫ ܝ ܒ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩯/𐩦 𐩺 𐩨
Phoenician𐤎/𐤔 𐤉 𐤁

Letter for letter, by the regular sound correspondences of the Semitic languages (Arabic keeps several sounds the others merged). This shows how the root would be spelled; whether a related word exists is a separate question, answered in the Semitic lens. Where an Arabic sibilant (s, sh) continues two older sounds, both spellings are shown.

  • Classical lexiconAl-Khalīl already gathers the whole field: sayb as bounty or gift, sayb as a water-course (sāba al-māʾ yasību, 'the water ran'), the snake that tasību/tansābu 'moving on continuously', sayyabtu al-dābba 'I let the beast go where it would', the sāʾiba as a freed slave left without walāʾ to his manumitter, suyūb as buried treasure (rikāz), and siyāb as unripe dates.well attested

    The lexicographers in chronological order, from al-Khalīl to Lane.

    Al-Khalīl already gathers the whole field: sayb as bounty or gift, sayb as a water-course (sāba al-māʾ yasību, 'the water ran'), the snake that tasību/tansābu 'moving on continuously', sayyabtu al-dābba 'I let the beast go where it would', the sāʾiba as a freed slave left without walāʾ to his manumitter, suyūb as buried treasure (rikāz), and siyāb as unripe dates. Al-Jawharī adds the pre-Islamic sāʾiba she-camel, let loose for a vow, which is not ridden and whose milk only her young or a guest may drink. He records the report linking it to the baḥīra: after ten female births she was loosed, and her last daughter's ear was slit. Ibn Fāris reduces the root to one principle, a thing continuing and going on, and derives the gift from it ('as though something made to flow to him'). He treats rikāz as a gift God caused to flow to its finder and sets aside siyāb 'unripe dates' as anomalous. Al-Rāghib gives the sāʾiba loosed in pasture after five births and the freed slave, and names the base as sayyabtuhu fa-sāba. The Lisān excerpt supplied here only preserves Ibn al-Athīr's note on sūbiyya, a wheat drink; Lane glosses sāba as 'it ran' (of water) and marks the snake's gliding as tropical.

    Draws on: Kitāb al-ʿAyn · al-Ṣiḥāḥ · Maqāyīs · Mufradāt · Lisān · Lane

  • Letters & soundIn the data supplied, al-Dabbāgh reads sīn as indicating a comely thing of delicate nature and bāʾ as the utmost of might or of abasement.speculative

    What the theorists of sound symbolism would say of these letters. Speculative by nature.

    In the data supplied, al-Dabbāgh reads sīn as indicating a comely thing of delicate nature and bāʾ as the utmost of might or of abasement. He takes yāʾ as the vocative, sometimes emphatic. Ibn ʿArabī's correspondences assign yāʾ to the First Heaven; no assignment is given here for sīn or bāʾ. An imsās-style reader might hear the sibilant sīn followed by the long vowel as suited to a smooth, continuous gliding, as of water or a snake. Mainstream linguistics treats such associations as suggestive at most.

    Draws on: al-Dabbāgh · Ibn ʿArabī letter-correspondences · Ibn Jinnī imsās (general)

  • Root structureUnder the nucleus s-y, Ibn Fāris explicitly says s-y-ḥ has 'the same analogy as the one before it', so sayb and sayḥ (water running over the surface, roaming) stand together as flowing or ranging freely.plausible

    The two-letter nucleus (Ibn Fāris's own chapters) and the permutations of the letters (Ibn Jinnī).

    Under the nucleus s-y, Ibn Fāris explicitly says s-y-ḥ has 'the same analogy as the one before it', so sayb and sayḥ (water running over the surface, roaming) stand together as flowing or ranging freely. He glosses s-y-f as extension and length, which sits near the idea of continuation. S-y-d he treats as a single isolated word. Among the permutations, s-b-y means carrying something off from one land to another by force, which contrasts with letting something go its own way. Y-b-s, dryness (four Quranic occurrences), stands opposite to running water. These are juxtapositions only. Ibn Jinnī's greater derivation does not yield a common meaning across the set.

    Draws on: Maqāyīs nucleus siblings · permutations

  • Semitic kin & loanwordsNo confident cognate of s-y-b in the sense 'to run, flow, be let loose' can be named in Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, Akkadian, Geʿez or Epigraphic South Arabian.uncertain

    Cognates in the sister languages, and whether the word was borrowed.

    No confident cognate of s-y-b in the sense 'to run, flow, be let loose' can be named in Hebrew, Aramaic/Syriac, Akkadian, Geʿez or Epigraphic South Arabian. The word is well embedded in pre-Islamic Arabian practice (the sāʾiba) and in a broad native derivational family. There is no indication that it is a loanword.

    Draws on: no secure cognate

    • Wiktionary: Arabic root س ي ب (link not verified)
  • Quranic exegesisThe single occurrence is Q 5:103, where God denies having instituted the baḥīra, sāʾiba, waṣīla or ḥām.plausible

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    The single occurrence is Q 5:103, where God denies having instituted the baḥīra, sāʾiba, waṣīla or ḥām. Al-Ṭabarī collects differing reports on what the sāʾiba was. Most describe a camel released in honour of the idols or under a vow, and exempted from riding, loads and ordinary use. Al-Zamakhsharī describes the practice of vowing that one's camel would be sāʾiba upon recovery from illness or safe return from a journey. Al-Rāzī sets out the competing definitions and stresses the verse's point: these prohibitions were human inventions falsely ascribed to God. Al-Rāghib, as quoted, adds the sense of a freed slave without walāʾ, which he says was forbidden.

    Draws on: Q 5:103 · al-Ṭabarī · al-Zamakhsharī · al-Rāzī · al-Rāghib

Neighbouring rootsThe roots that share letters with this one, as a map you can open out