Mashrabaمشربة

عبرa single sound root denoting passing through and going on in a thing, as in crossing a … (root br)

العين والباء والراء أصل صحيح واحد يدل على النفوذ والمضي في الشيء

Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-lugha · English rendering

عبر
Patterns computed · our data

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

37 words4 verbs6 verbal nouns3 participles2 places and instruments4 intensives and elatives11 other nouns4 plurals3 relatives and abstracts

  • عِبَارَةspeech that passes from the tongue of the speaker to the ear of the hearer
  • اِعْتَبَرَhe became admonished, or reminded
  • عِبْرَةadmonition, or exhortation
  • عَبَّرَhe made him to cross, go across, or pass over, or he conveyed him across, the …
  • تَعْبِيرexpression
The whole family8 groups, by pattern; tap a pattern to see what it does
Verbs4عَبَرَ · اِعْتَبَرَ · عَبَّرَ

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

Form I vowels: فَعَلَ يَفْعُلُ (a – u; the imperfect from Lane's “aor.”)

Verbal nouns6عِبَارَة · تَعْبِير · عُبُور

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

  • عِبَارَةspeech that passes from the tongue of the speaker to the ear of the hearerLaneForm II · Lane: inf. n.library ×21LaneIbn Fāris
  • تَعْبِيرexpressionautoForm II · Lane: inf. n.library ×7Lane
  • عُبُورcrossingautoForm I · Lane: inf. n.library ×3LaneIbn Fāris
  • اِعْتِبارconsideration; regardautoForm VIIIlibrary ×3Ibn Fāris
Participles3مُعَبَّر · عَابِر · مُعْتَبَر

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

  • مُعَبَّرexpressedautopassive, Form IVlibrary ×5Ibn Fāris
  • عَابِرwayfarerLaneactive, Form ILaneIbn Fāris
  • مُعْتَبَرconsidered; regardedautopassive, Form VIIIlibrary ×1
Place, time and instrument2مَعْبَر · مِعْبَر

Where or when it happens, and what it is done with: the m- nouns.grammar →

  • مَعْبَرplace where a river is crossedLanenoun of place or timeLaneIbn Fāris
  • مِعْبَرthing upon which, or by means of which, one crosses a riverLanenoun of instrumentLaneIbn Fāris
Intensives, qualities and the elative4عَبُور · عَبِير · عَبْرَان

The quality carried far, held as a trait, or compared.grammar →

  • عَبُورthe star SiriusLaneintensive (faʿūl)LaneIbn Fāris
  • عَبِيرcertain mixture of perfumes, compounded with saffronLanequality (faʿīl)LaneIbn Fāris
  • عَبْرَانintensive (faʿlān)LaneIbn Fāris
  • عَبَّارintensive (faʿʿāl)Lane
Other nouns11عِبْرَة · عَبْرَة · عَبَارَة

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

Plurals4عِبارات · عِبَر · عَبَرات

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

  • عِباراتsound plural of عِبارَةlibrary ×6
  • عِبَرbroken plural of عِبْرَةLaneIbn Fāris
  • عَبَراتsound plural of عَبْرَةlibrary ×1
  • مَعَابِرbroken plural of مَعْبَرLane
Relative and abstract3عُبْرِيّ · عِبْرِيّ · اِعْتِبارِيّ

-iyy relates a thing to its source; -iyya makes an abstract noun.grammar →

  • عُبْرِيّrelative adjective (-iyy)LaneIbn Fāris
  • عِبْرِيّHebrewLanerelative adjective (-iyy)LaneIbn Fāris
  • اِعْتِبارِيّconsideration; regardautorelative adjective (-iyy)library ×1
Why this shape?What each of the 18 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.

مَفْعَلَةع ب رمَعْبَرَة

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
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 · 170ʿAbara yuʿabbiru ar-ruʾyā taʿbīran (عبر يعبر الرؤيا تعبيرا) — he interpreted the dream;

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

    ʿAbara yuʿabbiru ar-ruʾyā taʿbīran (عبر يعبر الرؤيا تعبيرا) — he interpreted the dream; and ʿabarahā yaʿburuhā ʿabran wa-ʿibāratan (عبرها يعبرها عبرا وعبارة) — when he interprets it. ʿAbartu an-nahr ʿubūran (عبرت النهر عبورا) — I crossed the river; ʿabr an-nahr is its bank. A she-camel [is called] ʿibr asfār (عبر أسفار), meaning she continues to be journeyed upon. Al-Ṭirimmāḥ said: 'I plunged deep with a swift, spirited she-camel.../ a well-traveled one (ʿibr asfār), restrained in her groaning.' Al-maʿbar (المعبر) is the riverbank prepared for crossing; al-maʿbar is also a vessel that carries you across, traversing from one land to another. Al-maʿbara (المعبرة) is a boat by which a river is crossed. ʿAbbartu ʿanhu taʿbīran (عبرت عنه تعبيرا) — when he was unable [to express] his argument, so you spoke it on his behalf. Ash-Shiʿrā al-ʿAbūr (الشعرى العبور) is a star behind al-Jawzāʾ (Orion). ʿAbbartu ad-danānīr taʿbīran (عبرت الدنانير تعبيرا) — I weighed the dinars one by one. A man called ʿābir sabīl (عابر سبيل) is one passing along the way. Al-ʿibra (العبرة) is taking a lesson from what has passed. Al-ʿabīr (العبير) is a kind of perfume. ʿIbrat ad-damʿ (عبرة الدمع) is its flowing, and also [the tear] itself. 'So-and-so ʿabira yaʿbaru ʿabaran (عبر يعبر عبرا) from grief' — he is ʿabrān/ʿabir (عبران، عبر), and a woman is ʿabrā/ʿabira (عبرى، عبرة). Istaʿbara (استعبر) means his tears flowed. Al-ʿibrī (العبري) is a kind of lote-tree; it is said al-ʿibrī is the tall lote-tree with thick trunks, while al-ḍāl (الضال) is the smaller kind. Al-ʿAjjāj said: 'Entwined about it are the young palm shoots and the ʿibrī [lote-trees].' And he said: [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    عبر يعبر الرؤيا تعبيرا. وعبرها يعبرها عبرا وعبارة. إذا فسرها. وعبرت النهر عبورا. وعبر النهر شطه. وناقة عبر أسفار. أي: لا تزال يسافر عليها. قال [الطرماح] «2» : قد تبطنت بهلواعة ... عبر أسفار كتوم البغام والمعبر: شط النهر الذي هيىء للعبور. والمعبر: مركب يعبر بك، أي: يقطع بلدا إلى بلد. والمعبرة: سفينة يعبر عليها النهر. وعبرت عنه تعبيرا إذا عي من حجته فتكلمت بها عنه. والشعرى العبور: نجم خلف الجوزاء. وعبرت الدنانير تعبيرا: وزنتها دينارا دينارا. ورجل عابر سبيل، أي مار طريق. والعبرة: الإعتبار لما مضى. والعبير: ضرب من الطيب. وعبرة الدمع: جريه، ونفسه أيضا. عبر فلان يعبر عبرا من الحزن، وهو عبران عبر، وامرأة عبرى عبرة. واستعبر، أي: جرت عبرته. والعبري: ضرب من السدر. ويقال: العبري: الطويل من السدر الذي له سوق. والضال: ما صغر منه. قال العجاج «3» : لاث بها الأشاء والعبري وقال «4» :

  • al-Jawharī · 393Al-ʿibra (العبرة) is the noun from al-iʿtibār.

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

    Al-ʿibra (العبرة) is the noun from al-iʿtibār. Al-ʿabra (العبرة, with fatḥa) is the welling of tears; hence you say ʿabira ar-rajul (عبر الرجل, with kasra), yaʿbaru ʿabaran (يعبر عبرا) — he is ʿābir (عابر), and the woman likewise ʿābir. Al-Ḥārith ibn Waʿla said: 'Al-Nahdī says to me: will you ride behind me? / But how can the noble one ride behind, when your mother weeps (ʿābir)?' Likewise ʿabirat ʿaynuhu (عبرت عينه) and istaʿbarat (استعبرت) mean: it [the eye] shed tears. Al-ʿabrān (العبران) is the weeping one. Al-ʿabar (العبر, with fatḥa) is a heat/irritation in the eye that makes it weep; al-ʿubr (العبر, with ḍamma) is the same. One says [as an imprecation]: 'al-ʿabar/al-ʿubr be upon his mother!' 'So-and-so saw ʿabra ʿaynayhi (عبر عينيه)' means what makes his eyes smart. ʿAbr an-nahr and ʿubruhu (عبر النهر وعبره) are its bank and side. The poet said: 'Nor is the Euphrates, when its surface-waves pour forth, / casting its billows' foam upon the two banks (al-ʿibrayn)...' One says jamal ʿibr asfār, jimāl ʿibr asfār, and nāqa ʿibr asfār (جمل/جمال/ناقة عبر أسفار) — plural and feminine forms being identical, like al-fulk (الفلك) — meaning one continually journeyed upon; likewise ʿibr asfār with kasra. Al-ʿubr (العبر, with ḍamma) also means abundant of anything, related by Abū ʿUbayd from al-Aṣmaʿī. Al-ʿibrī (العبري) is the lote-tree that grows on riverbanks and grows large. Al-ʿIbrī (العبري, with kasra) means Hebrew, the language of the Jews. Ash-Shiʿrā al-ʿAbūr (الشعرى العبور) is one of the two Shiʿrā stars, the one behind Orion, so named because it 'crossed' (ʿabarat) the Milky Way. Al-maʿbar (المعبر) is whatever one crosses upon, whether bridge or boat; Abū ʿUbayd said: al-maʿbar is the vessel in which one crosses. A man [called] ʿābir sabīl (عابر سبيل) is one passing along the way. 'ʿAbara al-qawm' (عبر القوم) means they died. The poet said: 'If we pass away (naʿbur), we have kindred [who preceded us]; / and if we remain (naghbur), we are bound by vows [awaiting the inevitable].' Meaning: if we die we have peers gone before, and if we remain we await what is inevitable, as though under a vow concerning its coming. ʿAbartu an-nahr wa-ghayrahu (عبرت النهر وغيره), aʿburuhu ʿabran (أعبره عبرا) — according to Yaʿqūb — and ʿubūran (عبورا). ʿAbartu ar-ruʾyā (عبرت الرؤيا), aʿburuhā ʿibāratan (أعبرها عبارة): I interpreted it. God, Exalted, said: 'if you can interpret visions' [Q. 12:43] — He connected the verb with the lām, as one says 'in kunta li-l-māl jāmiʿan' (if you are a gatherer of wealth). Al-Aṣmaʿī said: ʿabartu al-kitāb (عبرت الكتاب), aʿburuhu ʿabran (أعبره عبرا) — when you ponder it inwardly without raising your voice. Their saying 'lugha ʿābira' (لغة عابرة) means 'current/permissible [usage].' Al-Kisāʾī said: aʿbartu al-ghanam (أعبرت الغنم) — when you leave sheep a year without shearing them; the ewe thus becomes muʿbira (معبرة). A boy [called] muʿabbar (معبر) also means uncircumcised. Bishr ibn Abī Khāzim said, describing a ram: 'Shorn of nape, well-fed, crouching apart...' [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    العبرة: الاسم من الاعتبار. والعبرة بالفتح: تحلب الدمع. تقول منه: عبر الرجل بالكسر يعبر عبرا، فهو عابر، والمرأة عابر أيضا. قال الحارث بن وعلة (1) : يقول لي النهدي هل أنت مردفي * وكيف رداف الغر أمك عابر (2) - وكذلك عبرت عينه واستعبرت، أي دمعت. والعبران: الباكي. والعبر بالتحريك: سخنة في العين تبكيها. والعبر بالضم مثله. يقال لأمه العبر والعبر. ورأى فلان عبر عينيه، أي ما يسخن عينيه. وعبر النهر وعبره: شطه وجانبه. وقال الشاعر (3) : وما الفرات إذا جادت (4) غواربه * ترمي أواذيه العبرين بالزبد - وجمل عبر أسفار، وجمال عبر أسفار، وناقة عبر أسفار، يستوى فيه الجمع والمؤنث مثل الفلك: الذى (5) لا يزال يسافر عليها. وكذلك عبر أسفار بالكسر. والعبر أيضا بالضم: الكثير من كل شئ، حكاه أبو عبيد عن الاصمعي. والعبري: ما نبت من السدر على شطوط الانهار وعظم. والعبرى بالكسر: العبراني، لغة اليهود. والشعرى العبور: إحدى الشعريين، وهي التي خلف الجوزاء، سميت بذلك لأنها عبرت المجرة. والمعبر: ما يعبر عليه من قنطرة أو سفينة. وقال أبو عبيد: المعبر: المركب الذي يعبر فيه. ورجل عابر سبيل، أي مار الطريق. وعبر القوم، أي ماتوا. قال الشاعر: فإن نعبر فإن لنا لمات * وإن نغبر فنحن على نذور * يقول: إن مننا فلنا أقران، وإن بقينا فنحن ننتظر مالابد منه، كأن لنا في إتيانه نذرا. وعبرت النهر وغيره أعبره عبرا، عن يعقوب، وعبورا. وعبرت الرؤيا أعبرها عبارة: فسرتها. قال الله تعالى: (إن كنتم للرؤيا تعبرون) *، أوصل الفعل باللام كما يقال: إن كنت للمال جامعا. قال الأصمعي: عبرت الكتاب أعبره عبرا، إذا تدبرته في نفسك ولم ترفع به صوتك. وقولهم: لغة عابرة، أي جائزة. قال الكسائي: أعبرت الغنم، إذا تركتها عاما لا تجزها. وقد أعبرت الشاة فهى معبرة. (93 - صحاح - 2) وغلام معبر أيضا: لم يختن. قال بشر ابن أبى خازم يصف كبشا: جزيز القفا شبعان يربض حجرة * حديث الخصاء وارم العفل (1) معبر - أي غير مجزوز. وجارية معبرة: لم تخفض. وسهم معبر: موفر الريش. وعبرت الرؤيا تعبيرا: فسرتها. وعبرت عن فلان أيضا، إذا تكلمت عنه. واللسان يعبر عما في الضمير. وتعبير الدراهم: وزنها جملة بعد التفاريق. واستعبرت فلانا لرؤياي، أي قصصتها عليه ليعبرها. والعبير: أخلاط تجمع بالزعفران، عن الأصمعي. وقال أبو عبيدة: العبير عند العرب: الزعفران وحده. وأنشد للأعشى: وتبرد برد رداء العرو * س في الصيف رقرقت فيه العبيرا - وفى الحديث: " أتعجز إحداكن أن تتخذ تومتين ثم تلطخهما بعبير أو زعفران ". وفى هذا الحديث بيان أن العبير غير الزعفران.

  • Ibn Fāris · 395ʿAyn, bāʾ, and rāʾ form one sound root indicating penetrating through and passing on/through a thing.

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

    ʿAyn, bāʾ, and rāʾ form one sound root indicating penetrating through and passing on/through a thing. It is said: ʿabartu an-nahr ʿubūran (عبرت النهر عبورا) — 'I crossed the river'; and ʿabr an-nahr (عبر النهر) is its bank. It is said: nāqa ʿibr asfār (ناقة عبر أسفار) — a she-camel continually traveled upon. Al-Ṭirimmāḥ said: 'I plunged deep with a swift, spirited she-camel... / a well-traveled one (ʿibr asfār), restrained in her groaning.' Al-maʿbar (المعبر) is a riverbank prepared for crossing; al-maʿbar is also a boat by which a river is crossed. A man who is ʿābir sabīl (عابر سبيل) is one passing by. God, Exalted, said: 'nor [approach it] in impurity, except when passing through [on a journey]' [Q. 4:43]. From this root is al-ʿibra (العبرة). Al-Khalīl said: ʿibrat al-damʿ (عبرة الدمع) is its flowing; he said tears themselves are also called ʿibra. Imruʾ al-Qays said: 'Indeed my cure is [in shedding] tears (ʿibra), if I pour them forth... / yet is there, at a faded encampment's trace, any place for weeping?' This accords with the analogy, because tears 'pass through' (yaʿbur), i.e. penetrate and flow. What al-Khalīl said is correct, showing the soundness of the analogy mentioned. Their saying 'so-and-so ʿabira yaʿbaru ʿabaran (عبر يعبر عبرا) from grief' — he is ʿabrān (عبران), the woman ʿabrā or ʿabira (عبرى، عبرة); this occurs only together with weeping. It is said: istaʿbara (استعبر) — when his tears flowed. From this: 'a woman is ʿābir (عابر)' meaning she has al-ʿabar [grief] in her. And [a poet] said: 'Al-Jarmī says to me: will you ride behind me? / But how can a defeated man ride behind, when your mother weeps (ʿābir)?' This is the root meaning stated. Then a kind of lote-tree (sidr) is called ʿibrī (عبري); this only applies when it grows on riverbanks, the bank being that from and to which one crosses. Al-ʿAjjāj said: 'Entwined about it are the young palm-shoots (al-ashāʾ) and the ʿibrī [lote-trees].' Al-ashāʾ is young palm shoots, singular ashāʾa (أشاءة), already mentioned. It is said the ʿibrī is only the tall [lote-tree]; what is smaller is called al-ḍāl (الضال). Dhū al-Rumma said: 'I crossed, when the hollows opened.../ various lote-trees, both ʿibrī and ḍāl.' It is also said al-ḍāl is what grows in open desert. From this root also: ʿabara ar-ruʾyā yaʿburuhā ʿabran wa-ʿibāratan (عبر الرؤيا يعبرها عبرا وعبارة), and yuʿabbiruhā taʿbīran (يعبرها تعبيرا) — to interpret a dream. The analogical basis is the crossing of a river, since [the interpreter] goes from one bank (ʿibr) to the other; likewise the dream-interpreter takes the dream from one aspect to another — as when asked about water [in a dream] he says 'life' — do you not see he has passed from one thing to another? Related to this sense of ʿibāra: al-Khalīl said you say 'ʿabbartu ʿan fulān taʿbīran' (عبرت عن فلان تعبيرا) when he was unable [to state] his argument, so you spoke it on his behalf — following the same analogy, since he could not penetrate through in his speech, so another 'got it through' for him. As for al-iʿtibār (الاعتبار) and al-ʿibra (العبرة), in our view they derive analogically from the two banks (ʿibrā) of a river, each being an equal counterpart (ʿibr) to the other; so when you say i'tabartu ash-shayʾ (اعتبرت الشيء) it is as if you looked at a thing and made what concerns you a counterpart to it, equating the two in your mind. This, in our view, is the derivation of al-iʿtibār. God, Exalted, said: 'So take warning, O you who have insight!' [Q. 59:2] — as if He said: look at those who did what they did and were punished, and avoid the like of their deeds lest the like befall you. Further evidence: al-Khalīl's statement 'ʿabbartu ad-danānīr taʿbīran' (عبرت الدنانير تعبيرا) — when you weigh dinars one by one. He said al-ʿibra is taking a lesson from what has passed. Among what deviates from the root meaning: al-muʿabbar (المعبر) of camels means one with abundant fur; al-muʿabbar among boys means one uncircumcised — I do not know the analogical basis for this. Bishr ibn Abī Khāzim said, of the uncircumcised: 'swollen of the private part, uncircumcised (muʿabbar)...' [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    العين والباء والراء أصل صحيح واحد يدل على النفوذ والمضي في الشيء يقال عبرت النهر عبورا وعبر النهر شطه ويقال ناقة عبر أسفار لا يزال يسافر عليها قال الطرماح : — قد تبطنت بهلواعة … عبر أسفار كتوم البغام … والمعبر شط نهر هيء للعبور والمعبر سفينة يعبر عليها النهر ورجل عابر سبيل أي مار قال الله تعالى : ﴿ ولا جنبا إلا عابري سبيل ﴾ ومن الباب العبرة قال الخليل عبرة الدمع جريه قال والدمع أيضا نفسه عبرة قال امرؤ القيس : — وإن شفائي عبرة إن سفحتها … فهل عند رسم دارس من معول … وهذا من القياس لأن الدمع يعبر أي ينفذ ويجري والذي قاله الخليل صحيح يدل على صحة القياس الذي ذكرناه وقولهم عبر فلان يعبر عبرا من الحزن وهو عبران والمرأة عبرى وعبرة فهذا لا يكون إلا وثم بكاء ويقال استعبر إذا جرت عبرته ويقال من هذا امرأة عابر أي بها العبر وقال : — يقول لي الجرمي هل أنت مردفي … وكيف رداف الفل أمك عابر … فهذا الأصل الذي ذكرناه ثم يقال لضرب من السدر عبري وإنما يكون كذلك إذا نبت على شطوط الأنهار والشط يعبر ويعبر إليه قال العجاج : — لاث بها الأشاء والعبري … الأشاء الفسيل الواحدة أشاءة وقد ذكرناه ويقال إن العبري لا يكون إلا طويلا وما كان أصغر منه فهو الضال قال ذو الرمة : — قطعت إذا تجوفت العواطي … ضروب السدر عبريا وضالا … ويقال بل الضال ما كان في البر ومن الباب عبر الرؤيا يعبرها عبرا وعبارة ويعبرها تعبيرا إذا فسرها ووجه القياس في هذا عبور النهر لأنه يصير من عبر إلى عبر كذلك مفسر الرؤيا يأخذ بها من وجه إلى وجه كأن يسال عن الماء فيقول حياة ألا تراه قد عبر في هذا من شيء إلى شيء ومما حمل على هذه العبارة قال الخليل تقول عبرت عن فلان تعبيرا إذا عي بحجته فتكلمت بها عنه وهذا قياس ما ذكرناه لأنه لم يقدر على النفوذ في كلامه فنفذ الآخر بها عنه فأما الاعتبار والعبرة فعندنا مقيسان من عبري النهر لأن كل واحد منهما عبر مساو لصاحبه فذلك عبر لهذا وهذا عبر لذاك فإذا قلت اعتبرت الشيء فكأنك نظرت إلى الشيء فجعلت ما يعنيك عبرا لذاك فتساويا عندك هذا عندنا اشتقاق الاعتبار قال الله تعالى : — فاعتبروا يا أولي الأبصار ) كأنه قال انظروا إلى من فعل ما فعل فعوقب بما عوقب به فتجنبوا مثل صنيعهم لئلا ينزل بكم مثل ما نزل بأولئك ومن الدليل على صحة هذا القياس الذي ذكرناه قول الخليل عبرت الدنانير تعبيرا إذا وزنتها دينارا دينارا قال والعبرة الاعتبار بما مضى ومما شذ عن الأصل المعبر من الجمال الكثير الوبر والمعبر من الغلمان الذي لم يختن وما أدري ما وجه القياس في هذا وقال في المعبر الذي لم يختن بشر بن أبي خازم : — وارم العفل معبر … ومن هذا الشاذ العبير قال قوم هو الزعفران وقال قوم هي أخلاط طيب وقال الأعشى : — وتبرد برد رداء العرو س … بالصيف رفرفت فيه العبيرا — ( عبس ) العين الباء والسين أصل صحيح يدل على تكره في شيء وأصله العبس ما يبس على هلب الذنب من بعر وغيره وهو من الإبل كالوذح من الشاء قال أبو النجم : — كأن في أذنابهن الشول … من عبس الصيف قرون الأيل … وفي الحديث أنه مر بإبل قد عبست في أبوالها وقال جرير يذكر راعية : — ترى العبس الحول جونا بكوعها … لها مسكا من غير عاج ولا ذيل … ثم اشتق من هذا اليوم العبوس وهو الشديد الكريه واشتق منه عبس الرجل يعبس عبوسا وهو عابس الوجه غضبان وعباس إذا كثر ذلك منه

  • al-Rāghib · 502The root meaning of al-ʿabr (العبر) is passing from one state to another.

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

    The root meaning of al-ʿabr (العبر) is passing from one state to another. Al-ʿubūr (العبور) is specific to crossing water — whether by swimming, boat, camel, or bridge. From this: ʿabr an-nahr (عبر النهر) is its side, the point from or to which one crosses. From it is derived 'ʿabr al-ʿayn' for tears, and al-ʿibra (العبرة) is like a tear. It is also said: ʿābir sabīl (عابر سبيل). He, Exalted, said: 'except those passing through [on a journey]' [Q. 4:43]. Also: a she-camel [called] ʿibr asfār (عبر أسفار). 'ʿAbara al-qawm' (عبر القوم) — when they died, as if they had crossed the bridge of this world. Al-ʿibāra (العبارة) is specific to speech that passes through the air from the speaker's tongue to the listener's hearing. Al-iʿtibār (الاعتبار) and al-ʿibra (العبرة) refer to the state by which one moves from knowledge of what is observed to what is unobserved. He, Exalted, said: 'Indeed in that is a lesson' [Q. 3:13]; 'So take warning, O you who have insight!' [Q. 59:2]. At-taʿbīr (التعبير) is specific to dream-interpretation, the passing from a dream's outward form to its inward meaning, as in: 'if you can interpret visions' [Q. 12:43]. It is more specific than al-taʾwīl (التأويل), which applies to this and to other things. Ash-Shiʿrā al-ʿAbūr (الشعرى العبور) was so named for being 'crossing' (ʿābira). Al-ʿibrī (العبري) is what grows on a riverbank; a 'shaṭṭ muʿbir' (شط معبر) is a bank on which the ʿibrī [lote-trees] have been left [to grow].

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    أصل العبر: تجاوز من حال إلى حال، فأما العبور فيختص بتجاوز الماء، إما بسباحة، أو في سفينة، أو على بعير، أو قنطرة، ومنه: عبر النهر: لجانبه حيث يعبر إليه أو منه، واشتق منه: عبر العين للدمع، والعبرة كالدمعة، وقيل: عابر سبيل. قال تعالى: إلا عابري سبيل [النساء/ 43] ، وناقة عبر أسفار، وعبر القوم: إذا ماتوا، كأنهم عبروا قنطرة الدنيا، وأما العبارة فهي مختصة بالكلام العابر الهواء من لسان المتكلم إلى سمع السامع، والاعتبار والعبرة: بالحالة التي يتوصل بها من معرفة المشاهد إلى ما ليس بمشاهد. قال تعالى: إن في ذلك لعبرة [آل عمران/ 13] ، فاعتبروا يا أولي الأبصار [الحشر/ 2] ، والتعبير: مختص بتعبير الرؤيا، وهو العابر من ظاهرها إلى باطنها، نحو: إن كنتم للرءيا تعبرون [يوسف/ 43] ، وهو أخص من التأويل، فإن التأويل يقال فيه وفي غيره. والشعرى العبور، سميت بذلك لكونها عابرة، والعبري: ما ينبت على عبر النهر، وشط معبر: ترك عليه العبري.

  • Lisān · 711ʿAbara ar-ruʾyā yaʿburuhā ʿabran wa-ʿibāratan (عبر الرؤيا يعبرها عبرا وعبارة), and ʿabbarahā (عبرها): he interpreted it and told what its matter would come to.

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

    ʿAbara ar-ruʾyā yaʿburuhā ʿabran wa-ʿibāratan (عبر الرؤيا يعبرها عبرا وعبارة), and ʿabbarahā (عبرها): he interpreted it and told what its matter would come to. In the Mighty Revelation: 'if you can interpret visions' [Q. 12:43] — meaning 'if you interpret the vision,' the verb being made transitive with lām, as in 'qul ʿasā an yakūna radifa lakum' [Q. 27:72], meaning 'radifakum.' Al-Zajjāj said: this lām was added to the object for clarification; the meaning is 'if you are interpreting and are interpreters,' then he clarified with the lām, saying 'li-r-ruʾyā' (of the vision). He said: this lām is called 'lām al-taʿqīb' (the lām of sequence) because it follows [and stands in for] the construct [iḍāfa]. Al-Jawharī said: he connected the verb with the lām, as one says 'in kunta li-l-māl jāmiʿan.' 'Istaʿbarahu iyyāhā' (استعبره إياها) — he asked him to interpret it [the dream] for him. Al-ʿābir (العابر) is one who examines a book and 'ʿabbarahu' (عبره), i.e. weighs its parts against one another until understanding is achieved; hence 'he interpreted the vision (ʿabara ar-ruʾyā)' and 'so-and-so took a lesson (iʿtabara)' are both said. It is also said all this derives from al-ʿabr (العبر), the side of a river; 'ʿabr al-wādī' and 'ʿubruhu' (عبر الوادي وعبره) — the latter form from Kurāʿ — [both mean] its bank and side. Al-Nābigha al-Dhubyānī said, praising al-Nuʿmān: 'Nor is the Euphrates, when its surface-waves surge, / casting its billows' foam upon the two banks (al-ʿibrayn),' — Ibn Barrī said: the predicate of the negating 'mā' is in the following line: 'ever, on any day, sweeter than his bestowed largesse, / nor does today's giving prevent [more] tomorrow.' As-sayb (السيب) is giving. An-nāfila (النافلة) is an addition, as He, Glorified and Exalted, said: 'and We granted him Isaac and Jacob in addition' [Q. 21:72]. His saying 'nor does today's giving prevent tomorrow' means: giving today does not prevent giving again tomorrow. Ghawāribuhu (غواربه) is what rises up of it [the river]. Al-awādhī (الأواذي) are the waves, singular ādhī (آذي). It is said: 'so-and-so is in that ʿibr (عبر)' meaning in that region. ʿAbartu an-nahr wa-t-ṭarīq (عبرت النهر والطريق), aʿburuhu ʿabran wa-ʿubūran (أعبره عبرا وعبورا) — when you traverse it from this bank to that bank. The dream-interpreter was called ʿābir (عابر) because he contemplates the two sides of the dream, reflects on its extremities, ponders every part of it, and lets his thought proceed through it from the first thing the sleeper saw to the last. It is related on the authority of Abū Razīn al-ʿUqaylī that he heard the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, say: 'The dream-vision is [poised] on a bird's foot; when it is interpreted, it comes to pass — so relate it not except to one who loves you (wādd) or one of sound judgment' — because the one who loves you does not wish to greet you in its interpretation except with what you would like, and even if he lacks learning in interpretation he will not hasten to tell you what would grieve you — not that his interpretation changes what God has made it to be. As for the one of sound judgment, he possesses knowledge of its interpretation and will tell you its true meaning, or the closest thing he knows of it; and perhaps there will be, in its interpretation, an admonition that deters you from some evil you are engaged in, or good tidings for which you praise God. [entry continues]

    AI translation of the Arabic below

    عبر الرؤيا يعبرها عبرا وعبارة وعبرها: فسرها وأخبر بما يؤول إليه أمرها. وفي التنزيل العزيز: إن كنتم للرءيا تعبرون ؛ أي إن كنتم تعبرون الرؤيا فعداها باللام، كما قال: قل عسى أن يكون ردف لكم؛ أي ردفكم؛ قال الزجاج: هذه اللام أدخلت على المفعول للتبيين، والمعنى إن كنتم تعبرون وعابرين، ثم بين باللام فقال: للرؤيا، قال: وتسمى هذه اللام لام التعقيب لأنها عقبت الإضافة، قال الجوهري: أوصل الفعل باللام، كما يقال إن كنت للمال جامعا. واستعبره إياها: سأله تعبيرها. والعابر: الذي ينظر في الكتاب فيعبره أي يعتبر بعضه ببعض حتى يقع فهمه عليه، ولذلك قيل: عبر الرؤيا واعتبر فلان كذا، وقيل: أخذ هذا كله من العبر، وهو جانب النهر، وعبر الوادي وعبره؛ الأخيرة عن كراع: شاطئه وناحيته؛ قال النابغة الذبياني يمدح النعمان: وما الفرات إذا جاشت غواربه، ... ترمي أواذيه العبرين بالزبد قال ابن بري: وخبر ما النافية في بيت بعده، وهو: يوما، بأطيب منه سيب نافلة، ... ولا يحول عطاء اليوم دون غد والسيب: العطاء. والنافلة: الزيادة، كما قال سبحانه وتعالى: ووهبنا له إسحاق ويعقوب نافلة. وقوله: ولا يحول عطاء اليوم دون غد إذا أعطى اليوم لم يمنعه ذلك من أن يعطي في غد. وغواربه: ما علا منه. والأواذي: الأمواج، واحدها آذي. ويقال: فلان في ذلك العبر أي في ذلك الجانب. وعبرت النهر والطريق أعبره عبرا وعبورا إذا قطعته من هذا العبر إلى ذلك العبر، فقيل لعابر الرؤيا: عابر لأنه يتأمل ناحيتي الرؤيا فيتفكر في أطرافها، ويتدبر كل شيء منها ويمضي بفكره فيها من أول ما رأى النائم إلى آخر ما رأى. وروي عن أبي رزين العقيلي: أنه سمع النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، يقول: الرؤيا على رجل طائر، فإذا عبرت وقعت فلا تقصها إلا على واد أو ذي رأي ، لأن الواد لا يحب أن يستقبلك في تفسيرها إلا بما تحب، وإن لم يكن عالما بالعبارة لم يعجل لك بما يغمك لا أن تعبيره يزيلها عما جعلها الله عليه، وأما ذو الرأي فمعناه ذو العلم بعبارتها، فهو يخبرك بحقيقة تفسيرها أو بأقرب ما يعلمه منها، ولعله أن يكون في تفسيرها موعظة تردعك عن قبيح أنت عليه أو يكون فيها بشرى فتحمد الله على النعمة فيها. وفي الحديث: الرؤيا لأول عابر؛ العابر: الناظر في الشيء، والمعتبر: المستدل بالشيء على الشيء. وفي الحديث: للرؤيا كنى وأسماء فكنوها بكناها واعتبروها بأسمائها. وفي حديث ابن سيرين: كان يقول إني أعتبر الحديث ؛ المعنى فيه أنه يعبر الرؤيا على الحديث ويعتبر به كما يعتبرها بالقرآن في تأويلها، مثل أن يعبر الغراب بالرجل الفاسق، والضلع بالمرأة، لأن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، سمى الغراب فاسقا وجعل المرأة كالضلع ، ونحو ذلك من الكنى والأسماء. ويقال: عبرت الطير أعبرها إذا زجرتها. وعبر عما في نفسه: أعرب وبين. وعبر عنه غيره: عيي فأعرب عنه، والاسم العبرة «3». والعبارة والعبارة. وعبر عن فلان: تكلم عنه؛ واللسان يعبر عما في الضمير. وعبر بفلان الماء وعبره به؛ عن اللحياني. والمعبر: ما عبر به النهر من فلك أو قنطرة أو غيره. والمعبر: الشط المهيأ للعبور. قال الأزهري: والمعبرة سفينة يعبر عليها النهر. وقال ابن شميل: عبرت متاعي أي باعدته. والوادي يعبر السيل عنا أي يباعده. والعبري من السدر: ما نبت على عبر النهر وعظم، منسوب إليه نادر، وقيل: هو ما لا ساق له منه، وإنما يكون ذلك فيما قارب العبر. وقال يعقوب: العبري والعمري منه ما شرب الماء؛ وأنشد: لاث به الأشاء والعبري قال: والذي لا يشرب يكون بريا وهو الضال. قال وإن كان عذيا فهو الضال. أبو زيد: يقال للسدر وما عظم من العوسج العبري. والعمري: القديم من السدر؛ وأنشد قول ذي الرمة: قطعت، إذا تخوفت العواطي، ... ضروب السدر عبريا وضالا ورجل عابر سبيل أي مار الطريق. وعبر السبيل يعبرها عبورا: شقها؛ وهم عابرو سبيل وعبار سبيل، وقوله تعالى: ولا جنبا إلا عابري سبيل ؛ فسره فقال: معناه أن تكون له حاجة في المسجد وبيته بالبعد فيدخل المسجد ويخرج مسرعا. وقال الأزهري: إلا عابري سبيل ، معناه إلا مسافرين، لأن المسافر يعوزه الماء، وقيل: إلا مارين في المسجد غير مريدين الصلاة. وعبر السفر يعبره عبرا: شقة؛ عن اللحياني. والشعرى العبور، وهما شعريان: أحدهما الغميصاء، وهو أحد كوكبي الذراعين، وأما العبور فهي مع الجوزاء تكون نيرة، سميت عبورا لأنها عبرت المجرة، وهي شامية، وتزعم العرب أن الأخرى بكت على إثرها حتى غمصت فسميت الغميصاء. وجمل عبر أسفار وجمال عبر أسفار، يستوي فيه الواحد والجمع والمؤنث مثل الفلك الذي لا يزال يسافر عليها، وكذلك عبر أسفار، بالكسر. وناقة عبر أسفار وسفر وعبر وعبر: قوية على السفر تشق ما مرت به وتقطع الأسفار عليها، وكذلك الرجل الجريء على الأسفار الماضي فيها القوي عليها. والعبار: الإبل القوية على السير. والعبار: الجمل القوي على السير. وعبر الكتاب يعبره عبرا: تدبره …

  • Lane · 1876English, synthesising the classical dictionaries.

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

    عَبَرَهُ

    1. عَبَرَهُ, aor. عَبُرَ , (S, Mgh, O, Msb, K,) inf. n. عَبْرٌ and عُبُورٌ, [the latter of which is the more common,] (S, O, Msb, K,) He crossed it, went across it, or passed over it, (Mgh, Msb, K,) from one side thereof to the other; (Msb, K;) namely, a river, (S, Mgh, O, Msb, K, *) and a valley, (K, TA,) &c. (S, Mgh.) [Hence,] عَبَرَ بِهِ المَآءَ: see 2. عَبَرَ السَّبِيلَ, (Msb, K,) aor. عَبُرَ , inf. n. عُبُورٌ, (TA,) He travelled, or passed along, the way, or road; (Msb, K; *) as though he cut it, or furrowed it. (K, * TK.) And hence, (TA,) عَبَرَ, (aor. as above, S,) (tropical:) He died: (S, O, Msb, K:) as though he travelled the road of life: or, as F says in the B, as though he crossed over the bridge of the present world or life. (TA.) A poet says, i. e. (tropical:) So if we die, there are others like to us; and if we remain alive, we are waiting for that which must necessarily come to pass, as though we were bound by vows to meet it. (S, O.) And عَبَرَتِ السَّحَائِبُ, aor. as above, inf. n. عُبُورٌ, The clouds travelled, or passed along, quickly. (TA.) عَبَرَ الرُّؤْيَا: see 2, in two places. And [hence, perhaps,] عَبَرْتُ الطَّيْرَ, aor. عَبُرَ and عَبِرَ , (O, K,) inf. n. عَبْرٌ, (TA,) i. q. زَجَرْتُهَا [I augured from the flight, or alighting-places, or cries, &c., of the birds; or I made the birds to fly away in order that I might augur from their flight, &c.]. (O, K.) And عَبَرَ الكِتَاتَ, aor. عَبُرَ , inf. n. عَبْرٌ, (As, S, A, * O, K, *) He meditated upon, endeavouring to understand it, or he considered, examined, or studied, (As, S, O, K,) or he read mentally, (A,) the book, or writing, not raising his voice in doing so, (As, S, A, O, K,) i. e. in reading it. (K.) And you say, بَعْضَ اِعْتَبَرَ الكِتَابِ بِبَعْضٍ, meaning عَبَرَهُ [i. e. He considered and compared one part of the book, or writing, with another part, in order to understand it]. (TA.) And عَبَرَ المَتَاعَ, and الدَّرَاهِمَ, (K, TA,) aor. عَبُرَ , inf. n. عَبْرٌ, (TA,) He examined what was the weight of the goods, and of the dirhems, and what they were. (K, TA.) And you say, الدَّرَاهِمَ فَوَجَدْتُهَا أَلْفًا اِعْتَبَرْتُ, meaning عَبَرْتُهَا, i. e. I tried, or examined, the dirhems, and found them to be a thousand. (Msb.) See also 8, second sentence. عَبِرَ, with kesr, aor. عَبَرَ , inf. n. عَبَرٌ; (S;) or عَبَرَ, inf. n. عَبْرٌ; (K;) [but the former seems to be the more correct, as will be seen from what follows;] and استعبر; (A, O, K;) He shed tears; his eyes, or eye, watered. (S, A, K, TA.) And عَبِرَتْ عَيْنُهُ His eye shed tears, or watered; (S, O;) as also استعبرت. (S.) And عَبِرَ, aor. عَبَرَ , inf. n. عَبَرٌ; (AZ, T, O, * L, TA;) or عَبَرَ, inf. n. عَبْرٌ; (K; [but see above;]) He grieved, or mourned; was sorrowful, sad, or unhappy. (AZ, T, O, L, K, TA.) مَا لَهُ سَهِرَ وَعَبِرَ [What aileth him? May he be sleepless by night, and may he grieve, or mourn:] is a form of imprecation against a man, used by the Arabs. (TA.) And عَبِرَتْ, inf. n. عَبَرٌ, means She became bereft of her child, or children, by death. (A.) [See عُبْرٌ.]

    عبّرهُ بِالمَآءِ

    2. عبّرهُ بِالمَآءِ, (Lh, K,) inf. n. تَعْبِيرٌ; (TA;) and بِهِ المَآءَ عَبَرَ, (Lh, K,) and النَّهْرَ; (TA;) He made him to cross, go across, or pass over, or he conveyed him across, the water, (Lh, K, TA,) and the river. (TA.) عبّر الرُّؤْيَا, (S, O, Msb, K,) inf. n. as above; (S, O;) and عَبَرَهَا, (S, A, O, Msb, K,) [which is less common, but more chaste,] aor. عَبُرَ , (S, O,) inf. n. عِبَارَةٌ (S, A, O, Msb, K) and عَبْرٌ; (A, Msb, K;) He interpreted, or explained, the dream, (S, A, O, Msb, K,) and told its final sequel or result: (A, O, K:) or the former verb has an intensive signification: (Msb:) and تَعْبِيرٌ has a more particular [or more restricted] meaning than تَأْوِيلٌ: it is said to be from عَبَرَ الكِتَابَ [q. v.]; or, as some say, it is from عِبْرٌ signifying the “ side ” of a river, because the interpreter of the dream considers the two sides thereof, and meditates upon every particular of it from its beginning to its end. (TA.) In the phrase of the Kur [xii. 43], إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لِلرُّؤْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ, the ل is termed لَامُ التَّعْقِيبِ [the ل of succedaneousness], because it is succedaneous to the connection termed إِضَافَة [i. e. the phrase is succedaneous to إِنْ كُنْتُمْ عَابِرِى الرُّؤْيَا If ye be interpreters of the dream]: (O, TA:) or it is inserted as an explicative: (Zj, TA:) the phrase is similar to إِنْ كُنْتَ لِلْمَالِ جَامِعًا. (S, O.) عبّر عَمَّا فِى نَفْسِهِ, (A, K, TA,) inf. n. as above, (TA,) He declared, spoke out clearly or plainly, or explained, what was in his mind. (A, * K, * TA.) And اللِّسَانُ يُعَبِّرُ عَمَّا فِى الضَّمِيرِ The tongue declares, or explains, what is in the mind. (S, * O, * Msb) And عبّر عَنْهُ غَيْرُهُ Another spoke, or spoke out, or explained, for him; (L, K, * TA;) he (the latter) being unable to say what he would. (L, TA.) And عَبَّرْتُ عَنْ فُلَانٍ I spoke for such a one. (S, O, Msb.) [Hence, يُعَبِّرُ عَنْ كَذَا, said of a word or phrase, It expresses the meaning of, signifies, or denotes, such a thing. And يُعَبَّرُ بِهِ عَنْ كَذَا The meaning of such a thing is expressed thereby; or such a thing is signified, or denoted, thereby.] عبّر الدَّنَانِيرَ, (A,) or الذَّهَبَ, (K,) inf. n. as above, (A, K,) He weighed the deenárs, (A,) or the gold, (K,) deenár by deenár: (A, K:) or عبّرهُ signifies he weighed it (a thing), or measured it, without extraordinary care: (K, * TA:) and تَعْبِيرُ الدَّرَاهِمِ, the weighing of the dirhems collectively, after making divisions of them. (S, O, TA.) عبّر بِهِ, (K, TA,) inf. n. as above, (TA,) signifies أَرَاهُ عُبْرَ عَيْنِهِ (K, TA, in the CK عَيْنَيْهِ,) i. e. He showed him what would make his eye to weep: or what would make his eye hot. (TA.) Dhu-r-Rummeh says, [Upon swiftly-running mares that show the mountain kids, in the swiftness of their pace, what makes their eyes to weep from envy]. (TA.) And you say also, عبّر عَيْنَيْهِ, meaning He made his eyes to weep. (TA.) Also He destroyed him: (K, TA:) as though he showed him what would make his eye to weep, or make it hot. (TA.) And He caused him to fall into difficulty, or distress. (A.) And It (an affair, or event,) was, or became, difficult, or distressing, to him. (O, K.)

    اعتبر

    8. اعتبر He became admonished, or reminded; he took warning, or example: in this sense the verb is used in the Kur lix. 2: and you say, اِعْتَبَرَ بِمَا مَضَى He became admonished or reminded, or he took warning or example, by what passed: (Msb:) and السَّعِيدُ مِنَ ٱعْتَبَرَ بِغَيْرِهِ وَالشَّقِىُّ مَنِ ٱعْتَبَرَ بِهِ غَيْرُهُ [The fortunate is he who takes warning by others, and the unfortunate is he by whom others take warning]. (Kull p. 60.) And عَبَرٌ [as inf. n. of عَبِرَ, aor. عَبَرَ ,] signifies the same as اِعْتِبَارٌ [as inf. n. of اِعْتَبَرَ in the sense expl. above]: (Fr, O, L, K, TA:) whence the saying of the Arabs, اَللّٰهُمَّ ٱجْعَلْنَا مِمَّنْ يَعْبَرُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَعْبُرُهَا, (Fr, O, L, TA,) with fet-h to the ب of يعبر in the first case, and with damm to it in the second case, (TA,) meaning O God, make us to be of those who take warning, or example, by the present world, and do not [pass through it or] die quickly, or soon, until they content Thee by obedience: (Fr, O, L, TA:) in the copies of the K, مِمَّنْ يَعْبُرُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَعْمُرُهَا, the former verb with ب [and damm], and the latter with م [and damm]: and in the A is given, as a trad., اُعْبُرُوا الدُّنْيَا وَلَا تَعْمُرُوهَا: but the reading given by Sgh and in the L is pronounced by MF to be the right. (TA.) See also عِبْرَةٌ. [And see 10, last sentence.] Also He took, or regarded, what he witnessed, or saw, or beheld, as an indication, or evidence, of what was concealed from him: (O:) he compared what was unapparent with what was apparent [and so judged of the former from analogy]: or he considered the essential properties of things, and their modes of indication, in order that, by the consideration thereof, another thing, of their kind, might become known. (Kull p. 60.) See, again, عِبْرَةٌ. Ibn-Seereen used to say, أَعْتَبِرُ الحَدِيثَ [I judge by comparison with what has been transmitted by tradition from the Prophet]; meaning I interpret a dream according to what has been transmitted by tradition, like as I do according to the Kur-án; as when a crow is interpreted as meaning an unrighteous man, and a rib as meaning a woman, in imitation of forms of speech used by the Prophet. (O, * TA.) See also 1, latter half, in two places. Also He accounted, or esteemed, or regarded, a thing, in respect of predicamental order. (Msb.) See, again, عِبْرَةٌ. [And He esteemed a person, or thing; held him, or it, in high estimation or regard. And He took a thing into account, regarded it, or included it in a mental view or an examination. Hence the phrase بِٱعْتِبَارِ كَذَا With regard, or respect, or with regard had, to such a thing; in consideration of such a thing, or of the implication thereof; and having regard, or respect, to such a thing; as also اِعْتِبَارًا لِكَذَا and بِكَذَا. And بِٱعْتِبَارٍ وَاحِدٍ Considered in one respect; in one and the same light. Hence also the phrase,] يُعْتَبَرُ كَذَا لِصِحَّةِ العَقْدِ Such a thing is made a condition [or is taken into account] for the soundness, or validity, of the contract. (Msb.) اعتبر مِنْهُ means He wondered at him, or it. (K, TA. In the CK, منه is omitted.)

    استعبر

    10. استعبر [He desired to cross, go across, or pass over, a river or the like. (See الغُمَيْصَآءُ.)] استعبرهُ الرُّؤْيَا He asked him to interpret, or explain, the dream; (K;) he related to him the dream in order that he might interpret, or explain, it. (S, O.) لَقَدْ أَسْرَعْتَ ٱسْتِعْبَارَكَ الدَّرَاهِمَ is a saying mentioned by As as meaning [Assuredly thou hast hastened] thy drawing forth of the dirhems. (O.) See also 1, last quarter, in two places. [Accord. to Golius, استعبر is also syn. with اعتبر in the first of the senses assigned to the latter above; but for this I do not find any authority.]

    عَبْرٌ

    عَبْرٌ: see عِبْرٌ. عَبْرُ أَسْفَارٍ and عَبْرُ سَفَرٍ: see what here follows.

    عُبْرُ أَسْفَارٍ

    عُبْرُ أَسْفَارٍ and اسفارٍ عِبْرُ (S, K) and اسفار عَبْرُ (K) and عُبْرُ سَفَرٍ and سفرٍ عِبْرُ and سفرٍ عَبْرُ (TA) A he-camel, and a she-camel, and camels, like a ship [or ships], i. e. upon which journeys are continually made: (S:) or a she-camel that is strong (K, TA) to journey, (TA,) [as though] cutting. or furrowing, what she passes over, (K, TA,) and upon which journeys are made: (TA:) and likewise a man (K, TA) bold to undertake journeys, vigorous and effective therein, and strong to make them: and in like manner a he-camel, and camels: (TA:) applied to a sing. and to a pl. (K, TA) and to a fem.: (TA:) and in like manner also عَبَّارٌ, applied to a he-camel, (K,) meaning strong (O, TA) to journey; and so عِبَارٌ, with kesr, [app. pl. of عَبْرٌ,] applied to camels. (TA.) Hence one says, لِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ إِنَّ فُلَانًا عِبْرٌ Verily such a one is fit, and sufficiently strong, for every work. (A.) [Hence likewise] عُبْرٌ signifies Clouds that travel, or pass along, vehemently [or quickly]. (K.) See also عِبْرٌ. And عُبْرٌ and عَبَرٌ (S, O, K. TA, in the CK عُبْرَة and عَبَرَة,) and عُبُرٌ signify A weeping with grief: (TA:) or heat in the eye, causing it to weep: (S, O:) or heat of the eye. (K.) One says, لِأُمِّهِ العُبْرُ, and العَبَرُ, (S, A, O, TA,) and العُبُرُ, meaning May his mother have weeping with grief: (TA:) or heat in the eye, causing it to weep: (S, O:) or may his mother be bereft of her child, or children, by death. (A.) And أَرَاهُ عُبْرَ عَيْنِهِ (K, TA, in the CK عَيْنَيْهِ,) He showed him what would make his eye to weep: or what would make his eye hot. (TA.) And رَأَى فُلَانٌ عُبْرَ عَيْنَيْهِ Such a one saw what made his eyes hot. (S, O.) And إِنَّهُ لَيَنْظُرُ إِلَى عُبْرِ عَيْنَيْهِ Verily he looks at that which he dislikes, or hates, and at which he weeps. (A.) And the phrase وَعُبْرُ جَارَتِهَا occurs in the trad. of UmmZara, meaning And, by reason of her chastity and beauty, a cause of weeping to her fellow-wife. (TA.) عُبْرٌ also signifies Women bereft of their children by death; syn. ثَكْلَى: (K, TA:) as though pl. of عَابِرٌ. (TA.)

    عِبْرٌ

    عِبْرٌ, (S, O, K, TA, in the CK عِبْرَة,) and عُبْرٌ, (S, O,) or عَبْرٌ, (Kr, A, K, TA, accord. to the CK عَبْرَة,) The bank, or side, (S, A, O, K,) of a river, (S, A, O,) and of a valley. (A, K.) En-Nábighah Edh-Dhubyánee says, of the Euphrates, [Its waves casting foam upon the two banks]. (S, O.) And one says, فُلَانٌ فِى ذٰلِكَ العِبْرِ Such a one is upon that side. (TA.) See also the next preceding paragraph, in three places.

    عَبَرٌ

    عَبَرٌ inf. n. of عَبِرَ [q. v.]. (AZ, T, &c.) See also عُبْرٌ, in two places: and عَبْرَةٌ.

    عَبِرٌ

    عَبِرٌ; and its fem., with ة; see عَابِرٌ.

    عُبُرٌ

    عُبُرٌ: see عُبْرٌ, in two places.

    عَبْرَةٌ

    عَبْرَةٌ: see عِبَارَةٌ. Also A tear: (TA:) or a tear before it overflows: or a [sobbing, or] reiteration [of the sound] of weeping in the bosom: (A, K:) or an overflowing of tears without the sound of weeping: (TA:) or a flowing, or an oozing, of tears: (S, O:) or grief without weeping: (A, K:) pl. عَبَرَاتٌ (O, K) and عَبَرٌ, (so in the O, [but this, if correct, is a quasi-pl. n.,]) or عِبَرٌ. (Thus in copies of the K.) Of the first meaning, the following is an ex.: [And verily my cure would be a tear if I shed it]: and of the last, the following is an ex.: or, as some relate it, ولا عبرة لِى; and the meaning is, For thy sake I weep, but there is grief in me for myself: so says As: (TA:) or in this saying, which is a prov., ما may be redundant, or it may be what is termed مَصْدَرِيَّة; and the meaning is, For thee I weep, or for thee is my weeping, I [myself] having no need of weeping. (Meyd.)

    عِبْرَةٌ

    عِبْرَةٌ a subst. from الاِعْتِبَارُ; An admonition, or exhortation: (Bd in iii. 11): an admonition, or exhortation, by which one takes warning or example: (Jel in xxiii. 21:) a thing by the state, or condition, of which one is admonished, or reminded, and guided, or directed: (Bd in xxiii. 21:) i. q. اِعْتِبَارٌ [lit. a being admonished, or reminded, &c.; but meaning a cause of being admonished, &c.; i. e. a warning, or an example]: (Jel in xvi. 68:) or اِعْتِبَارٌ بِمَا مَضَى i. e. اِتّعَاظٌ and تَذَكُّرٌ [meaning, in like manner, a cause of being admonished, or reminded, by what has passed]: (Msb:) an indication, or evidence, (Bd and Jel in xxiv. 44, and Bd in xvi. 68,) whereby one passes from ignorance to knowledge: (Bd in xvi. 68:) a state [of things or circumstances] whereby, from the knowledge of what is seen, one arrives at the knowledge of what is not seen; as also اِعْتِبَارٌ: (B, TA:) and a wonderful thing [app. such as serves as a warning or an example]: (A, K:) pl. عِبَرٌ. (Msb, TA.) And The account, or estimation, or regard, in which a thing is held in respect of predicamental order; as also اِعْتِبَارٌ. (Msb.) [Hence the common phrase لَا عِبْرَةَ بِهِ, meaning No regard is due to it.] See also عِبَارَةٌ.

    Lane, Arabic-English Lexiconread Lane's entry online ↗
Technical definitions4 · Ibn ʿArabī’s Iṣṭilāḥ, al-Jurjānī’s Taʿrīfāt
  • الاعتبار

    أن يرى الدنيا للفناء، والعاملين فيها للموت، وعمرانها للخراب، وقيل: الاعتبار اسم المعتبرة، وهي رؤية فناء الدنيا كلها باستعمال النظر في فناء جزئها، وقيل: الاعتبار من العبر، وهو شق النهر والبحر يعني يرى المعتبر نفسه على حرف من مقامات الدنيا.

    Al-iʿtibār (الاعتبار): to see the world as [destined] for annihilation, those working in it as [destined] for death, and its flourishing as [destined] for ruin. It is also said: al-iʿtibār is the name of al-muʿtabara (the act of taking a lesson), which is the perception of the annihilation of the whole world by employing observation of the annihilation of a part of it. It is also said: al-iʿtibār derives from al-ʿabr, the crossing of a river or sea — meaning the one who takes a lesson sees himself as though on the edge (ḥarf) of one of the stations of this world.

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 571 ↗

  • الاعتبار

    هو النظر في الحكم الثابت أنه لأي معنى ثبت، وإلحاق نظيره به وهذا عين القياس.

    Al-iʿtibār (الاعتبار) is the examination of an established ruling as to the reason for which it was established, and the attachment of its analogue to it; this is identical with qiyās (analogical reasoning).

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 575 ↗

  • الأمر الاعتباري

    هو الذي لا وجود له إلا في عقل المعتبر، ما دام معتبرا، وهو الماهية، بشرط العراء.

    Al-amr al-iʿtibārī (الأمر الاعتباري, the notional matter) is that which has no existence except in the mind of the one considering it, so long as it is being considered; it is the quiddity (māhiyya) on condition of being stripped [of external existential attachments].

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 719 ↗

  • عبارة النص

    هي النظم المعنوي المسوق له الكلام؛ سميت عبارة لأن المستدل يعبر من النظم إلى المعنى، والمتكلم من المعنى إلى النظم، فكانت هي موضع العبور، فإذا عمل بموجب الكلام من الأمر والنهي يسمى: استدلالا بعبارة النص.

    ʿIbārat al-naṣṣ (عبارة النص, the explicit wording of the text) is the meaningful construction for the sake of which the speech is composed; it is called ʿibāra (expression) because the one inferring passes (yaʿbur) from the construction to the meaning, while the speaker passes from the meaning to the construction — so it is the place of crossing (ʿubūr). When one acts according to what the speech requires, of command and prohibition, this is called 'inference by the explicit wording of the text' (al-istidlāl bi-ʿibārat al-naṣṣ).

    al-Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, line 2907 ↗

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

ع ب ر

العين والباء والراء أصل صحيح واحد يدل على النفوذ والمضي في الشيء

ʿ-b-r is one sound root indicating penetrating through and passing on in a thing.

Ibn Fāris ↗Lisān ↗Lane ↗al-Khalīl: used ↗Quran ×9

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

ع

ومن أوسط الحلق مخرج العين والحاء

From the middle of the throat is the place of the ʿayn and the ḥāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26548–26549 ↗

ومن وسط الحلق مخرج العين والحاء

From the middle of the throat is the place of the ʿayn and the ḥāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, line 970 ↗

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 ↗

ر

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا لانحرافه إلى اللام مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Sībawayh, lines 26557–26558 ↗

ومن مخرج النون غير أنه أدخل في ظهر اللسان قليلا، لانحرافه إلى اللام، مخرج الراء

From the place of the nūn, except that it goes a little further onto the back of the tongue, because it leans towards the lām, is the place of the rāʾ. Ibn Jinnī, lines 980–981 ↗

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

ع

Level of existence: الطبيعة · Nature

Divine Name: الباطن · The Inward (al-Bāṭin)

Lunar mansion: الثريا · al-Thurayyā (the Pleiades)

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 63825

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

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

ر

Level of existence: السماء الخامسة · the fifth heaven

Divine Name: المصور · the Form-Giver (al-Muṣawwir)

Lunar mansion: الغفر · al-Ghafr

Futūḥāt ch. 198, line 64675

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

ع

فهي اسم لقدوم أو رحيل.

It is a name for arrival or departure.

فهي اسم للساكن في الذات التي تقوم به.

It is a name for that which dwells in the self and by which the self subsists.

فهي اسم لخبث الذات.

It is a name for the foulness of the self.

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

ر

فهي إشارة إلى جميع الخيرات الظاهرة والباطنة.

It is an indication of all goods, outward and inward.

فهي إشارة إلى الواحد في نفسه وهو ظاهر.

It is an indication of the one in itself, and it is manifest.

فهي إشارة إلى الشيء الذي فيه الروح وليس من بني آدم، أو إشارة إلى الروح نفسها.

It is an indication of a thing that has spirit in it but is not of the children of Adam, or an indication of the spirit itself.

al-Dabbāgh (d. 1132/1719), al-Ibrīz, ch. 2 §15, compiled by al-Lamaṭī
Two-letter nucleus17 roots in Ibn Fāris’s chapterع ب

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 21390 ↗

  • عبثالعين والباء والثاء أصل صحيح واحد يدل على الخلطQ 2 · L21391
  • عبجالعين والباء والجيم ليس عند الخليل فيه شيء وقد قيل العبجة الأحمقL21396
  • عبدالعين والباء والدال أصلان صحيحان كأنهما متضادان والأول من ذينك الأصلين يدل على لين وذل والآخر على شدة وغلظQ 275 · L21397
  • عبرالعين والباء والراء أصل صحيح واحد يدل على النفوذ والمضي في الشيءQ 9 · L21425
  • عبطالعين والباء والطاء أصل صحيح يدل على شدة تصيب من غير استحقاق وهذه عبارة ذكرها الخليل وهي صحيحة منقاسة فالعبط أن تعبط الناقة صحيحة من غير داء ولا كسرL21474
  • عبقالعين والباء والقاف أصل صحيح واحد وهو لزوم الشيء للشيءL21490
  • عبكالعين والباء والكاف أصيل صحيح يدل على ما يدل عليه الذي قبله وليس ببعيد أن يكون من باب الإبدالL21505
  • عبلالعين والباء واللام أصل صحيح يدل على ضخم وامتداد وشدةL21510
  • عبمالعين والباء والميم كلمة تدل على غلظ وجفاءL21519
  • عدرالعين والدال والراء ليس بشيء وقد ذكرت فيه كلمةL21903
  • عدسالعين والدال والسين ليس فيه من اللغة شيء لكنهم يسمون الحب المعروف عدسا ويقولون عدس زجر للبغالQ 1 · L21904
  • عدقالعين والدال والقاف ليس بشيء وذكروا أن حديدة ذات شعب يستخرج بها الدلو من البئرL21914
  • عدكالعين والدال والكاف ليس بشيء إلا كلمة من هنوات ابن دريدL21916
  • عدلالعين والدال واللام أصلان صحيحان لكنهما متقابلان كالمتضادين أحدهما يدل على استواء والآخر يدل على اعوجاجQ 28 · L21917
  • عدمالعين والدال والميم أصل واحد يدل على فقدان الشيء وذهابهL21939
  • عدوالعين والدال والحرف المعتل أصل واحد صحيح يرجع إليه الفروع كأنها وهو يدل على تجاوز في الشيء وتقدم لما ينبغي أن يقتصر عليهQ 106 · L21953
  • عدبالعين والدال والباء زعم الخليل أنه مهمل ولعله لم يبلغه فيه شيء فأما البناء فصحيح والعداب مسترق من الرملL22004
In the sister scriptsHebrew ע ב רSyriac ܥ ܒ ܪ
Arabicع ب ر
Hebrewע ב ר
Syriacܥ ܒ ܪ
Ancient South Arabian (musnad)𐩲 𐩨 𐩧
Phoenician𐤏 𐤁 𐤓

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 (d. 175/791) opens with interpreting a dream (ʿabara al-ruʾyā, taʿbīr).well attested

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

    al-Khalīl (d. 175/791) opens with interpreting a dream (ʿabara al-ruʾyā, taʿbīr). He then gives crossing a river (ʿubūr), the bank (ʿibr), the ferry (miʿbar, miʿbara), the passer-by (ʿābir sabīl), and speaking on behalf of someone who cannot argue his case (ʿabbartu ʿanhu). He defines ʿibra as considering what has passed (al-iʿtibār li-mā maḍā). al-Jawharī (d. c. 393/1003) treats ʿibra as the noun of iʿtibār and adds a group of senses for weeping: ʿabra (tears welling), ʿabira (to weep), ʿabrān (weeping), ʿabar (a heat in the eye that brings tears). Ibn Fāris (d. 395/1004) reduces all of this to one aṣl of passing through, and argues that tears belong to the root because tears pass and flow. al-Rāghib (early 5th/11th c.) takes the aṣl more abstractly as moving from one state to another. For him ʿubūr is restricted to crossing water, ʿibāra is speech crossing the air from tongue to ear, iʿtibār is reaching from what is witnessed to what is not, and ʿabara al-qawm means 'they died', as if crossing the bridge of this world. Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711/1311) reports al-Zajjāj and al-Jawharī on the lām in li-l-ruʾyā taʿburūn (Q 12:43). Lane gives crossing a river 'from one side thereof to the other' as the primary sense, with ʿubūr as the commoner infinitive.

    Draws on: al-Khalīl · al-Jawharī · Ibn Fāris · al-Rāghib · Ibn Manẓūr · Lane

  • Letters & soundIn al-Dabbāgh's letter meanings, ʿayn is 'a name for arrival or departure', which a symbolic reader could connect with crossing from one bank to the other.speculative

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

    In al-Dabbāgh's letter meanings, ʿayn is 'a name for arrival or departure', which a symbolic reader could connect with crossing from one bank to the other. Bāʾ indicates what is at the utmost of might or of abasement, and rāʾ indicates all goods, outward and inward. In the letter-cosmology data given, rāʾ is linked to the Fifth Heaven; no such correspondence is given here for ʿayn or bāʾ. Ibn Jinnī's imsās al-alfāẓ ashbāh al-maʿānī would invite hearing a movement from the deep guttural through the lips to the rolled rāʾ, but he does not discuss this root. Mainstream linguistics treats such readings as suggestive at most.

    Draws on: al-Dabbāgh · Ibn ʿArabī letter-cosmology · Ibn Jinnī imsās

  • Root structureIbn Fāris's ʿ-b chapter contains ʿbth (mixing), ʿbd (softness and abasement, and also hardness), ʿbṭ (harm without cause), ʿbq (one thing clinging to another) and ʿbl (bulk and extension).plausible

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

    Ibn Fāris's ʿ-b chapter contains ʿbth (mixing), ʿbd (softness and abasement, and also hardness), ʿbṭ (harm without cause), ʿbq (one thing clinging to another) and ʿbl (bulk and extension). None of these shares ʿbr's sense of passing through, so the nucleus gives no clear common meaning. All five permutations are attested. ʿrb (clarity and eloquent disclosure, alongside two other aṣls) can be set beside ʿibāra 'expression'. rbʿ (a fourth, staying, raising), rʿb (fear, filling, cutting), bʿr (camels, dung) and brʿ (voluntary giving, excellence) lie further off. Ibn Jinnī's greater derivation (al-ishtiqāq al-akbar) does not fit this set well; the ʿbr/ʿrb pairing is a juxtaposition, not a demonstrated common sense.

    Draws on: Maqāyīs nucleus ʿ-b · permutations

  • Semitic kin & loanwordsThis is a secure common Semitic root for crossing.well attested

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

    This is a secure common Semitic root for crossing. Hebrew ʿāḇar means 'to pass over, cross', and ʿēḇer means 'region across, side', as in ʿēḇer ha-nāhār, 'beyond the River'. Aramaic and Syriac ʿbar means 'to cross, pass'. Akkadian ebēru means 'to cross (a river)'. The Arabic word is inherited, not borrowed. The Arabic senses of dream interpretation, expression and admonitory example are inner-Arabic developments from 'crossing'.

    Draws on: Hebrew · Aramaic · Akkadian · common Semitic

  • Quranic exegesisAt Q 3:13 and 12:111 the exegetes gloss ʿibra as a lesson or sign from which those with sight or understanding (ulū l-abṣār, ulū l-albāb) draw inferences.plausible

    How the classical exegetes read the word in the Quran.

    At Q 3:13 and 12:111 the exegetes gloss ʿibra as a lesson or sign from which those with sight or understanding (ulū l-abṣār, ulū l-albāb) draw inferences. This matches al-Rāghib's definition of passing from the witnessed to the unwitnessed. At Q 12:43 (li-l-ruʾyā taʿburūn) the discussion is largely grammatical: the lām is explained as strengthening a verb whose object has been placed before it. At Q 4:43 (illā ʿābirī sabīl) al-Ṭabarī reports two readings: travellers who may pray after tayammum, or those merely passing through a place of prayer while in a state of janāba. He prefers the latter. At Q 59:2 (fa-ʿtabirū yā ulī l-abṣār), al-Rāzī and the uṣūlīs cite the command to 'cross over' by consideration as scriptural support for analogy (qiyās).

    Draws on: al-Ṭabarī · al-Zamakhsharī · al-Rāzī · al-Rāghib

  • Philosophy & kalāmIn the Arabic Organon, ʿibāra names Aristotle's Peri Hermeneias (Kitāb al-ʿIbāra).well attested

    The word as a technical term in falsafa and theology.

    In the Arabic Organon, ʿibāra names Aristotle's Peri Hermeneias (Kitāb al-ʿIbāra). al-Fārābī wrote a commentary on it, and Avicenna's Shifāʾ has a logic section under that name. The term denotes linguistic expression as the vehicle carrying meanings (maʿānī) from the soul to a hearer, close to al-Rāghib's 'speech crossing the air'. In kalām and uṣūl, ʿibāra is set against ishāra and other modes of signification in textual hermeneutics.

    Draws on: falsafa logic · Kitāb al-ʿIbāra

  • Akbarian readingIn Faṣṣ Ādam the root occurs as ʿabbara ʿan / al-muʿabbar ʿanhu, 'that which is expressed as'.plausible

    The word in Ibn ʿArabī's text and terminology.

    In Faṣṣ Ādam the root occurs as ʿabbara ʿan / al-muʿabbar ʿanhu, 'that which is expressed as'. The divine spirit is expressed by blowing (nafkh), which he glosses as the form's acquiring preparedness (istiʿdād). The cosmos is what the Folk term 'the Great Human' (al-insān al-kabīr). Human sight is what is 'expressed as' baṣar, and the pairing of majesty and beauty is expressed by the two hands. The idiom presents scriptural and technical names as expressions that point across to realities. This fits Ibn ʿArabī's broader treatment elsewhere in the Fuṣūṣ, notably Faṣṣ Yūsuf, of dream interpretation (taʿbīr) as crossing from an imaginal form to its meaning. No Iṣṭilāḥ definition is given for this root.

    Draws on: Fuṣūṣ, Faṣṣ Ādam · taʿbīr

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