عددto count/reckon and to prepare/make ready — two branches of one root, per Ibn Fāris (root dd)

ʿAdadtu al-shayʾa ʿaddan (عددت الشيء عدا) — 'I counted it and reckoned it.' God Almighty said: 'na‘uddu lahum ʿaddan (نَعُدُّ لَهُمْ عَدًّا)' [Qur'an 19:84] — meaning the breaths [of life] are precisely enumerated and have a known number. So-and-so is fī ʿidād al-ṣāliḥīn (في عداد الصالحين) — counted among the righteous — and 'his ʿidād (عداده) is among the Banū so-and-so,' when his register (dīwān) is with them. The ʿidda of a woman (عدة المرأة) is the days of her menstrual periods; and al-ʿidda (العدة) [also means] a group, whether few or many. Al-ʿadd (العد) is a verbal noun like al-ʿadad (العدد). Al-ʿadīd (العديد) means abundance. It is said: 'How great is his ʿadīd!' and 'these dirhams are ʿadīdatu (عديدة) those' — when equal to them in number. 'They yataʿaddadūn (يتعددون) beyond ten thousand' means they exceed that in number; 'they yataʿādūn (يتعادون)' — when they compete in reckoning against one another their noble deeds and other such things. Al-ʿudda (العدة) is what is prepared for a matter that will occur and stored up for it; aʿdadtu al-shayʾa (أعددت الشيء) — 'I prepared the thing.' Al-ʿidd (العد) is a place where water collects, plural aʿdād (أعداد); it is what people rely on [as a lasting source], so the water is called ʿidd, and its gathering-place too is called ʿidd. Dhū al-Rumma said: 'Mayya called out to the aʿdād (الأعداد) [the permanent water-pools] and exchanged for them scattered troops of stray white gazelles (ājāl) from the springs (al-ʿīn).' It is said: 'Banū so-and-so are dhū ʿidd wa-fayḍ (ذوو عد وفيض)' — possessors of a permanent water-source and its overflow, by which they are made sufficient. It is said: 'that was in the ʿidān (عدان) of his youth,' and 'the ʿidān of his reign' — its best and greatest part. Al-ʿAjjāj said: 'And I had, in the ʿidān (عدان) of a present kingdom...' [entry continues]

ʿAdadtu al-shayʾ (عددت الشيء) — when you counted it. The noun is al-ʿadad (العدد) and al-ʿadīd (العديد). It is said: 'hum ʿadīd al-ḥaṣā wa-l-tharā (هم عديد الحصى والثرى)' — 'they are as numerous as pebbles and dust,' meaning in great multitude. 'So-and-so is ʿadīd (عديد) of the Banū so-and-so,' meaning he is counted among them. 'He counted him (ʿaddahu), so he iʿtadda (اعتد) — became counted,' and 'iʿtadda bihi (اعتد به)' — 'he took him into account.' Labīd's saying: 'The shares (ʿadāʾid, عدائد) of the partners fly off in pairs and singly, while leadership goes to the boy' — meaning whoever is reckoned his equal (yuʿāduhu) in inheritance. It is said: 'it is from ʿuddat al-māl (عدة المال)' [the store of wealth]. Al-ayyām al-maʿdūdāt (الأيام المعدودات) — 'the numbered days' — are the days of Tashrīq. 'Aʿaddahu li-amrin kadhā (أعده لأمر كذا)' — 'he prepared it for such a matter.' Al-istiʿdād li-l-amr (الاستعداد للأمر) is readying oneself for the matter. 'They yataʿādūn (يتعادون) and yataʿaddadūn (يتعددون) beyond ten thousand,' meaning they exceed that in number. The ʿidda of a woman is the days of her menstrual cycles; 'she has iʿtaddat (اعتدت)' — observed her waiting period — and 'her ʿidda has expired (inqaḍat ʿiddatuhā).' You say: 'anfadhtu ʿiddata kutubin (أنفذت عدة كتب)' — 'I sent a number of letters,' meaning a group of letters. Al-ʿudda (العدة), with ḍamma, means readiness; one says 'kūnū ʿalā ʿuddatin (كونوا على عدة)' — 'be in readiness.' Al-ʿudda also means what you have prepared for the misfortunes of time, of wealth and weapons; one says 'akhadha li-l-amr ʿuddatahu wa-ʿatādahu (أخذ للأمر عدته وعتاده)' — 'he took his gear and equipment for the matter' — synonymous. Al-Akhfash said: from this is His saying, Exalted is He: 'jamaʿa mālan wa-ʿaddadahu (جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ)' [Qur'an 104:2]; it is said [this means] he made it something possessing number [hoarded and counted repeatedly]. Al-miʿaddān (المعدان) is the place of the two side-boards of the saddle. Maʿadd (معد) is the forefather of the Arabs — Maʿadd ibn ʿAdnān. Sībawayh used to say the mīm is a radical letter, because of their saying 'tamaʿdada (تمعدد),' since the pattern tamafʿala is rare in speech — but he has been disputed on this. Tamaʿdada al-rajul (تمعدد الرجل) means 'he adopted their [Maʿadd's] dress,' or 'he affiliated himself with them,' or 'he endured patiently the harsh life of Maʿadd.' ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said: 'Ikhshawshinū wa-tamaʿddadū (اخشوشنوا وتمعددوا)' — 'Be tough and live as Maʿadd lived.' Abū ʿUbayda said there are two views: [1] it derives from coarseness, and hence a boy who grows sturdy is said to have 'tamaʿdada (تمعدد).' The rajaz poet said: 'I raised him until, when he had grown sturdy (tamaʿdada, تمعددا)...' [2] It is also said 'tamaʿddadū' means 'resemble the life of Maʿadd,' who were people of austerity and hardness in living; he [ʿUmar] means: be like them and abandon luxury and the dress of non-Arabs. He said: likewise in another ḥadīth of his: 'ʿalaykum bi-l-libsati l-Maʿaddiyya (عليكم باللبسة المعدية)' — 'Adopt the dress of Maʿadd.' As for the saying of Maʿn ibn Aws: 'Stop, for it has become desolate, and whoever was in it, even he who was dear to us has tamaʿdada (تمعددا)' — he means by it 'grown distant.' Al-Kisāʾī said: and in the proverb: 'an tasmaʿa bi-l-Muʿaydī khayrun min an tarāhu (أَنْ تَسْمَعَ بِالْمُعَيْدِيِّ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَنْ تَرَاهُ)' — 'to hear of al-Muʿaydī is better than to see him' — it is the diminutive of Maʿaddī, a relative adjective from Maʿadd; the dāl was lightened because doubling it together with the doubled letters and the diminutive yāʾ would be too cumbersome. It is said of a man famed among people whom, upon seeing, you find unimpressive. Ibn al-Sikkīt said... [entry continues]

ʿAyn (ع) and dāl (د) form one sound root that does not depart from al-ʿadd (العد), which is counting/enumeration, and from al-iʿdād (الإعداد), which is preparing a thing. All the branches of this chapter go back to these two meanings. Al-ʿadd (العد) is the counting of a thing: you say ʿadadtu al-shayʾa aʿudduhu ʿaddan (عددت الشيء أعده عدا) — 'I counted the thing,' so I am ʿādd (عاد) — 'counter,' and the thing is maʿdūd (معدود) — 'counted.' Al-ʿadīd (العديد) means abundance/multitude. And so-and-so is fī ʿidād al-ṣāliḥīn (في عداد الصالحين) — 'in the ranks of the righteous,' meaning he is counted among them. Al-ʿadad (العدد) is the measure of what is counted. It is said: 'How great is the ʿadīd (عديد) and ʿadad (عدد) of the sons of so-and-so' [i.e. their multitude and number]. And they yataʿādūn (يتعادون) and yataʿaddadūn (يتعددون) beyond ten thousand, meaning they exceed it. From the other aspect: al-ʿudda (العدة) is what is prepared for a matter that will occur. One says aʿdadtu al-shayʾa uʿidduhu iʿdādan (أعددت الشيء أعده إعدادا) — 'I prepared the thing,' istaʿdadtu li-l-shayʾ (استعددت للشيء) — 'I got ready for it,' and taʿaddadtu lahu (تعددت له) — 'I readied myself for it.' Al-Aṣmaʿī said: among the proverbs is 'kullu imriʾin yaʿdū bimā istaʿaddā (كل امرئ يعدو بما استعدا)' — 'every man proceeds with what he has prepared.' From this chapter also is al-ʿidda (العدة) — 'the [woman's] waiting period,' from al-ʿadd. And from this chapter is al-ʿidd (العد) — 'a place where water collects,' plural aʿdād (أعداد). We say it belongs here because water that never runs dry is as if it were something perpetually prepared (muʿadd). He said, in verse: 'And I crossed, upon a sturdy she-camel, a desert waste with neither ʿidd (عد) nor thamad (ثمد) in it.' Abū ʿUbayda said: al-ʿidd is an old, abundant well; hence one says ḥasab ʿidd (حسب عد) — 'ancient lineage.' Plural aʿdād. He said sometimes every well is called ʿidd, and they say māʾ ʿidd (ماء عد) — 'perpetual water' — descriptively, when it is well-water. He said, in verse: 'If you were perpetual well-water, you would have gathered abundantly when the people came to draw — it would not have been a mere trickle.' Abū Ḥātim said: al-ʿidd is ground/spring water, as al-karaʿ (الكرع) is rainwater. Dhū al-Rumma said: 'There are the springs and the white antelopes; no ʿidd (عد) is by them, nor karaʿ (كرع), only the caves and the fresh pasture.' As for al-ʿidād (العداد), it is the recurring flare-up of pain in a snakebite victim; its derivation and analogy are sound, since that occurs at a fixed time, as though the time were being 'counted' (ʿadd). Al-Khalīl said: al-ʿidād is the recurring pain-flare of the bitten person, because sometimes when a snake's venom 'recovers' in the survivor (salīm), it 'returns' (ʿādat); it would also be correct to say ʿādathu — 'it returned to him.' This is when a full year has passed since the day of the bite: the pain flares in him, and he is called muʿād (معاد). Its derivation seems to be from reckoning, from counting the months and days, meaning the pain used to count what elapsed of the year, and when it was complete it recurred (ʿāwada) upon the bitten man. Al-Shaybānī said: the ʿidād of the bitten man is that he feels the pain hour after hour. Ibn al-Sikkīt said: the ʿidād of the bitten man is that seven days are counted for him; if they pass, they hope for his recovery, and as long as seven days have not passed he is fī ʿidād (في عداد). Ibn al-Aʿrābī said: al-ʿidād is the day of payment/giving, and likewise anything occurring at a fixed time within the year. From this is his saying, peace be upon him: 'The morsel of Khaybar has continued to taʿāddunī (تعادني) until now is the moment my aorta (abhar) is cut,' meaning it comes to me every year at [that] time. He said, in verse: 'What remains of the bond with Suʿādā has become an attachment, and a sickness recurring at its set time (ʿidāda, عدادا).' From this chapter too is al-ʿidān (العدان) — 'time/era' — so called because every span of time is bounded and counted. Al-Farazdaq said: 'I wept for a harsh, coarse, accursed man, like Kisrā in his era (ʿidān, عدان), or like Qayṣar.' Al-Khalīl said: one says 'that was in the ʿidān of his youth,' and 'the ʿidān of his reign' is its greatest, best, and earliest part. He said, in verse: 'And kingship is stored up [waiting] for its appointed time (ʿidān, عدانه)...' The meaning is that it was prepared (muʿadd) for it — this is al-Khalīl's saying. It is related from al-Shaybānī that al-ʿidād is that a group gathers and each contributes a payment. As for ʿidād al-qaws (عداد القوس), some people say unconditionally that it is its [twanging] sound; but more correct than that is... [entry continues]

Al-ʿadad (العدد) is 'composite units,' or, as some say, 'the composition of units' — the two descriptions being the same. God Almighty said: '...ʿadada l-sinīna wa-l-ḥisāb (عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ)' — '...the number of years and the reckoning' (Qur'an 10:5). And His saying: 'fa-ḍarabnā ʿalā ādhānihim fī l-kahfi sinīna ʿadadan (فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَىٰ آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا)' — 'So We cast [sleep] over their ears within the cave for a number of years' (Qur'an 18:11) — his mentioning 'number' points to their great quantity. Al-ʿadd is the joining of numbers to one another. God Almighty said: 'laqad aḥṣāhum wa-ʿaddahum ʿaddan (لَقَدْ أَحْصَاهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدًّا)' — 'He has enumerated them and counted them precisely' (Qur'an 19:94); 'fa-saʾali l-ʿāddīn (فَسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ)' — 'so ask those who count' (Qur'an 23:113), meaning those possessing number and reckoning. And He said: 'kam labithtum fī l-arḍi ʿadada sinīn (كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ عَدَدَ سِنِينَ)' — 'How long did you remain on earth in number of years?' (Qur'an 23:112); 'wa-inna yawman ʿinda rabbika ka-alfi sanatin mimmā taʿuddūn (وَإِنَّ يَوْمًا عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ)' — 'a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of what you count' (Qur'an 22:47). Al-ʿadd is used figuratively in several ways: one says 'a thing maʿdūd (معدود) and maḥṣūr (محصور)' for something scant, as opposed to what is uncountable in abundance, as indicated in His saying 'bi-ghayri ḥisāb (بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ)' — 'without account' (Qur'an 2:212). Accordingly: 'illā ayyāman maʿdūdatan (إِلَّا أَيَّامًا مَعْدُودَةً)' — 'except for a few numbered days' (Qur'an 2:80), meaning few, since they said: we will only be punished for the days in which we worshipped the calf. It is also used oppositely, as in 'jaysh ʿadīd (جيش عديد)' — a numerous army — and 'innahum la-dhū ʿadad (إنهم لذو عدد)' — they are of such great number that they must be counted as many. So one says of something small: 'it is ghayr maʿdūd (غير معدود)' — not [worth] counting; and His saying 'fī l-kahfi sinīna ʿadadā' (Qur'an 18:11) may bear both senses. From this comes the saying 'hādhā ghayr muʿtaddin bihi (هذا غير معتد به)' — 'this is not taken into account' — and 'lahu ʿudda (له عدة)' — meaning he possesses a considerable amount of wealth, weapons, and the like, which is reckoned up. He said: 'la-aʿaddū lahu ʿuddatan (لَأَعَدُّوا لَهُ عُدَّةً)' — 'they would have prepared for it' (Qur'an 9:46); and 'māʾ ʿidd (ماء عد)' [perpetual water]. Al-ʿidda is 'the thing counted.' God Almighty said: 'wa-mā jaʿalnā ʿiddatahum (وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ)' — 'and We made not their number' (Qur'an 74:31), meaning their number. And His saying 'fa-ʿiddatun min ayyāmin ukhar (فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ)' — 'then a number of other days' (Qur'an 2:184), meaning he owes days equal to what he missed, at a time other than Ramadan; 'inna ʿiddata l-shuhūri (إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ)' — 'indeed the number of months' (Qur'an 9:36). Al-ʿidda: the waiting-period of a woman — the days upon whose completion remarriage becomes lawful for her. God Almighty said: 'fa-mā lakum ʿalayhinna min ʿiddatin taʿtaddūnahā (فَمَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ عِدَّةٍ تَعْتَدُّونَهَا)' — 'then you have no waiting period to count regarding them' (Qur'an 33:49); 'fa-ṭalliqūhunna li-ʿiddatihinna wa-aḥṣū l-ʿiddata (فَطَلِّقُوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ وَأَحْصُوا الْعِدَّةَ)' — 'divorce them for their waiting period and keep count of the period' (Qur'an 65:1). Al-iʿdād derives from al-ʿadd just as al-isqāʾ derives from al-saqy; so 'aʿdadtu hādhā laka (أعددت هذا لك)' means: I have made this such that you count on it and take from it as you need. God Almighty said: 'wa-aʿiddū lahum mā stataʿtum (وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم)' — 'prepare against them whatever you can' (Qur'an 8:60); 'ulāʾika aʿtadnā lahum ʿadhāban alīman (أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا)' — 'for them We have prepared a painful punishment' (Qur'an 4:18); 'wa-aʿtadnā li-man kadhdhaba (وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِمَن كَذَّبَ)' — 'and We have prepared for whoever denies' (Qur'an 25:11); and 'wa-aʿtadat lahunna muttakaʾan (وَأَعْتَدَتْ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً)' — 'and she prepared for them a banquet' (Qur'an 12:31) — said to be from the same root. And 'fa-ʿiddatun min ayyāmin ukhar' (Qur'an 2:184) means the number of what he missed; 'wa-li-tukmilū l-ʿiddata (وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ)' — 'that you may complete the number' (Qur'an 2:185), meaning the number of days of the month; 'ayyāman maʿdūdātin (أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ)' — 'a few numbered days' (Qur'an 2:184) — refers to Ramadan. And 'remember...' [entry continues]

Al-ʿadd (العد): the counting of a thing — ʿaddahu yaʿudduhu ʿaddan wa-taʿdādan wa-ʿiddatan wa-ʿaddadahu (عده يعده عدا وتعدادا وعدة وعدده) [various forms meaning 'he counted it']. Al-ʿadad (العدد) in His saying, Exalted is He: 'wa-aḥṣā kulla shayʾin ʿadadā (وَأَحْصَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدًا)' [Qur'an 72:28] has two possible meanings: it may mean 'He enumerated every thing as counted (maʿdūdan),' with ʿadadan as an accusative of state — one says 'ʿadadtu al-darāhima ʿaddan (عددت الدراهم عدا)' — 'I counted the dirhams,' and what is counted is 'maʿdūd' and 'ʿadad,' just as one says 'nafaḍtu thamara al-shajari nafḍan (نفضت ثمر الشجر نفضا)' and calls what is shaken down 'nafaḍ'; or it may mean 'He enumerated with [thorough] enumeration,' with 'ʿadad' standing in for 'iḥṣāʾ' since it carries its meaning. The noun form is al-ʿadad and al-ʿadīd. In the ḥadīth of Luqmān: 'wa-lā naʿuddu faḍlahu ʿalaynā (ولا نعد فضله علينا)' — 'we cannot enumerate his favor upon us' due to its abundance; or, it is said, meaning: we do not count it against ourselves as an owed favor. In the ḥadīth: a man was asked when the Resurrection would occur, and he said: 'When the two numbers (al-ʿiddatān, العدتان) are completed' — said to be the number of the people of Paradise and the number of the people of Hell — i.e., when these are completed with God by their all returning to Him, the Resurrection occurs. Al-Liḥyānī related: 'ʿaddahu maʿaddan (عده معدا)' [alternate verbal-noun form], citing: 'Do not compare me to a curly-haired little billy-goat, stiff of the qaṣīrā, base in lineage-count (muqrif al-maʿadd, مقرف المعد).' His saying 'muqrif al-maʿadd' means '[base regarding] what is counted of his forefathers.' Ibn Sīdah said: in my view al-maʿadd here means 'the flank,' since he had just said 'kazz al-qaṣīrā' — 'stiff of the qaṣīrā' — a body part; matching a body part with a body part is better than matching it with 'the lineage-count.' And His saying, Mighty and Exalted: 'wa-man kāna marīḍan aw ʿalā safarin fa-ʿiddatun min ayyāmin ukhar (وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ)' [Qur'an 2:184] means: so let him break the fast, and such-and-such is required — He was content to mention the effect ('fa-ʿiddatun min ayyāmin ukhar') in place of the cause (breaking the fast). Al-Liḥyānī also related from the Arabs: 'ʿadadtu al-darāhima afrādan wa-wuḥādan (عددت الدراهم أفرادا ووحادا)' and 'aʿdadtu al-darāhima afrādan wa-wuḥādan' [same meaning]; then he said: 'I do not know whether it derives from al-ʿadad or al-ʿidda' — his doubt shows that 'aʿdadtu' is a dialectal variant of 'ʿadadtu,' though I do not know it [as such]. Abū Dhuʾayb's saying: 'We returned her to the patron of her sons, and she became counted [as one] by him (yuʿaddu bihā, يعد بها) among the widowed women' — he meant 'tuʿaddu (تعد)' but made it transitive with 'bi-' since it carries the sense of 'iḥtasaba bihā (احتسب بها)' — 'he reckoned/took account of her.' Al-ʿadad is the measure of what is counted and its total, plural aʿdād; likewise al-ʿidda. It is said al-ʿidda is a verbal noun like al-ʿadd; al-ʿidda also means 'a group,' whether few or many — one says 'raʾaytu ʿiddata rijālin wa-ʿiddata nisāʾin (رأيت عدة رجال وعدة نساء)' and 'anfadhtu ʿiddata kutubin (أنفذت عدة كتب)' — a group of letters. Al-ʿadīd is abundance: 'these dirhams are ʿadīd of those,' meaning equal in count; they formed it thus because it aligns with the class of 'al-ʿadīl (العديل, equal),' belonging to the category of [words like] 'al-kamīʿ' and 'al-nazīʿ.' Ibn al-Aʿrābī said: one says 'this is his ʿidād (عداده), and ʿidd, and nidd, and nadīd, and bidd, and badīd, and siyy, and zinn, and zana, and ḥayd, and ḥīd, and ʿifr, and ghifr, and dann' — [all meaning] his match and his counterpart; plural al-aʿdād and al-abdād; and al-ʿadāʾid (العدائد) means peers, singular ʿadīd. And it is said: how great is the ʿadīd... [entry continues]