وحدa single root denoting being alone or singular. (root whd)

al-wahd (الوحد): the solitary one. rajul wahd (رجل وحد — 'a solitary man'), thawr wahd (ثور وحد — 'a solitary bull'). The explanation of rajul al-wahd (الرجل الوحد) is: one whose lineage is unknown. He [a poet] said: "by night, upon one grown wild and alone (wahd)…" And al-wahd (الوحد), lightly [vocalized], means the singularity (ḥidda) of a thing. Al-wahd (الوحد) is put in the accusative in every instance because it functions like a maṣdar (verbal noun) apart from being a qualifier — it is not an adjective (na't) that would follow the noun [in case], nor is it a predicate (khabar) intended independently of what it is annexed to; so the accusative was more fitting for it. Yet the Arabs have put it in construct (iḍāfa), saying: huwa nasīju waḥdihi (هو نسيج وحده), humā nasījā waḥdihimā (هما نسيجا وحدهما), hum nusajā'u waḥdihim (هم نسجاء وحدهم), hiya nasījatu waḥdihā (هي نسيجة وحدها), hunna nasā'ifu waḥdihinna (هن نسائف وحدهن) — meaning the man of sound and unmatched judgment. Likewise qarī'u waḥdihi (قريع وحده) and ṣarīfuhu (صريفه) in the same sense — one whom none can rival in excellence. And wahuda al-shay' (وحد الشيء), yaḥudu, ḥidda (يحد حدة) — [a thing] is singular, becomes singular, singularity — and everything 'alā ḥidatin (على حدة) is distinct and separate from another. One says: dhālika 'alā ḥidatihi (ذلك على حدته), humā 'alā ḥidatihimā (هما على حدتهما), hum 'alā ḥidatihim (هم على حدتهم). Al-rajul al-waḥīd (الرجل الوحيد) is one possessing waḥda (وحدة, solitude), the one alone with no companion; one says wahuda, yawḥudu, waḥāda, waḥda, waḥdan (وحد يوحد وحادة ووحدة ووحدا). Al-tawḥīd (التوحيد) is belief in God alone (waḥdahu), with no partner; and Allāh is al-wāḥid (الواحد), al-aḥad (الأحد), possessor of tawaḥḥud (التوحد) and wāḥdāniyya (الوحدانية — 'oneness/unicity'). [Al-wāḥid (الواحد) is the first number in counting.] You say, at the start of counting: wāḥid, ithnān, thalātha (واحد، اثنان، ثلاثة) up to ten; and if you wish you say aḥad, ithnān, thalātha (أحد، اثنان، ثلاثة); and in the feminine: wāḥida and iḥdā (واحدة وإحدى). Nothing but aḥad [and iḥdā] is said in aḥada 'ashar (أحد عشر) and iḥdā 'ashrata (إحدى عشرة). One says wāḥid wa-'ishrūn (واحد وعشرون) and wāḥida wa-'ishrūn (واحدة وعشرون); and when they treat al-aḥad (الأحد) as an active participle [ordinal], it follows the pattern of 'the second' and 'the third,' saying: hādhā ḥādī 'ashrihim (هذا حادي عشرهم), thānī 'ashrihim (ثاني عشرهم), hādhihi al-layla al-ḥādiya 'asharata (هذه الليلة الحادية عشرة), al-yawm al-ḥādī 'ashar (اليوم الحادي عشر). This is a metathesis (maqlūb) like jadhaba/jabadha (جذب وجبذ). Al-wuḥdān (الوحدان) is the plural of al-wāḥid (الواحد). You say: huwa aḥaduhum (هو أحدهم), hiya iḥdāhunna (هي إحداهن); but if a woman were among men it would not be correct to say iḥdāhum (إحداهم) or aḥaduhum (أحدهم), except to say hiya ka-aḥadihim (هي كأحدهم) or hiya wāḥidatun minhum (هي واحدة منهم). You say: al-julūs wa-l-qu'ūd wāḥid (الجلوس والقعود واحد — 'sitting and squatting are one and the same'), aṣḥābuka wa-aṣḥābī wāḥid (أصحابك وأصحابي واحد). Al-muwaḥḥad (الموحد) is like al-muthannā (المثنى) and al-muthallath (المثلث); you say: jā'ū muthannā wa-muthallathan wa-muwaḥḥadan (جاءوا مثنى وثلاث وموحد), jā'ū thunā'a wa-thulātha wa-aḥāda (جاءوا ثناء وثلاث وأحاد). Al-mīḥād (الميحاد) is like al-mi'shār (المعشار — 'a tenth'), meaning a single part, just as al-mi'shār is a tenth. Al-mawāḥīd (المواحيد) is the plural of al-mīḥād (الميحاد); if you saw isolated hillocks, each separate from the other, they would be called mīḥād or mawāḥīd. And you say: dhāka amrun lastu fī... [entry continues]

al-waḥda (الوحدة): being alone/solitude. You say: ra'aytuhu waḥdahu (رأيته وحده — 'I saw him alone'). According to the school of Kūfa, this is accusative as an adverbial (ẓarf); according to the school of Baṣra, it is accusative as a maṣdar (verbal noun) in every case — as though you said awḥadtuhu bi-ru'yatī īḥādan (أوحدته برؤيتي إيحادا — 'I singled him out by seeing him, a singling-out'), meaning I saw none other than him, then you put waḥdahu (وحده) in this place. Abū al-'Abbās said: it may also admit another interpretation — that the man is, in himself, solitary, as though you said ra'aytu rajulan munfaridan infirādan (رأيت رجلا منفردا انفرادا), then put waḥdahu (وحده) in its place. It is not put in construct (iḍāfa) except in their saying: fulānun nasīju waḥdihi (فلان نسيج وحده), which is praise; and juḥayšu waḥdihi (جحيش وحده) and 'ayyiru waḥdihi (عيير وحده), which are both terms of blame — as though you said nasīj ifrād (نسيج إفراد), and when you put waḥdahu (وحده) in the place of a genitive maṣdar, you put it in the genitive. Sometimes they say rujaylu waḥdihi (رجيل وحده). Al-wāḥid (الواحد) is the first number, its plural being wuḥdān (وحدان) and aḥdān (أحدان), like shābb/shubbān (شاب وشبان) and rā'in/ri'yān (راع ورعيان). Al-Farrā' said: one says antum ḥayyun wāḥid (أنتم حي واحد) and ḥayyun wāḥidūn (حي واحدون), just as one says shirdhima qalīlūn (شرذمة قليلون — 'a small band, few'), and he cited al-Kumayt: "So he joined together the scattered remnants of the tribes among them, so they returned like one tribe (ḥayyin wāḥidīnā)…" One says waḥḥadahu (وحده) and aḥḥadahu (أحده), just as one says thannāhu (ثناه) and thallathahu (ثلثه). Rajulun waḥidun/waḥdun (رجل وحد ووحد) means 'solitary.' Tawaḥḥada bi-ra'yihi (توحد برأيه): he was alone/unique in his opinion. Banū al-Waḥīd (بنو الوحيد) is a clan of the Arabs from Banū Kilāb ibn Rabī'a ibn 'Āmir ibn Ṣa'ṣa'a. 'God singled him out (tawaḥḥadahu Allāhu) by His protection' means He protected him and did not entrust him to another. Awḥadat al-shāh (أوحدت الشاة), fa-hiya mūḥid (فهي موحد): the ewe gave birth to a single [lamb], like afdhat (أفذت). Fulānun wāḥidu dahrihi (فلان واحد دهره): so-and-so has no peer of his age. Fulānun lā wāḥida lahu (فلان لا واحد له): so-and-so has no equal. Awḥadahu Allāh (أوحده الله): God made him the unique one of his time. Fulānun awḥadu ahli zamānihi (فلان أوحد أهل زمانه): so-and-so is unmatched among the people of his time; its plural is aḥdān (أحدان), like aswad/sūdān (أسود وسودان), its origin being wuḥdān (وحدان). Al-Kumayt said: "So he came upon it in the early morning, before the sun showed its rim, with his unmatched [dogs] (aḥdānihi), lapping-trained hunting hounds…" meaning his dogs which have no equal among dogs, i.e. they are the unique ones among dogs. One says: lastu fī hādhā al-amri bi-awḥad (لست في هذا الأمر بأوحد — 'I am not unmatched in this matter'), and the feminine form wāḥdā' (واحداء) is not used. And you say: a'ṭi kulla wāḥidin minhum 'alā ḥidatin (أعط كل واحد منهم على حدة — 'give each one of them separately'), meaning individually. And the hā' [in ḥidah] is a substitute for the wāw [entry continues]

Wāw, ḥā', and dāl (الواو والحاء والدال): a single root indicating singularity/being alone (al-infirād). From this comes waḥda (الوحدة — 'oneness, being alone'). One says wāḥid qabīlatihi (واحد قبيلته) — 'unique in his tribe' — when there is none like him among them. A poet said: "O sole one (wāḥid) of the Arabs, who — has no peer among mankind…" And I met the people muwaḥḥad muwaḥḥad (موحد موحد) — one by one — and I met him waḥdahu (وحده) — 'alone.' It is not put in the construct state (iḍāfa) except in their sayings: nasīj waḥdihi (نسيج وحده — 'fabric woven alone,' i.e. a man unmatched), 'ayyir waḥdihi (عيير وحده — 'a lone little donkey'), and juḥayš waḥdihi (جحيش وحده — 'a lone little donkey-foal'); nasīj waḥdihi (نسيج وحده) meaning that no one else weaves like him, on account of his excellence — this is a proverbial expression. And al-wāḥid (الواحد) means 'the solitary one, the one alone.' And the saying of 'Abīd: "By God, if I died it would not harm me, nor am I, if I live, in a single [enduring state] (wāḥida)…" He means: what am I, if I live, in one enduring condition (khulla wāḥida), for everything must inevitably come to an end.

al-waḥda (الوحدة): being alone/singularity. Al-wāḥid (الواحد), in reality, is that which has no part (juz') whatsoever. It is then applied to everything that exists, such that there is no number but that it may validly be described by it; thus one says: 'ten as a unit (wāḥida)', 'a hundred as a unit', 'a thousand as a unit'. So al-wāḥid (الواحد) is a term used equivocally (mushtarak) in six senses: First: what is one (wāḥid) in genus (jins) or in species (naw'), as in our saying: 'man and horse are one in genus,' and 'Zayd and 'Amr are one in species.' Second: what is one by connection/continuity (ittiṣāl) — either in terms of physical form, as in your saying 'a single body/person (shakhṣun wāḥid),' or in terms of craft, as in your saying 'a single trade (ḥirfatun wāḥida).' Third: what is one for lack of any equal — either in its created nature, as in your saying 'the sun is unique (al-shamsu wāḥida),' or in claimed excellence, as in your saying 'so-and-so is the unique one of his age (wāḥidu dahrihi),' and as in your saying 'the fabric woven alone (nasīju waḥdihi).' Fourth: what is one because it cannot be divided, either due to its smallness, like fine floating dust (al-habā'), or due to its hardness, like diamond (al-almās). Fifth: [used] for a starting-point (mabda') — either the starting-point of counting, as in your saying 'one, two (wāḥid ithnān),' or the starting-point of a line, as in your saying 'the single point (al-nuqṭa al-wāḥida).' And singularity (al-waḥda) in all of these is an accidental attribute ('āriḍa) [not essential]. And when God, Exalted, is described as al-Wāḥid (الواحد), its meaning is: He is the One for whom division (tajazzī) and multiplicity (takaththur) are not valid. And on account of the profundity of this [kind of] oneness, God, Exalted, said: "And when God alone (waḥdahu) is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion" (Sūrat al-Zumar 39:45). And al-wahd (الوحد) means solitary/singular, and it may describe something other than God, Exalted, as in the poet's saying: [entry continues]

Al-Wāḥid (الواحد): the first number in counting, and it has a dual form; Ibn al-A'rābī cited: "When we met, the two of us alone (wāḥidayn), I overcame him with the palm [of the hand]; indeed I am, against the champions, a striker…" And it has a plural with wāw and nūn; al-Kumayt said: "So they returned like a single tribe (ḥayyin wāḥidīnā)…" Al-Tahdhīb [says]: you say wāḥid, ithnān, thalātha (واحد واثنان وثلاثة) up to ten; and beyond that you say aḥada 'ashar (أحد عشر — 'eleven') — aḥad (أحد) functions in counting the same way as wāḥid (واحد). If you wish, you say at the start [of counting]: wāḥid, ithnān, thalātha; but in aḥada 'ashar (أحد عشر) nothing but aḥad is said. For the feminine: wāḥida (واحدة); and iḥdā (إحدى) at the start of counting functions as wāḥid does, as in aḥadun wa-'ishrūn (أحد وعشرون) just as one says wāḥidun wa-'ishrūn (واحد وعشرون); but for iḥdā 'ashrata (إحدى عشرة) nothing else is said. And when they treat al-aḥad (الأحد) as an active participle [ordinal], it functions like 'the second' and 'the third,' saying: huwa ḥādī 'ashrihim (هو حادي عشريهم), huwa thānī 'ashrihim (هو ثاني عشريهم), al-layla al-ḥādiya 'ashrata (الليلة الحادية عشرة), al-yawm al-ḥādī 'ashar (اليوم الحادي عشر). He [al-Azharī] said: this is a metathesis (maqlūb), as they said jadhaba/jabadha (جذب وجبذ). Ibn Sīdah said: ḥādī 'ashar (حادي عشر) is a metathesis, the position of the fā' [root-letter] moved to the position of the lām; used only in this form. It is [originally] fā'il (فاعل) shifted to the pattern 'ālif (عالف), the original wāw turning into yā' due to the kasra preceding it. And Ya'qūb related: ma'ī 'asharatun fa-aḥiduhunna liya (معي عشرة فأحدهن ليه — 'I have ten, so make them eleven for me'), meaning: make them, for me, eleven. Abū Manṣūr said: he derived his saying fa-aḥiduhunna liya (فأحدهن ليه) from al-ḥādī (الحادي) [ordinal], not from aḥad (أحد) [cardinal]. Ibn Sīdah said: the apparent sense of that suggests al-ḥādī (الحادي) is [truly] an active participle (fā'il); he said: the correct view, if this transmitted report is sound, is that the verb is a metathesis from waḥadtu (وحدت) to ḥadawtu (حدوت) — because when they saw al-ḥādī (الحادي) apparently in the form of a fā'il, it came to seem as though patterned on ḥadawtu (حدوت), the way ghāzin (غاز) is patterned on ghazawtu (غزوت). And iḥdā (إحدى) is a form coined specifically for the feminine, not following the pattern of al-wāḥid (الواحد) itself, like bint (بنت) from ibn (ابن) and ukht (أخت) from akh (أخ). Al-Tahdhīb: al-wuḥdān (الوحدان) is the plural of al-wāḥid (الواحد), and al-aḥdān (الأحدان) is also used in place of al-wuḥdān (الوحدان). In the ḥadīth about the Feast ('Īd): 'fa-ṣallaynā wuḥdānan (فصلينا وحدانا — so we prayed singly),' meaning separately — [being] the plural of wāḥid like rākib/rukbān (راكب وركبان). And in the ḥadīth of Ḥudhayfa: 'aw la-taṣullunna wuḥdānan (أو لتصلن وحدانا — or you shall surely pray singly).' You say: huwa aḥaduhum (هو أحدهم), hiya iḥdāhunna (هي إحداهن); but if a woman is among men, it is not correct to say hiya iḥdāhum (هي إحداهم), nor aḥaduhum (أحدهم), nor iḥdāhunna (إحداهن), except to say hiya ka-aḥadihim (هي كأحدهم) or hiya wāḥidatun minhum (هي واحدة منهم). And you say: al-julūs wa-l-qu'ūd wāḥid (الجلوس والقعود واحد), aṣḥābī wa-aṣḥābuka wāḥid (أصحابي وأصحابك واحد). He said: al-muwaḥḥad (الموحد) is like al-muthannā (المثنى) and al-muthallath (المثلث). Ibn al-Sikkīt said: you say hādhā al-ḥādī 'ashar (هذا الحادي عشر), hādhā al-thānī 'ashar (هذا الثاني عشر), hādhā al-thālith 'ashar (هذا الثالث عشر), all vocalized with fatḥa, up to twenty; and in the feminine: hādhihi al-ḥādiya 'ashrata (هذه الحادية عشرة), al-thāniya 'ashrata (الثانية عشرة), up to twenty — the tā' marbūṭa is included throughout. Al-Azharī said: what I have mentioned in this chapter, of the rare/irregular usages concerning al-aḥad (الأحد), al-wāḥid (الواحد), al-iḥdā (الإحدى), and al-ḥādī (الحادي), follows... [entry continues]