Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

تَبْدِيلٌ properly signifies [The changing, or altering, a thing; or] the changing, or altering, the form, or fashion, or semblance, or the quality, or condition, [of a thing,] to another form,, &c., while the substance remains the same; (Th, T, TA;) or the changing a thing from its state, or condition; (Ibn-ʼArafeh, TA;) or the changing a thing without substitution: (Ṣ:) but the Arabs have used it also in the sense ofإِبْدَالٌ↓, (Mbr, T, TA,) which signifies [the changing a thing by substitution; exchanging it; replacing it with another thing; or] the removing, or displacing, the substance [of a thing], and introducing anew another substance. (Th, T, TA.) You say, بَدَّلْتُهُ, inf. n. تَبْدِيلٌ, (M,* Mṣb, Ḳ,) meaning I changed it, or altered it; (M, Ḳ) or I changed, or altered, the form, or fashion, or semblance, or the quality, or condition, of it; (Mṣb;) as in the phrase, بَدَّلْتُ الخَاتَمَ بِالحَلْقَةِ [I changed, or altered, the signet-ring into the simple ring], said when one has melted the former and made of it a simple ring; (Fr, T, TA;) and بَدَّلَ ٱللّٰهُ السَّيِئَّاتِ حَسَنَاتٍ [God changed the evil deeds into good deeds]; the verb being doubly trans. by itself because it has the meaning of جَعَلَ and صَيَّرَ. (Mṣb. [But see what follows.]) أَبْدَلْتُهُ↓ بِكَذَا, [in the Ṣ, أَبْدَلْتُ الشَّىْءَ بِغَيْرِهِ, without explanation,] inf. n. إِبْدَالٌ, [I changed it by substituting for it such a thing, or exchanged it for such a thing, or replaced it with such a thing,] is said when one has removed the first, and put the second in its place; (Mṣb;) as in the phrase, أَبْدَلْتُ الخَاتَمَ بِالحَلْقَةِ [I changed the signet-ring by substituting for it the simple ring; exchanged the signet-ring for the simple ring; or replaced the signet-ring with the simple ring]; said when one removes the one, and puts the other in its place: (Fr, T, TA:) and this verb is also made doubly trans. by itself, like بَدَّلْتُ, (Mṣb,) which is used in the sense of أَبْدَلْتُ [as shown above]; (Mbr, T, TA;) for instance, where it is said, [in the Ḳur lxvi. 5,] عَسَى رَبُّهُ إِنْ طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَجًا خَيْرًا مِنْكُنَّ [May-be, his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in exchange wives better than you]; accord to one reading, يُبَدِّلَهُ (Mṣb.) An ex. of the latter of these two verbs in the sense of the former is the saying in the Ḳur [xxv. 70], يُبَدِّلُ ٱللّٰهُ سَيِّآتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ [God will change their evil deeds by substituting for them good deeds]; i. e. will cancel the evil deeds and put in their place good deeds: but in the saying in the Ḳur [iv. 59], كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا [Whenever their skins are thoroughly burned, we will change the condition thereof to them into the condition of other skins], the meaning is, that the first condition of their skins shall be restored; so that the substance is one, but the condition is different. (Mbr, T, TA.) You say also, بَدَّلَهُ ٱللّٰهُ مَنَ الخَوْفِ أَمْنًا [God gave him in exchange for fear, or in lieu of fear, security]. (Ṣ.) [And بَدَّلَهُ بِهِ كَذَا He gave him in exchange for it, or in lieu of it, such a thing: see Ḳur xxxiv. 15. And بدّل مَكَانَهُ كَذَا He gave in exchange for it, or in lieu of it, such a thing: see Ḳur vii. 93 and xvi. 103.] بَدَّلَ حُسْنًا بَعْدَ سُوْءٍ, in the Ḳur [xxvii. 11], means He hath done good [by way of exchange after evil]; i. e., repented; (Jel;) or بَدَّلَ ذَنْبُهُ بِالتَوْبَةِ [hath exchanged his sin for repentance]. (Bḍ.) تَبْدِيلٌ andإِبْدَالٌ↓ both signify The act of exchanging [a thing for another thing]; or making [a thing] to be a substitute [for another thing]; (KL, PṢ;) and so doesبَدَالٌ↓. (KL.) You say, بدّل الشَّىْءَ مِنَ الشَىْءِ, (M, Ḳ,*) andابدلهُ↓ مِنْهُ, i. e. اِتَّخَذَهُ مِنْهُ بَدلًا [here meaning He exchanged the thing for the thing; or, more literally, he made the thing a substitute for the thing]. (M, Ḳ. [In the text of the former of these, as given in the TT, instead of اِتَّخَذَهُ, I find تَخِذَ (a dial. var. of اِتَّخَذَ) without the affixed pronoun, which is meant to be understood or is omitted inadvertently by the transcriber: and here it should be observed, that the explanation which I have rendered as above admits of another meaning, namely, أَخَذَهُ مِنْهُ بَدَلًا “he took it as a substitute for it:” in the M, immediately before, أَخَذَهُ مِنْهُ بَدَلًا is given as the explanation of the phrases تبدّل الشَّىْءَ and بِالشَّىْءِ, and استبدلهُ and بِهِ: see 10.]) You say also,بَدَلْتُ↓ الثَّوْبَ بِغَيْرِهِ, aor. ـُ {يَبْدُلُ} [inf. n. بَدَالٌ, mentioned and explained above, I exchanged the garment, or piece of cloth, for another; or made it to be a substitute for another;] andاِسْتَبْدَلْتُهُ↓ بِغَيْرِهِ signifies the same. (Mṣb. [But the latter phrase has more frequently another meaning, explained below: see 10.]) [ابدلهُ↓ in the phrases ابدلهُ كَذَا as meaning He changed it into, or substituted for it, such a thing, and ابدلهُ مِنْ كَذَا as meaning he changed it from, or substituted it for, such a thing, is more common than بدّله, which is used in the same sense; as بَدَلَهُ↓ is also; for] AO applies the term مَبْدُولٌ↓ [in lieu of the more common term مُبْدَلٌ↓] to a letter that is changed from another letter, as in مَدَهْتُهُ for مَدَحْتُهُ; and this shows that بَدَلْتُ is trans. [and signifies I changed,, &c.]. (Az, TA.)

مُبَادَلَةٌ andتَبَادَلٌ↓ signify the same, (Ṣ,) namely, The act of exchanging with another or others. (PṢ.) You say, بادلهُ, inf. n. مُبَادَلَةٌ and بِدَالٌ [in the CK erroneously written with fet-ḥ to the ب, He exchanged, or made an exchange, with him; or] he gave him the like of that which he took, or received, from him; (IDrd,* M, Ḳ;) for instance, a garment, or piece of cloth, in the place of another; (Lth, T, Mṣb,* in explanation of the former inf. n.;) and a brother in the place of a brother. (Lth, T.) Andتَبَادَلَا↓ They exchanged, or made an exchange, each with the other; or each gave to the other the like of that which he took, or received, from him. (TA.) نُبَادِلُهْ, ending a verse of El-Kulákh, means for whom we would take a substitute: El-Marzookee says, it is for نُبَادِلُ بِهِ النَّاسَ [for whom we would make an exchange with the people]; the preposition being suppressed. (Ḥam p. 465.)

تبدّل It (a thing, M) became changed, or altered. (M, Ḳ.)

In the saying of the rájiz,

* فَبُدِّلَتْ وَالدَّهْرُ ذُو تَبَدُّلِ *

the meaning is, ذو تَبْدِيل [i. e. the meaning of the whole is, And, or but, she was changed, or altered; for time has the property of changing, or altering]. (M.)

See also 10, in three places.

استبدل الشَّىْءَ and بِالشَّىْءِ, andتبدّلهُ↓ and بِهِ, (M, Ḳ,*) He took a substitute, or a thing in exchange, for the thing. (M.) You say, استبدل الشَّىْءَ بِغَيْرِهِ, andتبدّلهُ↓ بِهِ, He took the thing [as a substitute, or in exchange, for another; or] in the place of another. (Ṣ.) And استبدل ثَوْبًا مَكَانَ ثَوْبٍ [He took a garment, or piece of cloth, in the place, or in lieu, of a garment,, &c.]; and أَخًا مَكَانَ أَخٍ [a brother in the place, or in lieu, of a brother]. (Lth, T.) It is said in the Ḳur [ii. 58], أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ ٱلَّذِى هُوَ أَدْنَى بِالَّذِى هُوَ خَيْرٌ Will ye take in exchange that which is worse for that which is better? (Jel. [See also other exs. in the Ḳur ix. 39 and xlvii. last verse.]) Andمَنْ يَتَبَدَّلِ↓ الكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ [Whoso adopteth infidelity in lieu of faith]. (Ḳur ii. 102. [See also other exs. in the Ḳur iv. 2 and xxxiii. 52.])

See also 2, last sentence but one.

بَدَلٌ andبِدْلٌ↓, (Fr, T, Ṣ, M, Mṣb, Ḳ,) like مَثَلٌ and مِثْلٌ, and شَبَهٌ and شِبْهٌ, (Fr, T, Ṣ,) and نَكَلٌ and نِكَلٌ, the only other instances of the kind, i. e. of words of both these measures, that have been heard, accord. to AO, (Ṣ, TA, [but in one copy of the Ṣ, I find AʼObeyd,]) andبَدِيلٌ↓ (Ṣ, M, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ,) all signify the same; (Ṣ, M, Mṣb, Ḳ;) namely, A substitute; a thing given, or received, or put, or done, instead of, in place of, in lieu of, or in exchange for, another thing; a compensation; syn. خَلَفٌ, (M, Ḳ,) and عِوَضٌ: (Kull:) بَدَلُ الشَّىْءِ [and البَدَلُ مِنَ الشَّىْءِ] andبِدْلُهُ↓ andبَدِيلُهُ↓ meaning الخَلَفُ مِنْهُ [the substitute for the thing;, &c.]; (M, Ḳ;) i. e., another thing: (Ṣ:) pl. أَبْدَالٌ, (IDrd, Mṣb, Ḳ,) which, as pl. ofبَدِيلٌ↓, has few parallels. (IDrd, TA.) Sb says, [making a distinction between بَدَلٌ andبَدِيلٌ↓,] you say, إِنَّ بَدَلَكَ زَيْدٌ, i. e. Verily Zeyd is in thy place: but if you put بَدَل in the place of بَدِيلِ, you say, إِنَّ بَدَلَكَ زَيْدٌ, i. e.إِنَّ بِدَيلَكَ↓ زَيْدٌ [Verily thy substitute is Zeyd]: and a man says to another, Go thou with such a one; and he replies, مَعِىَ رَجُلٌ بَدَلُهُ, i. e. With me is a man who stands in his stead, and is in his place, or who will stand, &c. (M.) You say also, بَلَ كَذَا [and بَدَلًا مِنْ كَذَا], meaning Instead of, in the place of, in lieu of, or in exchange for, such a thing. (Kull.) [And بَدَلَ أَنْ تَفْعَلَ كَذَا Instead of thy doing thus.]

الأَبْدَالُ (IDrd, Ṣ, M, Ḳ, &c.) and البُدَلَآءُ (TA) [The Substitutes, or Lieutenants;] certain righteous persons, of whom the world is never destitute; when one dies, God substituting another in his place: (Ṣ:) certain persons by means of whom God rules the earth; (M, Ḳ;) consisting of seventy men, (IDrd, M, Ḳ,) according to their assertion, of whom the earth is never destitute; (IDrd, TA;) forty of whom are in Syria, and thirty in the other countries; (IDrd, M, Ḳ;) none of them dying without another's supplying his place, (M, Ḳ,) from the rest of mankind; (Ḳ;) and therefore they are named ابدال: (M:) accord. to Abu-lBakà, as stated by El-Munáwee, it seems that they meant [by this appellation] the substitutes and successors of the prophets; and accord. to some, they were seven, neither more nor fewer, by means of whom God takes care of the seven climates; one being successor of Abraham (El-Khaleel), and to him pertains the first climate; the second, of Moses (El-Keleem); the third, of Aaron; the fourth, of Idrees; the fifth, of Joseph; the sixth, of Jesus; and the seventh, of Adam: (TA: [in which is also mentioned a treatise denying their existence, and disapproving of the assertion that by means of them God takes care of the earth:]) the sing. is بَدَلٌ andبِدْلٌ↓, (T,) orبَدِيلٌ↓. (IDrd, Ṣ.)

حُرُوفُ البَدَلِ (M, Ḳ) The letters of substitution; those which are substituted for other letters; not those which are substituted in consequence of idghám. (M.) [The letters included under this appellation differ accord. to different authors: see De Sacy's Gram. Ar. 2nd ed. i. 33.]

بِدْلٌ↓ (Kr, M, Ḳ) and بَدَلٌ (M, Ḳ,) applied to a man, also signify Generous, and noble: (Kr,* M, Ḳ:) and used in these senses, [says ISd,] they are, in my opinion, not devoid of implication of the meaning of a substitute: (M:) the pl. is أَبْدَالٌ (M, Ḳ.)

بَدَّالٌ A seller of eatables (AHeyth, T, Ḳ) of every kind: thus he is called by the Arabs; (AHeyth, T;) because he changes one sale for another; selling one thing to-day and another to-morrow: (AḤát, TA:) the vulgar say, بَقَّالٌ. (AHeyth, T, Ḳ.)

Also One who has no more property than is sufficient for his purchasing one thing, and who, when he sells this, buys another thing in exchange for it. (TA in art. جدل.) [Hence,] هٰذَا رَأْىُ الجَدَّالِينَ وَالبَدَّالِينَ is a phrase used as meaning This is flimsy opinion. (TA in the present art. and in art. جدل, [but in the latter without the و,] on the authority of AHeyth.)