Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

سَعَى, aor. يَسْعَى, inf. n. سَعْىٌ (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ, &c.) [and مَسْعًى, agreeably with general analogy], He walked, went, or went along, (Er-Rághib, Mṣb, Ḳ, TA,) quickly: (Er-Rághib, Mgh, TA:) this, accord. to Er-Rághib, is the primary signification: and hence, السَّعْىُ بَيْنَ الصَّفَا وَالمَرْوَةِ [The tripping to and fro between Es-Safà and El-Marweh]: (TA:) and سَعَى فِى مَشْيِهِ [app. meaning He tripped along, or he trudged along, in his walking]: (Mṣb:) [or] السَّعْىُ signifies the going along with vigorousness, and with lightness, activity, or quickness. (Ḥam p. 665.)

He (a man, Ṣ) ran; syn. عَدَا; (IAạr, Ṣ, Ḳ, TA;) or جَرَى: by the former of which is meant [he went] a pace below what is termed الشَّدُّ and above what is termed المَشْىُ. (IAạr, TA.)

I. q. قَصَدَ [as meaning He repaired, or betook himself]. (Ḳ.) The saying, in the Ḳur [lxii. 9], فَٱسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ ٱللّٰهِ is expl. as meaning فَاقْصِدُوا [Then repair ye to prayer to God]: (TA:) or then go ye (فَٱمْضُوا) to prayer [to God]: (Jel:) and Ibn-Mesʼood read فَٱمْضُوا. (TA.) Or سَعَى إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ means He went to prayer, in any manner [i. e. whether quickly or not]. (Mṣb.)

He was active, or busy and bustling, in procuring the means of subsistence: (TA:) he strove, laboured, or exerted himself; employed himself vigorously, strenuously, or with energy; in any affair, whether good or evil; but mostly used in relation to what is praiseworthy, or praised: (Er-Rághib, TA:) he occupied himself according to his own judgment or discretion or free will, in any work, or deed: (Mṣb:) he worked, or wrought, or did, (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ, TA,) any work, or deed, good or evil: (TA:) he earned, or gained. (Ṣ, Ḳ, TA.) One says, هُوَ يَسْعَى عَلَى قَوْمِهِ He manages, conducts, orders, regulates, or superintends, the affairs of his people, or party. (Ḥam p. 771, Mṣb.*) And سَعَى لَهُمْ and عَلَيْهِمْ He worked, or wrought, and earned, or gained, for them. (TA.) And المَرْءُ يَسْعَى لِغَارَيْهِ, a prove., meaning The man earns for his belly and his pudendum. (TA.) And سَعَى المُكَاتِبُ فِى عِتْقِ رَقَبَتِهِ, (Ṣ,) or فِى فَكِ رَقَبَتِهِ, i. e. [The slave who had made a contract with his master to pay him a certain sum for his emancipation] laboured to earn the means of releasing himself: (Mṣb:) the inf. n. of the verb thus used is سعَايَةٌ: (Ṣ, Mṣb:) and this term is employed when a slave emancipated in part, and in part retained in slavery, labours and earns for the completion of his release. (IAth, TA.) The saying, in the Ḳur [liii. 40], لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى means [There is nothing imputable to the man] but what he hath wrought, or done. (Mṣb.) And فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ ٱلسَّعْىَ, in the same [xxxvii. 100], means And when he attained to working with him: or and when he was able to assist him in his working. (TA.)

Also He superintended, managed, or conducted, in his own person, the collection of the poor-rates; (Ḳ, TA;) he went to exact them, and received them; (TA;) and the inf. n. in this case also is سِعَايَةٌ: (Ḳ, TA:) or سَعَى عَلَى الصَّدَقَةِ, (Ṣ, Mṣb,) aor. يَسْعَى, inf. n. سَعْىٌ, (Mṣb,) he officiated in the exacting, or receiving, or collecting, of the poor-rate. (Ṣ,* Mṣb.) [And سَعَى is trans. without a prep. as meaning He exacted the poor-rate:] a poet says, (namely, ʼAmr Ibn-'Addà, TA,)

* سَعَى عِقَالًا فَلَمْ يَتْرُكْ لَنَا سَبَدًا *

* فَكَيْفَ لَوْ قَدْ سَعَى عَمْرٌو عِقَالَيْنِ *

[He exacted the poor-rate of a year, and left not to us camels' fur, or goats' hair: then how would be the case if ʼAmr had exacted the poor-rate of two years?]. (Ṣ.)

سَعَيْتُ فِى أَمْرِ فُلَانٍ is said when one rectifies, redresses, or reforms, the affair of such a one, or mars, vitiates, or perverts it, by his سَعْى [or striving, or labouring; and may be rendered I strove, or laboured, in respect of the affair of such a one, either to rectify, redress, or reform, it, or to mar, vitiate, or pervert, it]: and وَٱلَّذِينَ سَعَوْا فِى آيَاتِنَا, in the Ḳur xxii. 50 [and xxxiv. 5], means And they who strive, or labour, in respect of our signs, to mar, or vitiate, or pervert, their meaning, by impugning their character; seeing that they called them enchantment, and poetry, and tales, or legends, or fictions: (Ksh in xxii. 50:) or these words of the Ḳur mean and they who strive, or labour, to falsify, or nullify, our signs; i. e. the Ḳur-án. (Jel.)

سَعَى بَيْنَهُمْ means He created, or excited, disorder, or discord, between them, or among them; made, or did, mischief between them, or among them; as also سَأَا, which is app., in this case, a dial. var. of سَعَى. (TA in art. سأو.) [Hence,] سَعَى بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالنَّمَائِمِ [He created, or excited, disorder,, &c., among the people by calumnies, or slanders: or it may be well rendered he busied himself among the people with propagating calumnies, or slanders]. (Ṣ and O in art. اكل;, &c.)

And سَعَى ‡ He calumniated him, or slandered him, (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ,* TA,) إِلَى الوَالِى [to the ruler, or magistrate]; (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ;) inf. n. سَعِايَةٌ. (TA.)

سَعَتْ, said of a female slave, (Ḳ, TA,) aor. تَسْعَى, inf. n. سَعْىٌ, (TA,) She committed fornication, or prostituted herself. (Ḳ, TA.) [See also 3.]

سَاعَانِى فُلَانٌ فَسَعَيْتُهُ: see 3.

سَاعَانِى فُلَانٌ فَسَعَيْتُهُ↓, aor. of the latter أَسْعِيهِ, means [Such a one strove with me in walking, or going along, quickly,, &c.,] and I overcame him [therein]. (Ṣ, TA.) The inf. n. مُسَاعَاةٌ signifies The walking, or going, quickly [&c., or rather the striving, or contending, in doing so,] with any one. (KL.) Hence the trad. of ʼAlee, in discommendation of worldly enjoyments, مَنْ سَاعَاهَا فَاتَتْهُ, meaning مَنْ سَابَقَهَا [i. e. He who runs a race with them, they evade him, or escape his pursuit]. (TA.)

مُسَاعَاةٌ also signifies One's committing fornication with a female slave: and a female slave's committing fornication with any one: (KL:) you say, of a man, زَنَى and عَهَرَ, and this is with a free woman and with a female slave; but one says in the case of a female slave, peculiarly, قَدْ سَاعَاهَا [He has committed fornication with her]; مُسَاعَاةٌ not being with any but with female slaves: thus in a trad., إِمَآءٌ سَاعَيْنَ فِى الجَاهِلِيَّةِ [Female slaves that committed fornication in the Time of Ignorance]: and أُتِىَ عُمَرَ بِرَجُلٍ سَاعَى أَمَةً [There was brought to ʼOmar a man who committed fornication with a female slave]: (Ṣ, TA:*) [and hence, وَلَدُ المُسَاعَاةِ (occurring in the L, in art. بهث, as mentioned by IAạr on the authority of Abu-l-Mekárim), meaning The offspring of fornication, begotten on a slave:] or ساعاها, (Ḳ, TA,) inf. n. as above, (TA,) signifies [or rather signifies also] He sought her for the purpose of fornication: (Ḳ, [in which the context seems to indicate that it relates to a female slave,] and TA:) accord. to Th, relating to the free woman and the female slave: it is also said that مُسَاعَاةُ المَرْأَةِ signifies The imposing upon the woman, by her owner, an impost which she is to pay by means of [the gain of] prostitution: and it is said in a trad. that there shall be no مُسَاعَاة in El-Islám. (TA.)

[It is said in the TA in art. ربع, that مُسَاعَاةٌ from السَّاعَةُ is like مُشَاهَرَةٌ from الشَّهْرُ and مُرَابَعَةٌ from الرَّبِيعُ, &c.; but I think that مساعاة in this instance is a mistranscription for مُسَاوَعَةٌ: see art. سوع.]

اسعاهُ signifies جَعَلَهُ يَسْعَى, (Ḳ, TA,) i. e. He made him to earn, or gain. (TA.)

And اسعى عَلَى صَدَقَاتِهِمْ He employed a collector of their poor-rates. (TA.) [See also 10.]

And أَسْعَوْا بِهِ They gave him, or performed or accomplished for him, what he desired, or sought, or needed. (Ṣgh, Ḳ, TA.)

استسعى العَبْدَ (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ) فِى قِيمَتِهِ (Ṣ, Mṣb) He required of the slave that he should labour to earn the means of releasing himself: (Mṣb:) or he imposed upon the slave work by means of which he should pay for himself, when he had been emancipated in part, in order to his completing his emancipation: andسِعَايَةٌ↓ signifies the work so imposed. (Ḳ.)

And استسعاهُ He employed him as collector of the poor-rate. (JM; and the like is said in the TA, from a trad.) [See also 4.]

سِعْوٌ, with kesr, (T, Ṣ, TA,) [andسَعْوٌ↓, with fet-ḥ, as shown by what follows,] orسِعْوَةٌ↓, with kesr, (Ḳ,) orسَعْوَةٌ↓, thus written in the M, with fet-ḥ, (TA,) andسِعْوَآءٌ↓, (T, Ṣ, ISd, Ḳ, [Freytag found this last written in a copy of the Ṣ سَعْوَاء, and in one of my copies of the Ṣ it is written سِعَاوَى,]) which is said to be masc., (TA,) [and therefore with tenween, accord. to a general rule applying to ns. of the measure فِعْلَآء,] andسُعْوَآءٌ↓, (IAạr, Ṣgh, Ḳ,) A [portion, or short portion, such as is termed] سَاعَة, (Ṣ, M, Ḳ, &c.,) of the night: (Ṣ, M, TA:) [like سِهْوَآءٌ, q. v.:] one says, مَضَى مِنَ اللَّيْلِ سِعْوٌ, (Ṣ, TA,) andسَعْوٌ↓, with fet-ḥ as well as with kesr, (TA, and thus in the Ḥam p. 708,) andسَعْوَةٌ↓, with fet-ḥ, (TA,) [orسِعْوَةٌ↓,] andسِعْوَآءٌ↓, (Ṣ,) [andسُعْوَآءٌ↓,] A portion (قِطْعَةٌ) of the night passed; (TA;) [or a short portion:] and سِهْوٌ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ signifies the same: (Ḥam p. 708:) or, as some say, سعوآء↓ signifies more than a ساعة, of the night, and likewise of the day; and one says, كُنَّا عِنْدَهُ فِى سِعْوَاوَاتٍ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ and النَّهَارِ [app. meaning We were with him, or at his abode, during some considerable portions of the night and of the day]: so in the T. (TA.)

سَعَاةٌ The occupation of oneself according to his own judgment or discretion or free will (Ḳ, TA) in procuring the means of subsistence, and in earning, or gain. (TA.) Hence the prov., شَغَلَتْ سَعَاتِى جَدْوَاىَ [My occupation of myself in procuring the means of subsistence has diverted me from giving]: El-Mundhiree says that شِعَابِى, with ش, is a mistranscription: it is applied to him whose disposition is generous but who is in want. (TA. [See also art. شعب.])

سَعْوَةٌ: see سِعْوٌ, in two places.

Also i. q. شَمْعَةٌ or شَمَعَةٌ [i. e. A piece of wax, or a candle]: (IAạr, TA:) in the Ḳ, السمعة is erroneously put for الشمعة: [so in the TA; but it is omitted in the CK and in my MṢ. copy of the Ḳ:] pl. [or rather coll. gen. n.] سَعْوٌ↓. (TA.)

سِعْوَةٌ: see سِعْوٌ, in two places.

Also, [accord. to the Ḳ, سِعْوَةٌ, for it is there written with the article ال, but] accord. to IAạr without the article ال, [app. سِعْوَةُ, as a proper name,] (TA,) A woman foul, unseemly, or obscene, in tongue; having little, or no, shame or modesty: (IAạr, Ḳ,* TA:) الخَالِعَةُ in the Ḳ is a mistranscription for الجَالِعَةُ, with جِيم. (TA.)

سَعْيَةُ a proper name for The she-goat. (Ḳ.) And she is called to be milked by the cry سَعْى↓ سَعْيَه. (TA.)

سُعَاوِىٌّ One who patiently endures sleeplessness and travel: (Ḳ:) very laborious, active, and bustling. (TA.)

سَاعٍ act. part. n. of 1. (Mṣb.) A messenger; a courier, or messenger that journeys with haste; or a messenger on a beast of the post; syn. بَرِيدٌ. (TA.) [See an ex. at the end of the first paragraph {1} of art. ريم.]

Any manager, conductor, orderer, regulator, or superintendent, (Ṣ, Ḳ,) of a thing, over a people, or party, (Ṣ,) or of an affair, and of a people, or party, whatever it be: (Ḳ:) pl. سُعَاةٌ. (Ṣ,* TA.) Mostly, (Ṣ, TA,) or when used without restriction, (Mṣb,) applied to The intendant, or collector, of the poor-rate: pl. as above. (Ṣ, Mṣb, TA. [See رَكِيبٌ.]) And particularly The headman of the Jews and Christians, (Ḳ, TA,) from whose opinion, or judgment, they do not deviate, and without whom they do not decide an affair. (TA.) And [the pl.] سُعَاةٌ signifies Persons who take upon themselves responsibility for the prevention of the shedding of blood, and for the stilling of sedition, or discord, or the like; because they labour in the reforming, or amending, of the circumstances subsisting between parties. (TA.)

Also A calumniator, or slanderer; [and especially] to the ruler, or magistrate: whence the saying, in a trad., السَّاعِى لِغَيْرِ رِشْدَةٍ The calumniator is not trueborn: and in another trad., السَّاعِى مُثَلِتٌ [The calumniator of another to the ruler is a trebler of evil]; meaning that he destroys, by his calumny, himself, and the calumniated, and the ruler. (TA.)

مَسْعًى, syn. with سَعْىٌ, [an inf. n. of سَعَى,] signifying The act of running, and working, and earning or gaining, [&c., when used as a simple subst.,] has for its pl. مَسَاعٍ. (Ḥar p. 384.)

مَسْعاةٌ A means of attaining honour and eminence or elevation, in the various kinds of glory; (Ḳ;) a good, or laudable, act or endeavour; generosity: pl. مَسَاعٍ. (MA.) [See an ex. voce مَدْعَاةٌ, and another voce أَقْعَدَ.] J says, [in the Ṣ,] المَسْعَاةُ وَاحِدَةُ المَسَاعِى فِى الكَلَامِ وَالجُودِ: and the author of the Ḳ, following Ṣgh, says that he has committed a mistake in saying فِى الكَلَامِ instead of فِى الكَرَمِ: in some copies of the Ṣ is found فِى الكَرَمِ; but this is an emendation: the original reading is فِى الكَلَامِ: which, however, should be termed a slip of the pen [rather than a mistake, for it cannot be that J was ignorant of the meaning of so common a word as مَسْعَاةٌ]. (TA.)

مَسْعِىٌّ بِهِ Calumniated, or slandered, [and especially] to a ruler, or magistrate. (TA.)