Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

عَصَاهُ, (Ḳ, TA,) aor. يَعْصُوهُ, (TA,) inf. n. عَصْوٌ, (TḲ,) He struck him, or beat him, with the staff or stick or rod (بِالعَصَا): (Ḳ, TA:) or عَصَوْتُهُ بِالعَصَا I struck him, or beat him, with the staff, &c. (Ṣ.)

And عَصِىَ بِهَا He took it, i. e. the staff, &c.: and عَصِىَ بِسَيْفِهِ he took his sword as one takes the staff: or he struck, or beat, with it as one does with the staff; as also عَصَا, aor. ـُ {يَعْصُوُ}, inf. n. عَصًا: or you say عَصَوْتُ بِالسَّيْفِ and عَصِيتُ بِالعَصَا [in the CK عَصَيْتُ]: or the reverse of this: or each of these verbs followed by بالسيف and بالعصا: (Ḳ, TA:) all these phrases are mentioned by the leading lexicologists and by ISd in the M: (TA:) or you say عَصِىَ بِالسَّيْفِ, aor. ـَ {يَعْصَوُ}, inf. n. عَصًا, meaning he struck with the sword. (Ṣ.) [See also 5.]

عَاصَانِى فَعَصَوْتُهُ: see 3.

[See also 2.]

عَصَوْتُ القَوْمَ, (Ḳ, TA,) aor. أَعْصُوهُمْ, (TA,) I collected together the people, or party, for good or for evil. (Ḳ, TA.) [This seems to be regarded by some as the primary signification; (see عَصًا;) but, I think, without good reason.]

And عَصَوْتُ الجُرْحَ, (Ṣ, Ḳ,) inf. n. عَصْوٌ, I bound the wound. (Ṣ, Ḳ.)

عَصَا, inf. n. عَصْوٌ, also signifies It was, or became, hard: as though for عَسَا; the س being changed into ص. (TA.)

And عَصَا, aor. يَعْصُو, said of a bird, It flew. (TA.)

عصّاهُ العَصَا, inf. n. تَعْصِيَةٌ, He gave him the عصا [or staff,, &c.]. (Ḳ. [Accord. to Golius, عَصَاهُ; evidently a mistake, for عصّاه is not mentioned by him.])

عَاصَانِى فَعَصَوْتُهُ↓ He contended with me in striking, or beating, (Ḳ, TA,) or, as in the M, he acted roughly towards me, and opposed me, or contended with me, (TA,) with the عَصَا [or staff,, &c.], and I overcame him [therein]. (Ḳ, TA.)

اعصى It (a grape-vine) put forth its عِيدَان (Ṣ, Ḳ, TA) or عُصِىّ [i. e. rods]. (TA.)

تعصّى He struck, or beat, with the عَصَا [or staff,, &c.]. (Mgh.) And تعصّى بِالعَصَا He made use of the عصا [or staff,, &c.]: and he struck, or beat, with it. (Mgh.)

اعتصى عَلَى العَصَا He leaned, or he supported, or stayed, himself, upon the عَصَا [or staff,, &c.]. (Ṣ, Mgh.)

And يَعْتَصِى بِالسَّيْفِ He makes use of the sword as a staff. (Ṣ, and TA in this art. and in art. عصى.)

And اعتصى الشَّجَرَةَ He cut a staff, or stick, or rod, (عَصًا,) from the tree. (Ḳ.)

عَصًا i. q. عُودٌ [as meaning A staff, or stick, or rod]: (Ḳ:) originally عَصَوٌ, and accordingly its dual is as below: said to be thus called because the fingers and hand are put together upon it [to grasp it], from the saying عَصَوْتُ القَوْمَ “I collected together the people, or party;” as related by Aṣ from some one or more of the Basrees: (TA:) of the fem. gender: (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ:) it is said in a prov., العَصَا مِنَ العُصَيَّةِ↓ [lit. The staff is from the little staff; the dim. having the affix ة because it is the dim. of a fem. n.]; (Ṣ;) [or] العَصَا in this prov. is the name of a mare of Jedheemeh [mentioned voce ضُلٌّ], and العُصَيَّة is that of her dam; meaning that part of the thing, or affair, is from part; (Ṣ, Ḳ, TA;) and said when one is likened to his father; or meaning that the big thing is in its commencement small: (TA: [see also Freytag's Arab. Prov. i. 17:]) it is not allowable to say عَصَآء; nor to affix ة: (Aṣ, TA:) one says, هٰذِهِ عَصَاىَ أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيْهَا [This is my staff; I support, or stay, myself upon it]: Fr says that the first incorrect speech heard in El-'Irák was the saying, هٰذِهِ عَصَاتِى: (Ṣ:) the dual is عَصَوَانِ: (Ṣ, Mṣb:) and the pl. [of mult.] is عُصِىٌّ, (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ,) [originally عُصُووٌ,] of the measure فُعُولٌ, (Ṣ, Mṣb,) and عِصِىٌّ, (Ṣ, Ḳ,) in which the ع is with kesr because of the kesrah following it, and [of pauc.] أَعْصٍ (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ) and أَعْصَآءٌ, (Ḳ,) or this last is agreeable with analogy, but has not been transmitted, (ISk, Mṣb,) and is disallowed by Sb, who says that عُصِىٌّ was used in its stead. (TA.)

[Hence various sayings, here following.]

أَلْقَى عَصَاهُ [lit. He threw down his staff;] meaning ‡ he stayed, (Ṣ, Mṣb, Ḳ, TA,) and rested, (Mṣb,) and ceased from journeys, (Ṣ,) having reached his place: (Ḳ, TA:) a prov.; (Ṣ, TA;) applied to him to whom an affair has become suitable and who has therefore kept to it: (TA:) or he made firm his tent-pegs, and pitched his tent, or stayed; (Ḳ, TA;) like him who has returned from his journey. (TA.) And رَفَعَ عَصَاهُ [He took up his staff] means † he ceased from staying [in a place at which he had alighted; he departed]. (Ḥar p. 454.)

لَا تَرْفَعْ عَصَاكَ عَنْ أَهْلِكَ [Put not thou away thy staff, or stick, from thy family, or thy wife,] denotes [the practice of] discipline. (Ṣ. [See art. رفع, p. 1122, col. 3.])

هُمْ عَبِيدُ العَصَا [They are the slaves of the staff] means † they are [persons] beaten with the staff. (Ḳ, TA.) It is said in the A, النَّاسُ عَبِيدُ العَصَا [Mankind are the slaves of the staff], meaning that they are dreaded by reason of their doing harm [and are therefore to be kept in awe]. (TA.)

And مَا هُمْ إِلَّا عَبِيدُ العَصَا [They are none other than the slaves of the staff] is said of persons regarded as low, base, or vile. (TA.)

إِنَّهُ لَيِّنُ العَصَا [Verily he is one whose staff is supple] means ‡ he is gentle, a good manager of that whereof he has the charge: (Ṣ, Ḳ:*) accord. to ISd, alluding to the beating little with the عصا. (TA.) And إِنَّهُ ضَعِيفُ العَصَا [Verily he is one whose staff is weak], meaning تِرْعِيَّةٌ [i. e., † one who performs well the act of keeping or tending, or of pasturing or feeding, camels]: (Ṣ:) or one who beats the camels little (Ḳ, TA) with the عَصا: and such is commended. (TA.) And صَلِيبُ العَصَا and صُلْبُهَا [One whose staff is hard], i. e. † one who is ungentle with the camels, beating them with the عصا: and such is discommended. (TA.) See an ex. in a verse of Er-Rá'ee cited voce صُلْبٌ.

قَرَعَهُ بِعَصَا المَلَامَةِ [He struck him with the staff of censure] means † he exceeded the usual bounds in censuring him. (TA.)

See also 1 in art. قرع.

فُلَانٌ يُصَلِّى عَصَا فُلَانٍ [Such a one straightens the staff of such a one by turning it round over the fire] means † such a one manages, orders, or regulates, the affairs of such a one. (TA.)

لَا تَدْخُلْ بَيْنَ العَصَا وَلِحَائِهَا [Enter not thou between the staff and its peel] means [† intermeddle not thou between two close friends; (see Freytag's Arab. Prov. i. 153;) or] enter not thou into that which does not concern thee. (TA.) And قَشَرْتُ لَهُ العَصَا [I peeled for him the staff] means † I discovered to him what was in my mind. (TA.)

شَقُّ العَصَا [lit. The splitting of the staff] means † the contravening of the collective body [or the community] of El-Islám [i. e. of the Muslims]: (Ḳ, TA:) and also † the disuniting of the collective body of the tribe: (TA:) or شَقَّ العَصَا means ‡ He separated himself from, and he contravened, the collective body [or the community]: (Mṣb:) and [it is said that] the primary signification of العَصَا is the state of combination and union: (TA:) this is the meaning in the saying, respecting the خَوَارِج [see خارِجِىٌّ], قَدْ شَقُّوا عَصَا المُسْلِمِينَ † [They have made a schism in the state of combination and union, or in the communion, of the Muslims]. (Ṣ, TA.) [Hence,] their saying إِيَّاكَ وَقَتْلَ العَصَا means † Beware thou of slaying or being slain in making a schism in the communion of the Muslims (فِى شَقِّ عَصَا المُسْلِمِينَ). (TA.) And one says, اِنْشَقَّتِ العَصَا (Ṣ, TA) [The staff became split], meaning, † disagreement, or discord, befell. (TA.) And طَارَتْ عَصَا بَنِى فُلَانٍ شِقَقًا [lit. The staff of the sons of such a one flew in splinters], a prov., meaning † the sons of such a one became scattered in various directions. (Meyd.)

عَصَا العَبْدِ [The stick of the slave] is the thing with which one stirs the مَلَّة [or hot ashes wherein bread is baked]. (TA.)

العَصَا signifies also ‡ The bone of the shank; (Ḳ, TA;) as being likened to the عصا [properly so called]. (TA.) And [the pl.] العِصِىُّ, † The bones that are in the wing. (Ṣ.) And [the same, or] العُصِىُّ, † Certain stars, having the form of the عَصَا [or rather of عصىّ]. (TA. [But what stars these are, I have not been able to determine.])

Also, (i. e. العَصَا,) The tongue. (Ḳ.) [Perhaps as being likened to a staff because used in chiding.]

And The woman's [muffler, or headcovering, called] خِمَار. (Ḳ.)

عَصَا الرَّاعِى [The pastor's rod; and appellation of knot-grass; a species of polygonum, p. aviculare;] the بطباط [i. e. بَطْبَاط, but the former name is the better known]; male, and female, the former of which is the more potent: asserted by Dioscorides to be diuretic, and a remedy for him who suffers suppression of the urine. (Ibn-Seenà, whom we call Avicenna, book ii. p. 229.)