Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

نَقَسَ It (a نَاقُوس) sounded. (TA.)

نَقَسَ, (Ṣ, A, Mṣb,) or نَقَسَ النَّاقُوسَ, (Mgh, Ḳ,) aor. ـُ {يَنْقُسُ}, inf. n. نَقْسٌ, (Ṣ, Mgh, Mṣb,) He struck, or beat, the ناقوس, (Ṣ, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ,) بِالْوَيِيلِ with the وبيل. (Mgh, Ḳ.) You say, نَقَسَتِ النَّصَارَى andانتقست↓ The Christians struck, or beat the ناقوس. (A.) It is said in a trad., that the Muslims were near to doing so, (كَادُوا يَنْقُسُونَ, Ṣ, TA,) or used to do so, (كَانُوا يَنْقُسُونَ, Mgh,) until ʼAbd-Allah Ibn-Zeyd dreamed of the [mode of calling to prayer termed] أَذَان. (Ṣ, Mgh, TA.)

نقّس دَوَاتَهُ, inf. n. تَنْقِيسٌ, He put ink (نِقْس) into his receptacle for ink. (Ṣ,* Ḳ.)

نِقْسٌ Ink; syn. مِدَادٌ [which is a more common term]; (A, Ḳ;) that with which one writes: (Ṣ, TA:) pl. أَنْقُسٌ (Ṣ, Ḳ) and أَنْقَاسٌ. (Ṣ, A, Ḳ.)

نَاقوُسٌ The thing which the Christians strike, or beat, (Ṣ, A, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ,) to notify the times of prayer, (Ṣ, A, Mgh, Ḳ,) as a sign for commencing their prayer; (Mṣb;) being a piece of wood, long, (A, Mgh, Ḳ,) and large (Ḳ,) [suspended to two cords, (Golius,)] with another which is short, [with which the former is struck, or beaten,] and which is called وَبِيلٌ: (A, Ḳ:) pl. نَوَاقِيسُ (Ṣ, TA) and نُقُسٌ, as though the ا in the sing. were imagined to be suppressed in forming the latter pl. (TA.)

[Hence, in the present day, applied to A bell: and particularly to the bell of a church or convent.]