Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

نَابَهُ, aor. يَنِيبُ, He hit him on his ناب, i. e., his canine tooth. (Ṣ, Ḳ.)

نَابَهُ He bit the wood of the arrow, to know whether it were strong or weak, and made an impression upon it with his canine tooth. (Ṣ, Ḳ.)

نيّب فِيهِ He (a beast of prey) made an impression upon him with his canine tooth: he fixed his canine teeth in him. (TA)

نيّبت She (a camel) became extremely old: (Lḥ, Ṣ, Ḳ:) became what is termed a ناب. (A.)

نيّب andتنيّب↓ † It (a plant) put forth its root. (Ḳ.) Also signifying the same with reference to white, or hoary hair. The root is thought by ISd to be thus likened to a canine tooth. (TA.)

ظَفَّر فُلَانٌ فِى كَذَا وَنَيَّبَ ‡ Such a one clung to, caught to, or took fast hold upon, such a thing: [lit., stuck his nails and dog-teeth into it]. (A.) See also ظَفَّرَ.

نَابٌ [originally نَيَبٌ, The canine tooth, or dog-tooth; or eye-tooth; the tusk, or tush; or the fang; of certain animals:] one of the teeth; (Ṣ;) the tooth that is [next] behind the رَبَاعِيَة, [or next but one to the central pair of incisors:] (M, Ḳ.) [In this sense, the word is masc.:] the tooth thus called is masc., when thus called: [though if you call it سِنٌّ, it is fem.:] but ناب when fem. signifies “an old she-camel” (Mṣb:) or, accord. to the M and Ḳ, it is fem. only in each of the above senses without distinction. (TA.) Sb says, that the Arabs observed the pronunciation termed imáleh (إِمَالَة) in the case of ناب in the nom. [as well as in the acc. and gen., in which latter case this pronunciation is agreeable with analogy on account of the final kesreh,] likening its ‡ to that in رَمَى, [in which it is expressed in writing by ى,] because it is changed from ى: but this is extr. That is, this pronunciation of ‡ changed from ى or و is only observed [regularly] when the said ا is a final radical letter; and specially in verbs: the instances of this kind that occur in nouns are extr.; and more so are those in which the ا changed from ى is a medial radical letter. (TA.) [But the restriction to the case of verbs is inconsistent with what is said by Ibn-Málik and other high authorities: and so, too, is the restriction to the case of a final radical letter.] Pl. أَنْيُبٌ (Lḥ, Ḳ) and أَنْيَابٌ [both pls. of pauc.: but the latter is used as a pl. of mult.:] and نُيُوبٌ; (Ṣ, Ḳ;) the latter contr. to analogy, (Ṣ,) because [نَابٌ is originally نَيَبٌ, and] a word of the measure فَعَلٌ does not [regularly] assume the measure فَعُولٌ in the pl.; (TA;) to which should be added نِيُوبٌ, a dial. var., as in the case of every pl. of the measure فُعُولٌ of which the medial radical letter is ى: (M, F:) and pl. pl. أَنَايِيبُ. (Ḳ, TA.) Ibn-Seenà says that no animal has both a ناب and a horn. (Mṣb.)

نَابٌ An aged she-camel: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) not applied to a male camel: (Ṣ;) so called because of the length of her lush; (Ṣ;) by synedoche; the whole being called by the name of a part: (TA:) as alsoنَيُوبٌ↓; (Ḳ;) accord. to some copies of the Ḳ, نَيَّوبٌ; but this is a mistake: (TA:) pl. of the former أَنْيَابٌ and نُيُوبٌ (Ḳ) and نِيبٌ: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) or these are pls. of both the former of sing. (Ḳ. accord. to some copies; and TA.) Sb is of opinion that نِيبٌ is pl. of ناب, and says that the Arabs have made it of the measure فُعْلٌ [as it is said to be in the Ṣ, for it is originally نُيْبٌ,] like as they have the pl. of دَارٌ, disliking the sound of نُيُوبٌ, because the ى is with ḍammeh, and preceded by ḍammeh, and followed by و. It is also said to be pl. ofنَيُوبٌ↓; as it is related, on the authority of Yoo, that certain of the Arabs say صِيدٌ and بِيضٌ, as pls. of صَيُودٌ and بَيُوضٌ, agreeably with the dial. of those who say رُسْلٌ [instead of رُسُلٌ]; namely, the tribe of Temeem but their not saying نُيُبٌ, like as they say صُيُدٌ and بُيُضٌ, is an argument in favour of the opinion of Sb.

لَا أَفْعَلُ ذٰلِكَ مَا حَنَّتِ النِّيبُ [I will not do that as long as aged she-camels yearn towards their young ones i. e., I will never do it]. A proverb. (Ṣ.)

The dim. of نَابٌ is نُيَيْبٌ, without ة, because ناب, as applied to an aged she-camel, is like an epithet: (Ṣ:) or rather this formation of the dim. without ناب is a dev. from constant rule. (MF.) Sh says, that some of the Arabs make the dim. of ناب to be ثُوَيْبٌ, because many an ا such as that in ناب is changed from و: [or rather, this is generally the case:] but this, says Ibn-Es-Sarráj is an error on his part [who does so]. (Ṣ.) This apparently means, that Ibn-Es-Sarráj accuses Sh of an error; but such is not the case: for Sb himself says “but this is an error on their part;” i. e., on the part of the Arabs who say نويب for نييب (IB.)

نَابُ قَوْمٍ ‡ The lord, master, or chief, of a people: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) pl. أَنْيَابٌ. (TA.)

عَضَّتْهُ أَنْيَابُ الدَّهْرِ, and نُيُوبُهُ, [‡ The dog-teeth of fortune bit him]. (A.)

انياب are likewise met. assigned to evil, or mischief. (TA.)

نُيَّبٌ [as though pl. of نَائِبٌ or نَائِبَةٌ] an epithet added to نُيُوبٌ as signifying “canine teeth.” to render the signification intensive, or energetic. (TA.)

أَنْيَبُ Having a large, or thick, canine tooth, (Ḳ,) that does not bite a thing without breaking it. (Th.)