استوى
Root: سوى
Form: 8
Full Definition
استوىVIII
[seems, accord. to Bd, to signify primarily He sought, or desired, what was equal, equable, uniform, even, or the like: for he says that the primary meaning of الاِسْتِوَآءُ is طلَبُ السَّوَآءِ; app. indicating the sense in which السوآء is here used by what follows.
2 And hence, accord. to him, but I would rather say primarily, as being quasi-pass. of سَوَّاهُ,] It was, or became, equal, equable, uniform, even, level, flat, plane or plain, [or equal in respect of elevation or of depression, ] straight, right, direct, or rightly directed; syn. اِعْتَدَلَ فِى ذَاتِهِ, said of a place, and اِسْتَقَامَ, said of a stick, or piece of wood, &c. And , [if not a mistranscription for سُوِّىَ,] Verbal.Noun تَسْوِيَةٌ, signifies the same as استوى [app. meaning as above], accord. to IAar; and so does أَسْوَى , as also أَوْسَى, formed from it by transposition. One says, اِسْتَوَتْ بِهِ الأَرْضُ [lit. The earth, or ground, became equable, uniform, even, &c., with him, he having been buried in it], meaning he perished in the earth; as also , and عَلَيْهِ. And استوت أَرْضُهُمْ Their land became [even in its surface, being] affected with drought, or barrenness. And استوى المَآءُ وَالخَشَبَةَ, meaning مَعَ الخَشَبَةِ [i. e. The water became even, or level, with the piece of wood]. See also 6, in four places. One says also, استوى المُعَوَّجُ [or المُعْوجُّ i. e. The crooked, or uneven, became straight, or even]: and استوى مِنِ ٱعُوِجَاجٍ [It became even from a state of unevenness]. فَٱسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ, in the Kur xlviii. last verse, means And has stood straight, or erect, or become strong, and stood straight, or erect, upon its stems. (Bd, Jel. [Golius erroneously assigns a similar meaning to استسوى, a verb which I do not anywhere find.]) And فَٱسْتَوَى in the same, liii. 6, And he stood straight, or erect, in his proper form in which God created him: or was endowed by his strength with power over the affair appointed to him: or became firm, or steady. استوى said of a stick &c. means It stood up or erect: and was, or became, even, or straight: hence one says, استوى إِلَيْهِ كَالسَّهْمِ المُرْسَلِ He, or it, went towards him, or it, with an undeviating, a direct, or a straight, course, like the arrow hot forth: and hence, ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَآءِ is metaphorically said of God, in the Kur ii. 27 [and xli. 10]; meaning Then He directed himself by his will to the [heaven, or] elevated regions, or upwards, or to the heavenly bodies; syn. عَمَدَ, and قَصَدَ بِإِرَادَتِةِ; for when الاِسْتِوَآءُ is trans. by means of إِلَى it imports the meaning of the directing of oneself, or, as in this case, of one's design: you say of any one who has finished a work and has directed himself to another, قَدِ ٱسْتَوَى لَهُ and إِلَيْهِ: or the meaning here is صَعِدَ, or صَعِدَ أَمْرُهُ [i. e. his command ascended]; and this is what is intended here by صَعِدَ: or أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهَا [i. e. He advanced to it, namely, the heaven]; like as one says, كَانَ فُلَانٌ مُقْبِلًا عَلَى فُلَانٍ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَى عَلَىَّ
يُشَاتِمُنِى and إِلَىّض also, meaning أَقْبَلَ [i. e. Such a one was advancing against such a one, then he advanced against me, and to me, reviling me, or contending with me in reviling]: or it means اِسْتَوْلَى, as some say: J says, [in the S,] but not explaining thereby the verse above cited, that it signifies also اِسْتَوْلَى and ظَهَرَ [as meaning He had, or gained, the mastery, or victory]: and hence the saying of El-Akhtal, cited by him [in the S,]
2 And hence, accord. to him, but I would rather say primarily, as being quasi-pass. of سَوَّاهُ,] It was, or became, equal, equable, uniform, even, level, flat, plane or plain, [or equal in respect of elevation or of depression, ] straight, right, direct, or rightly directed; syn. اِعْتَدَلَ فِى ذَاتِهِ, said of a place, and اِسْتَقَامَ, said of a stick, or piece of wood, &c. And , [if not a mistranscription for سُوِّىَ,] Verbal.Noun تَسْوِيَةٌ, signifies the same as استوى [app. meaning as above], accord. to IAar; and so does أَسْوَى , as also أَوْسَى, formed from it by transposition. One says, اِسْتَوَتْ بِهِ الأَرْضُ [lit. The earth, or ground, became equable, uniform, even, &c., with him, he having been buried in it], meaning he perished in the earth; as also , and عَلَيْهِ. And استوت أَرْضُهُمْ Their land became [even in its surface, being] affected with drought, or barrenness. And استوى المَآءُ وَالخَشَبَةَ, meaning مَعَ الخَشَبَةِ [i. e. The water became even, or level, with the piece of wood]. See also 6, in four places. One says also, استوى المُعَوَّجُ [or المُعْوجُّ i. e. The crooked, or uneven, became straight, or even]: and استوى مِنِ ٱعُوِجَاجٍ [It became even from a state of unevenness]. فَٱسْتَوَى عَلَى سُوقِهِ, in the Kur xlviii. last verse, means And has stood straight, or erect, or become strong, and stood straight, or erect, upon its stems. (Bd, Jel. [Golius erroneously assigns a similar meaning to استسوى, a verb which I do not anywhere find.]) And فَٱسْتَوَى in the same, liii. 6, And he stood straight, or erect, in his proper form in which God created him: or was endowed by his strength with power over the affair appointed to him: or became firm, or steady. استوى said of a stick &c. means It stood up or erect: and was, or became, even, or straight: hence one says, استوى إِلَيْهِ كَالسَّهْمِ المُرْسَلِ He, or it, went towards him, or it, with an undeviating, a direct, or a straight, course, like the arrow hot forth: and hence, ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَآءِ is metaphorically said of God, in the Kur ii. 27 [and xli. 10]; meaning
[Bishr has gained the mastery over El-'Irák without sword and without shed blood]: Er-Rághib says that when this verb is trans. by means of عَلَى, it imports the meaning of الاِسْتِيلَآء; as in the saying in the Kur [xx. 4], اَلرَّحْمٰنُ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱسْتَوَى [which may be rendered, The Compassionate hath ascendancy over the empyrean so as to have everything in the universe equally within his grasp; agreeably with what here follows]: he then adds, it is said to mean that everything is alike in relation to Him in such manner that no one thing is nearer to Him than another thing, since He is not like the bodies that abide in one place exclusively of another place. The saying لَمَّا ٱسْتَوَتْ بِهِ رَاحِلَتُهُ عَلَى البَيْدَآءِ means [When his riding-camel] ascended with him upon the desert: or stood up with him straight upon its legs. And one says, استوى عَلَى ظَهْرِ دَابَّتِهِ, or عَلَى الفَرَسِ, He was, or became, firm, or steady, [or he settled himself, or became firmly seated, or sat firmly,] upon the back of his beast, or upon the horse: and استوى جَالِسًا [He became firm, or steady, sitting; or he settled himself in his sitting place; or sat firmly]. [استوى as quasi-pass. of سَوَّاهُ also signifies It was made, or became, symmetrical; congruous, or consistent in its several parts: was made, formed, or fashioned, in a suitable manner: was made, or became, adapted to the exigencies, or requirements, of its case, or of wisdom: was made, or became, complete: was made, or became, right, or good; became rectified, adjusted, or put into a right or good state. And hence,] استوى الرَّجُلُ i. q. بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ [q. v.]; [generally meaning] The man [became full-grown, of full vigour, or mature, in body, or in body and intellect; i. e.] attained the utmost limit of [the period termed] his شَبَاب; or attained the utmost limit of his شَبَاب, and the completion of his make and of his intellect, by the completion of from twenty-eight to thirty [years]: or attained to forty years. And استوى الطَّعَامُ The food became thoroughly cooked. [خَطُّ الاِسْتِوَآءِ means The equinoctial line.]قَدِ ٱسْتَوَى بِشْرٌ عَلَى العِرَاقِ مِنْ غَيْرِ سَيْفٍ وَدَمٍ مُهْرَاقِ