Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

اقتات

Root: قوت

Form: 8

Full Definition

اقتاتVIII signifies He was, or became, fed, nourished, or sustained; being quasi-pass. of قَاتَ signifying as expl. in the beginning of this art.
2 And it is trans. by means of بِ, and by itself: see 5, in four places. One says, هُمْ يَقْتَاتُونَ الحَبَّ [They feed upon, or eat, grain].
3 The saying, of Tufeyl, يَقْتَاتُ فَضْلَ سَنَامِهَا الرَّحْلُ is held by ISd to mean, The saddle [as it were] eats the remainder of her hump, [as though] making it to be food for itself: accord. to IAar, he says, the meaning is, takes it away thing after thing [or piecemeal]; but I have not heard this [meaning] in any other instance: hence, says IAar, the oath sworn one day by El-'Okeylee, [said in the A to be an oath of the Arabs of the desert,] لَا نَفْسِى البَصِيرِ مَا فَعَلْتُ, for, he says, الاِقْتِيَاتُ [the Verbal.Noun of اقتات] and القَوْتُ [Verbal.Noun of قَاتَ ] are one [in signification]; and AM says that the meaning of this is, [No, by] Him who takes my spirit, breath after breath, until He has taken it wholly, [the All-seeing, I did not that thing:] and the saying of Tufeyl means the saddle, while I am riding upon it, takes by little and little the fat of her hump until there remains not of it aught.
4 One says also, الحَرْبُ تَقْتَاتُ الإِبِلَ [War makes the camels to be food]; meaning that [in consequence of war] the camels are given in payment of bloodwits.
5 And فُلَانٌ يَقْتَاتُ الكَلَامَ Such a one retrenches, or curtails, speech, or talk; [said of one who speaks, or talks, little;] syn. يُقِلُّهُ.

def.2 See also 1, latter half. [Hence,] one says, اِقْتَتْ لِنَارِكَ [Supply to thy fire ali- ment;] feed thy fire with fuel. And اِقْتَتْ لِلنَّارِ نَفْخَكَ , and اُنْفُخْ فِى النَّارِ نَفْخًا, Blow thou the fire with thy blowing, and with a blowing, gently and little [as an aliment].


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