Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

Includes Hans Wehr and al-Mufradat — All in One Search

سِوًى

Root: سوى

Full Definition

سِوًى : see سَوَاءٌ, in seven places.
2 Also, and likewise سُوًى , and سَوَآءٌ , and سِوَآءٌ , i. q. مَكَانٌ, or غَيْرٌ, accord. to different authorities: each used as an epithet, and as denoting exception, like غَيْر; accord. to Ez-Zejjájee and Ibn-Málik, used in the same sense and manner as غَيْر: but accord. to Sb and the generality of authorities, an adv. n. of place, always in the accus. case, except in instances of necessity: one says, عِنْدِى رَجُلٌ سِوَى زَيْدٍ, meaning بَدَلَ زَيْدٍ and مَكَانَ زَيْدٍ [i. e. I have with me a man instead of Zeyd and in the place of Zeyd]: [but] one says [also] مَرَرْتُ بِرَجُلٍ سِوَاكَ and and , meaning غَيْرِكَ [i. e. I passed by a man other than thee]: and جَآءَنِى [and سِوَاك &c. Other than thou came to me], using it as an agent; and رَأَيْتُ [and سِوَاكَ &c. I saw other than thee], using it as an objective complement: and مَا جَآءَنِى أَحَدٌ [and سِوَاكَ &c. None except thou came to me]: and مَا جَآءَنِى أَحَدٌ [and سِوَاكَ &c. None other than thou came to me]: and قَصَدْتُ القَوْمَ سِوَى زَيْدٍ, meaning غَيْرَ زَيْدٍ [i. e. I betook myself to, or towards, the people, or party, others than Zeyd, which is virtually the same as except Zeyd]: and لَئِنْ فَعَلْتَ ذَاكَ وَأَنَا سِوَاكَ لَيَأْتِيَنَّكَ مِنِّى مَا تَكْرَهُ, meaning [If thou do that] when I am in a land other than thy land, [what thou dislikest, or hatest, shall assuredly come to thee from me.]
3 The Arabs also said, عَقْلُكَ سِوَاكَ, meaning Thine intellect has departed from thee.

def.2 The strangest of the meanings of سِوَى, in this sense with the short alif and with kesr, is قَصْدٌ. سِوَى الشَّىْءِ means قَصْدُهُ [i. e. The tendency, or direction, of the thing]. And one says, قَصَدْتُ سِوَى فُلَانٍ, meaning قَصَدْتُ قَصْدَهُ [i. e. I tended, or betook myself, in the direction of, or towards, such a one]. (S, K. * [In the CK, and in my MS. copy of the K, سَوَاهُ is erroneously put for سِوَاهُ.]) And hence, a poet says, وَلَأَصْرِفَنَّ سِوَى حُذَيْفَةَ مِدْحَتِى [And I will surely turn towards Hodheyfeh my eulogy].
Lane's Lexicon + Hans Wehr + Mufradat

Three dictionaries. One search.

"The product of over thirty years of unrelenting labor — to this day supreme in the field of Arabic lexicography."

47,000+ classical entries Root-based navigation Full text search Hyperlinked definitions
Try Now

Trusted by researchers at University of Michigan, Duke, Alberta & more