مِرْدًى
Root: ردى
Full Definition
مِرْدًى
A stone that is thrown; as also
مِرْدَاةٌ : or a piece of rock with which date-stones are broken: and accord. to ISk, ↓ the latter signifies a piece of rock with which stones are broken, or with which one breaks [anything]: or a stone which the strong man can hardly, or not at all, lift with his hands; [like مِرْدَأَةٌ; (TA in art. ردأ;)] with which stones are broken; and with which they beat and soften a rugged place that they hollow out; and with which the hole of the [lizard called] ضَبّ
is broken, or battered, when it is among large stones (فى قلعة [i. e. فِى قَلَعَةٍ]), which
قلعة
it softens and demolishes: the same word (مرداة) also signifies the stone, or the piece of rock, by means of which the
ضَبّ
is guided to its hole: [and accord. to Golius, on the authority of Meyd and the Mirkát el-Loghah, the upper mill-stone:] the pl. of مِرْدَاةٌ is
: and this pl. is [also] syn. with
مَرَامٍ [app. as pl. of مِرْمَاةٌ, and meaning the arrows thus called; or any missiles]. Hence the prov., عِنْدَ جُحْرِ كُلِّ ضَبٍّ [Near by the hole of every dabb is its stone that is to be thrown at it, or its stone by means of which it guides itself to that hole]; applied to a thing that is near at hand, having no obstacle in the way to it; for the dabb will not be guided to its hole, when it goes forth from it and returns to it, except by means of a stone which it places as a mark to point out its hole: or ضَبٍّ عِنْدَهُ كُلُّ i. e. Every dabb has near by it its stone that is to be thrown at it; for the dabb has little knowledge, therefore it prepares not its hole save by a stone that may be a mark thereof, so that he who seeks it finds the stone that is to be thrown at the dabb near to it; therefore the prov. means that thou shouldst not feel secure from accidents, because calamities are prepared with every time, or period; and it is applied to him who exposes himself to destruction. Hence also, i. e. from مِرْدًى in the first of the senses assigned to it above, or in the second of those senses, said of a courageous man, إِنَّهُ
لَمِرْدَى حُرُوبٍ
2 Also مِرْدًى, or مُرْدِىٌّ , with damm [to the ل] and with shedd [to the ى], A pole with which a ship, or boat, is propelled, being in the hand of the sailor: pl. [of the former] مَرَادٍ, or [of the latter] مَرَادِىُّ: in the dial. of the vulgar مِدْرى [pronounced by them مِدْرَى, without tenween, or مِدْرَا, for مِدْرَأٌ]; pl., with the art., المَدَارِى [and vulgarly pronounced مَدَارِى also without the art.].
2 Also مِرْدًى, or مُرْدِىٌّ , with damm [to the ل] and with shedd [to the ى], A pole with which a ship, or boat, is propelled, being in the hand of the sailor: pl. [of the former] مَرَادٍ, or [of the latter] مَرَادِىُّ: in the dial. of the vulgar مِدْرى [pronounced by them مِدْرَى, without tenween, or مِدْرَا, for مِدْرَأٌ]; pl., with the art., المَدَارِى [and vulgarly pronounced مَدَارِى also without the art.].
Lane's Lexicon
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Hans Wehr
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Mufradat
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