Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

Sign Up
Home › Dictionary › أما

أَمَا

Root: اما

Full Definition

أَمَا , used to denote an interrogation, is a compound of the interrogative hemzeh and the negative مَا: it is a mere interrogative [respecting a negative, like أَلَا]; as in the saying, أَمَا تَسْتَحْيِى مِنَ اللّٰهِ [Art not thou ashamed for thyself, or of thyself, with respect to God?].
2 [IHsh says, after explaining two other usages of أَمَا which we have yet to mention,] El-Málakee adds a third meaning of أَمَا, saying that it is a particle denoting عَرْضٌ [or the asking, or requiring, a thing in a gentle manner], like [أَلَا and] لَوْلَا; and is connected peculiarly with a verb; as in أَمَا تَقُومُ [Wherefore wilt not thou do stand?], and أَمَا تَفْعَلُ [Wherefore wilt not thou do such a thing?]; which may be explained by saying that the hemzeh is used as an interrogative to make one confess, or acknowledge, a thing, as it is in أَلَمْ and أَلَا, and that مَا is a negative.
3 It is also an inceptive word, used in the manner of أَلَا: followed by أَلَا, it is syn. with أَلَا: [meaning Now: or now surely: or] both of these meaning verily, or truly; i. c. حَقًّا: and for this reason Sb allows one's saying, أَمَا إنَّه مُنْطَلقٌ and أَمَا أَنَّهُ مُنْطَلقٌ [Verily, or truly, he is going away]; with kesr after the manner of أَلَا إِنَّهُ, and with fet-h after the manner of حَقًّا أَنَّهُ: and هَمَا وَاللّٰهِ لَقَدْ كَانَ كَذَا is mentioned as meaning أَمَا وَ اللّٰهِ [&c., i. e. Verily, or truly, by God, such a thing did indeed happen]; the ه being a substitute for the hemzeh: so too حَمَى واللّٰه [or حَمَا واللّٰه]: (Sgh and K in art. حمى:) it denotes the truth of the words which follow it; as when you say, أَمَا إِنَّ زَيْدًا عَاقِلٌ, meaning Truly, or properly speaking, not tropically, Zeyd is intelligent; and أَمَّا و اللّٰه قَد ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا [Truly, &c., by God, Zeyd beat, or struck, Amr]: (S in art. امو:) [in other words,] it corroborates an oath and a sentence; as in أَمَا وَ اللّٰه لَئِنْ سْهَرْتُ لَكَ لَيْلَةً لَأَ دَعَنَّكَ نَادِمًا [Verily, or now surely, by God, if I remain awake for thee a night, then will I indeed leave thee repenting]; and أَمَا لَو عَلِمْتُ مَكَانَكَ لَأَزْعَجْتُكَ مِنْهُ [Verily, or now surely, if I had known thy place of being, then had I unsettled thee, or removed thee, from it]; and أَمَا إِنَّهُ لَرَجُلٌ كَرِيمٌ [Verily, or now surely, he is a generous man]: or it is an inceptive particle, used in the manner of أَلَا; [meaning now: or now surely:] or a particle used to give notice of what is about to be said: only put before a proposition [as in exs. mentioned above]: and often occurring before an oath [as in exs. mentioned above]: and sometimes its hemzeh is changed into ه or ع, before the oath; each with the ا remaining; [written هَمَا or عَمَا;] and with the ا elided; [written هَمَ or عَمَ;] or with the ا elided, but without the substitution; [written أَمَ;] and when انَّ occurs after أَمَا, it is with kesr, as it is after أَلَا: and it also means حَقًّا [verily, or truly]: or أَحقًّا [verily? or truly?]: accord. to different opinions: and in this case, انَّ after it is with fet-h, as it is after حَقَّا: accord. to Ibn-Kharoof, this is a particle: but some say that it is a noun in the sense of حَقًّا: and others, that it consists of two words, namely, the interrogative hemzeh and مَا as a noun in the sense of شَىْءٌ; i. e. أَذالِكَ الشَّىْءُ حَقٌّ [is that thing ture?]; so that the meaning is أَحَقًّا: [if so, أَمَا أَنَّه مُنْطَلقٌ means Verily, or truly, is he going away?] and this, which is what Sb says, is the correct opinion: مَا is virtually in the accus. case, as an adverbial noun, like as حَقًّا is literally: and أَنَّ with its complement is an inchoative, of which the adverbial noun is the enunciative: but Mbr says that حَقًّا is the Verbal.Noun of يَحِقُّ, which is suppressed, and that أنَّ with its complement is an agent.


Lane's Lexicon — The most scholarly Arabic-English dictionary available

The product of over thirty years of unrelenting labor. A work of such unique greatness that to this day it remains supreme in the field of Arabic lexicography.

✓ Full text search • ✓ Root-based navigation
✓ Advanced filters • ✓ Mobile access

Go to LanesLexicon

Trusted by 1000+ researchers worldwide
Featured on Fons Vitae • Used by universities globally

Related Words from the Same Root

Nouns