Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

Includes Hans Wehr and Al Mawrid — All in One Search

استعجم

Root: عجم

Form: 10

Full Definition

استعجمX He was unable to speak: he was silent, mute, or speechless; said of a man. And اِسْتَعْجَمَتِ الدَّارُ عَنْ جَوَابِ سَائِلِهَا [The dwelling kept silence from replying to its interrogator]: and Imra-el-Keys says, صَمَّ صَدَاهَا وَعَفَا رَسْمُهَا وَٱسْتَعْجَمَتْ عَنْ مَنْطِقِ السَّائِلِ [Its echo has become dumb, and its trace has become effaced, and it has become in the state of keeping silence from answering the speech of the interrogator]: he makes استعجمت trans. by means of عن because it is used in the sense of سَكَتَتْ.
2 One says also, استعجم عَلَيْهِ الكَلَامُ, or عَلَيْنَا, meaning Speech was as though it were closed against him, or us; or he, or we, became impeded in speech, unable to speak, or tongue-tied; syn. اِسْتَبْهَمَ: and عليه الكلام; [which means the same;] syn. اِنْطَبَقَ and اِنْغَلَقَ. (K * and TA in art. طبق.) And accord. to the K, one says, استعجم القِرَآءَةَ, meaning He was unable to perform [or continue] the recitation, or reading, by reason of the overcoming of drowsiness: but what is said in the Nh and other works is اِسْتَعْحَمَتْ عَلَيْهِ قِرَآءَتُهُ i. e. His recitation, or reading, was cut short, and he was unable to perform [or continue] it, by reason of drowsiness: and it is also expl. as meaning he was, or became, impeded in his recitation, or reading, and unable to perform [or continue] it, as though he became one in whom was عُجْمَة.
3 And استعجم الخَبَرُ means The information, or narration, was dubious, confused, vague, or difficult to be understood or expressed; or was not to be understood or expressed; as though it were closed [against the hearer or speaker]; syn. اِسْتَبْهَمَ, and اِسْتَغْلَقَ. (Msb in art. بهم.)
Lane's Lexicon + Hans Wehr + Mawrid

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 it free

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