Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

بُؤْسٌ

Root: بأس

Full Definition

بُؤْسٌ (also written بُوسٌ, with the suppressed, Msb) Distress; straitness of the means of subsistence, or of the conveniences of life; poverty: or a state of pressing want: or misfortune; calamity: and بُؤُوسٌ and بُؤْسَى and بَأْسَآءُ and بَأْسٌ and and and مَبْأَسَةٌ [all of which, except بَأْسَآءُ and مَبْأَسَةٌ , are said to be inf. ns. (see بَئِسَ)] signify the same as بُؤْسٌ: بُؤْسَى and بَأْسَآءُ are both from بُؤْسٌ [with which they are syn. accord. to authorities indicated above]; the former is contr. of نُعْمَى, and in like manner the latter is contr. of نَعْمَآءُ: the latter is of the measure فَعْلَآءُ without any أَفْعَلُ, because it is a subst.; like as أَفْعَلُ occurs among substs. without any فَعَلَآءُ, as in the instance of أَحْمَدُ: or بُؤْسَى signifies a state of trial or affliction, and is a subst.; and and بَآسَةٌ signify the same, but are inf. ns.: and بَأْسَآءُ is syn. with شِدَّةٌ [like بُؤْسٌ in the first of the senses explained above]; and مَشَقَّةٌ [meaning distress, or difficulty]: or it signifies misfortune, or calamity, like بُؤْسٌ; and so أَبْؤُسٌ: or rather this last signifies misfortunes, or calamities; for it is pl. of بَأْسٌ , i. e., a pl. of pauc.; not of بُؤْسٌ, as J asserts it to be; for the pl. of pauc. of بُؤْسٌ is أَبْآسٌ: but أَبْؤُسٌ may be used as pl. of بَأْسَآءُ . (Fr, in S, voce ضَرَّآءُ, q. v.) [See exs. of these two pls. in what follows.] You say يَوْمُ بُؤْسٍ وَيَوْمُ نُعْمٍ [A day of distress, or poverty, &c., and a day of ease and plenty]. And بُؤْسًا لَهُ [May distress, or poverty, &c., befall him]: a form of imprecation. And بُؤْسَ ٱبْنِ سُمَيَّةَ, app. an expression of pity [meaning Alas for the distress, &c., of Ibn-Sumeiyeh!]. And عَسَىَ الغُوَيْرُ أَبْؤُسًا Perhaps the little cave [may be attended with] calamities; not calamity, as in the S [and K]: a prov.; originating from a cave's having collapsed upon some men in it; or from an enemy's having come to some men in a cave, and slain them; wherefore it is applied to anything whence evil is feared: (As, S, K, in art. غور:) or it is applied to him who is suspected of a thing: or الغُوَيْرُ was the name of a certain water, which belonged to the tribe of Kelb, and the words of this prov. were said by Ez-Zebbà, when Kaseer turned aside from the plain road, and took the way to الغُوَيْرُ: (Ibn-El-Kelbee, S, K, in art. غور:)ابؤسا is in the accus. case by reason of يَكُونُ understood. [See Freytag's Arab. Prov. ii. 94.] ElKumeyt also says, قَالُوا أَسَآءَ بَنُو كُرْزٍ فَقُلْتُ لَهُمْ عَسَى الغُوَيْرُ بِأَبْآسٍ وَأغْوَارِ [They said, Benoo-Kurz have done evil: and I said to them, Perhaps the little cave may be attended with calamities and connected with other caves]: أَبْآس is here pl. of بُؤْس. [In the S, the last words are written بِإِبْآسٍ وَإِعْوَارٍ, in one copy: in another, وإِغْوَارِ: both of which are app. wrong.]
2 See also بَائِسٌ.


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