بِرْطِيلٌ

Full Definition

بِرْطِيلٌ A long stone: pl. بَرَاطِيلٌ: or a broad stone: (TA in art. برم:) or a stone of an oblong form a cubit in length, or an iron, long, broad, and hard by nature, not such as is made long, or sharpened or made sharp-pointed, by men, with which the millstone is pecked (تُنْقَرُ [i. e., wrought into shape, and roughened in its surface, by pecking]): so says Lth: to this is sometimes likened the muzzle, or fore part of the nose and mouth, of a she-camel of high breed: [and hence,] it signifies also the muzzle, or fore part of the nose and mouth, of an old bear: some say that the dual signifies two elongated stones, of the hardest kind, slender, and sharp-pointed, with which the millstone is pecked (تُنْقَرُ [explained above]). Also, accord. to Sh, A pickaxe, or stonecutter's pick; syn. مِعْوَلٌ: pl. as above: accord. to IAar, what is called in Persian اسكنه [app. a mistranscription, or a dial. var., of إِسْكَنك].

def.2 A bribe; syn. رِشْوَةٌ: app. mentioned in the K as an Arabic word; and if so, the pronunciation with fet-h to the ب is a vulgarism, since there is no such measure as فَعْلِيلٌ: Abu-l-'Alà El-Ma'arree says that it is not known in this sense in the [classical] language of the Arabs; and it seems as though it were taken from the same word signifying “an oblong stone;” as though the bribe were likened to a stone that is thrown: or it seems as though it were taken from the same word signifying a مِعْوَل; because therewith a thing is got out; and so El-Munáwee asserts it to be: pl. as above. Hence the phrase, أَلْقَمَهُ البِرْطِيلَ [He tipt him the bribe; conveyed it to him in like manner as one puts a morsel into another's mouth; somewhat like our phrase he greased his fist]. And the saying, البَرَاطِيلُ تَنْصُرُ الأَبَاطِيلِ [Bribes render victorious false allegations]: a prov.

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

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

Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

Full Definition

Related Words from the Same Root

Verbs

Nouns