Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

حِكَايَةٌ

Root: حكى

Full Definition

حِكَايَةٌ Verbal.Noun of 1.
2 [Used as a simple subst., it signifies A narrative, story, or tale:] pl. حَكَايَاتٌ.
3 As a conventional term in grammar, [meaning Imitation, or conforming, in language,] it is of two kinds: حِكَايَةُ جُمْلَةٍ [The imitation of a proposition, or phrase], and حِكَايَةُ مُفْرَدٍ [The imitation of a single word]: the former is of two sorts; one of which is termed حِكَايَةُ مَلْفُوظٍ [The imitation of a thing uttered], whereof قَالُوا الحَمْدُ للّٰهِ [They said, “ Praise be to God, ” ] is an ex.; and the other, حِكَايَةُ مَكْتُوبٍ [The imitation of a thing written], whereof قَرَأْتُ عَلَى فَصِّهِ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللّٰهِ [I read upon his ring-stone, “ Mohammad is the Apostle of God, ”] is an ex.: and the latter kind, also, is of two sorts; one of which is with the interrogative أَىٌّ or مَنْ, as when, to one who says, رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا [pronounced رَجُلَا, I saw a man], you say, أَيَّا [What ?], or مَنَا [Whom?], and the like, which sort is agreeable with a common rule; the other sort being without an interrogative, as the saying of one of the Arabs, to one who said, هَاتَانِ تَمْرَتَانِ [These are two dates], دَعْنَا مِنْ تَمْرَتَانِ [Abstain thou from troubling us about two dates], which sort is anomalous. [حِكَايَةُ صَوْتٍ signifies A word imitative of a sound; an onomatopœia: see اِسْمُ صَوْتٍ in art. سمو.]


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