Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

رَبِيبٌ

Root: رب

Full Definition

رَبِيبٌ Reared, fostered, brought up, fed, or nourished; [and taken good care of, until the age of puberty; ] as also مَرْبُوبٌ ; both applied to a boy: and in like manner applied to a horse: or the latter epithet, applied to a horse, tended well, or taken good care of: the former is also applied to a gazelle; (IAar, K in art. دخل;) [as meaning brought up in, or near, the house or tent, and there fed;] like أَهْلِىٌّ: and [its fem.] رَبِيبَةٌ is applied to a ewe or she-goat, (شَاةٌ, K,) meaning brought up in the tent, or house, for the sake of her milk; (S, K; [see also رُبَّى;]) pl. رَبَائِبُ; this last being applied to sheep or goats that are tied near to the tents, or houses, and there fed, and that do not go forth to pasture; of which it is said that none are to be taken for the poor-rate.
2 [Hence, A step-son,] a man's wife's son by another husband; as also رَبُوبٌ : pl. أَرِبَّآءُ. And رَبِيبَةٌ [A step-daughter;] a woman's husband's daughter by another wife: or a man's wife's daughter by another husband; because he rears her: pl. رَبَائِبُ and sometimes رَبِيبَاتٌ.
3 Also, and رَابٌّ , both syn., like شَهِيدٌ and شَاهِدٌ, and خَبِيرٌ and خَابِرٌ, or the latter, mentioned by IAar, is the correct term, [A step-father;] the husband of a mother who has a child by another husband. And رَبِيبَةٌ and , or the latter [only], [A stepmother;] the wife of a father who has a child by another wife. رَبِيبَةٌ also signifies [A foster-mother;] a woman who has the charge of a child, who carries him, and takes care of him, and rears, or fosters, him; like ; the former being of the measure فَعِلَيةٌ in the sense of فَاعِلَةٌ. أَربَّآءُ النَّبِىّ [meaning The foster-fathers of the Prophet] is an appellation given to the people [of the tribe of Saad] among whom Mohammad was suckled; as though اربّآء were pl. of رَبِيبٌ [as it is said to be in one of the senses mentioned above].
4 And رَبِيبٌ signifies also A confederate; a person with whom one unites in a confederacy, league, or covenant.
5 And A king.


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