Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

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عَقَبَةٌ

Root: عقب

Full Definition

عَقَبَةٌ [A mountain-road;] a road in [or upon] a mountain: or a road in the upper part of a mountain: or a difficult place of ascent of the mountains: or it is in a mountain and the like thereof: or [it sometimes signifies] a long mountain that lies across the way, and over which the way therefore leads; long, or high, and very difficult; so called, too, when it is further impassable after it is ascended; rising high towards the sky, ascending and descending; most difficult of ascent; but sometimes its height is one [or uniform]; and its acclivity is in appearance like a wall: [generally it means a road over, or up, or down, or over some part of, a mountain:] pl. عِقَابٌ. اِقْتَحَمَ العَقَبَةَ [properly signifying He attempted the mountain-road] is metaphorically used as meaning He entered upon a hard, or difficult, affair. See also عُقْبَةٌ, near the end.
2 It is also n. un. of عَقَبٌ [q. v.].
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