رب

[he was, or became, its رَبّ or lord, possessor, owner, etc.;] he possessed it, and had command or authority over it — said of a thing; synonym مَلَكَهُ. [And likewise, he was, or became, his رَبّ or lord, etc.]

Maṣdar as above, and مَرَبَّةٌ and رِبَابَةٌ; synonym سُسْتُهُمْ, that is, I was, or became, over them [as their lord, master, or chief].

Also said as رِبَابَتُهُم.

Ṣafwān said, on the day of Ḥunayn: لَأَنْ يَرُبَّنِى رَجُلٌ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ أُنْ يَرُبَّنِى رَجُلٌ مِنْ هَوَازِنَ — [Assuredly that a man of Kureysh] should be over me as رَبّ [or lord, etc.], and as master or chief having command over me, [is more pleasing to me than that a man of Hawāzin should be lord over me.]

رَبَّ: see form 4.

maṣdar رَبٌّ or رِبَابٌ (S, K, in each of which this is given as the maṣdar from which the adjective رُبَّى comes); said of a ewe or she-goat. Or, as some say, she conceived.

According to some there is no verb to the adjective رُبَّى; AZ says it has no verb.

[But] رِبَابٌ is a maṣdar used of a ewe or she-goat, meaning her being in the state termed رُبَّى [q.v.]; and of a she-camel, as in the example cited by Muntajiʿ Ibn-Nebhān to As: [The yearning cry of the mother of the young camel in the time of her having recently brought forth]

.

It is used also of a woman, meaning her having recently brought forth; or her state within two months after giving birth; or within twenty days. Hence the phrase in a tradition, حَمْلُهَا رِبَابٌ, meaning she becomes pregnant soon after having brought forth.

See form 1, in five places.

Maṣdar إِرْبَابٌ and رَبَّ: he remained, stayed, dwelt, or abode in the place, not leaving it; like أَلَبَّ. With the former maṣdar, [or with each,] he kept, or clung, to the place.

Also expressed as بِالمَوْضِعِ, or بِمَكَانِ كَذَا, of such a place.

Of the she-camel also اربّت النَاقة بِالفَحْلِ and بِوَلَدِهَا.

Said in the same way of land: he claimed to be its ربّ [or lord, etc.].

They united in a confederacy, league, or covenant.

[Apparently from the fact that some confederates dipped their hands into رُبّ: see رِبَابٌ.]

See form 1.

See form 1.

An imperative of رَأَبَ.

And رَبَ and رُبُ and رُبْ and رَبْ and رُبَمَا and رَبَمَا, etc.: see رُبَّ.

See the next entry, last sentence but one.

A lord, a possessor, an owner, or a proprietor; synonym مَالِكٌ, of a thing, of anything, or of an irrational thing; a person who has a right, or just title, to the possession of anything, or its صَاحِب [which is synonymous with مَالِك]. رَبٌّ and مَالِكٌ and صَاحِبٌ all mean in Persian خُدَاوَنْد.

Also a lord, master, or chief; or a lord to whom obedience is paid; a ruler, governor, regulator, or disposer; an orderer, rectifier, or reformer; a rearer, fosterer, feeder, or nourisher; and a completer, or accomplisher.

It is an adjective, like نَمٌّ from نَمَّ, or a maṣdar used as an intensive adjective, like عَدْلٌ; originally meaning the bringing of a thing to a state of completion by degrees, then used in the sense of مَالِكٌ.

Plural [of paucity] أَرْبَابٌ, and [of multitude] رُبُوبٌ; and according to Sh رِبَابٌ also, meaning أَصْحَابٌ. رَبُوبٌ is apparently an ism jamʿ. The feminine is رَبَّةٌ, of which the plural is رَبَّاتٌ.

Whoever possesses a thing is its رَبّ.

With the article ال it is [properly] applied only to God.

[Thus the plural with the article ال is applied to created beings.] To any other being it is not [properly] applied except as a prefixed noun governing another noun in the genitive [or in a similar manner].

The pagan Arabs, however, sometimes applied it to a king, or to a lord meaning a master or chief. El-Ḥārith — that is, Ibn-Hillizeh — says: [And he (meaning El-Mundhir Ibn-Mā-es-Semà, or, as some say, ʿAmr Ibn-Hind) was the king, or lord, and witness of our fighting on the day of El-Ḥiyārān (the name of a place), and the trial was a hard trial]

. (EM, p. 285: in which الحَيَارَيْنِ is wrongly put for الحِيَارَيْنِ.)

Some forbid that a man should be called the رَبّ of his slave; it is said in a tradition that the slave shall not say to his master رَبّى, because it is like attributing a partner to God.

But رَبّ is sometimes used in the sense of lord, meaning master or chief, prefixed to a noun signifying a rational being governed by it in the genitive; as in the saying of the Prophet given above.

Or رَبَّتَهَا [her mistress], according to different transmitters; relating to the signs of the hour of resurrection: the female slave shall bear to her master a child that shall be as a master, or mistress, to her, because like its father in rank; meaning that captives and concubines shall be numerous.

The phrase from the Qur'an [12:42] was addressed by Joseph to his fellow-prisoner in the sense in which the latter understood the words. A similar instance occurs in the same chapter, in the verse immediately before it.

In another verse, [23 of the same chapter,] the words may refer to Joseph's master or to God.

The words of the Qur'an [89:28 and 29] as some read them [instead of عِبَادِى].

This is a word of which there are seventy dialectal variants, all mentioned by Zekereeyà El-Anṣāree in his great commentary on the “Munferijeh,” but only eighteen of which are mentioned in the K, including some formed with the affix ت, some with the affix مَا, and some with both these affixes together.

The forms are: رُبَّ and رَبَّ and رُبُّ and رُبَ and رَبَ and رُبُ and رُبْ and رَبْ and رُبَّتَ and رَبَّتَ and رُبُّتَ and رُبَّتُ and رَبَّتُ and رُبُّتُ and رُبَّتِ and رَبَّتِ and رُبُّتِ and رَبُّت and رُبَّتْ and رَبَّتْ and رُبُّتْ and رُبَتَ and رَبَتَ and رُبُتَ and رُبْتَ and رَبْتَ and رُبَتُ and رَبَتُ and رُبُتُ and رُبْتُ and رَبْتُ and رُبَتِ and رَبَتِ and رُبُتِ and رَبُتِ and رُبْتِ and رَبْتِ and رُبَتْ and رَبَتْ and رُبُتْ and رُبَّمَا and رَبَّمَا and رُبُّمَا and رُبَمَا and رَبَمَا and رُبُمَا and رُبْمَا and رَبْمَا and رُبَّتَمَا and رَبَّتَمَا and رُبُّتَمَا and رُبَّتُمَا and رَبَّتُمَا and رُبُّتُمَا and رُبَّتْمَا and رَبَّتْمَا and رُبُّتْمَا and رُبَتَمَا and رَبَتَمَا and رُبُتَمَا and رُبْتَمَا and رَبْتَمَا and رُبَتُمَا and رَبَتُمَا and رُبُتُمَا and رُبْتُمَا and رَبْتُمَا and رُبَتْمَا and رَبَتْمَا and رُبُتْمَا.

[Of all these, the most common are رُبَّ and رُبَّمَا.] رُبَّتَ is the most common of the forms that have the affix ت (Mughnee and K on the letter ت), and the forms with shadda are more common than the corresponding forms without shadda.

It is a word, or particle, governing the genitive; or a noun, [that is, an indeclinable noun,] in the opinion of the Koofees and some others, but this opinion is rejected by Ibn-Mālik in the Tesheel and its commentary, by AHei, and by IHsh in the Mughnee.

According to some it is used to denote a small number, always or mostly: [so it may be rendered “few” if the noun following it is rendered as a plural, and “scarce any” if that noun is rendered as a singular or a plural:] it is the opposite of كَمْ when this latter is not used interrogatively; [and with مَا affixed, restricting it from government, it may be rendered “few times,” or “seldom.”]

Or it is used to denote a large number, that is, always, as IDrst says: [so used it may be rendered “many,” whether the noun following is rendered as a singular or as a plural; and with مَا affixed, “many times,” “many a time,” “often,” or “frequently”:] or it is used for both a small and a large number, often the latter and seldom the former; or it is used in boasting only, to denote a large number; or it denotes by itself neither, one or the other meaning being inferred from the context: [but sometimes neither meaning can be clearly inferred, and then it may be rendered “some,” and with مَا affixed, “sometimes.”]

According to Er-Radee its primary meaning is to denote a small number, but it has been so much used to denote a large number that in this latter sense it is as though it were proper, and in the former as though it were figurative, requiring context [to explain it].

[Without the affix ما] it governs an indeterminate noun only, and a pronoun.

And likewise رُبَّتَ رَجُلٍ, for the ت in this case is not a denotative of the feminine gender.

The pronoun affixed to it is of the third person, and is generally singular and masculine, though it may be followed by a feminine, a dual, and a plural. Despite its being determinate in the utmost degree, this use is allowable because it resembles an indeterminate noun in being used without previous mention of the noun to which it relates; hence it requires a noun to explain it. It annuls the government of رُبَّ, and the indeterminate noun that follows it is put in the accusative as a specificative.

But according to the Koofees you say رُبَّهُ رَجُلًا and رُبَّهَا ٱمْرَأَةً and رُبَّهُمَا رَجُلَيْنش and رُبَّهُمْ رِجَالًا and رُبَّهُنَّ نِسَآءً.

He who puts the pronoun in the singular [in all cases] holds it to allude to something unknown; and he who does not put it in the singular [when it is not followed by a singular noun] holds it to be used in reply to a question, as though a man were asked, “Have you no young women?” and he answered, رُبَّهُنَّ جَوَارٍ قَدْ مَلَكْتُ [Few, or many, young women have I possessed].

Ibn-Es-Sarrāj says that the grammarians are as though of one consent in holding رُبَّ to be a replicative [apparently meaning in a case of this kind, with an affixed pronoun]: [but it is not always a replicative in such a case, though perhaps it was originally.]

AHeyth cites as an example: [And many a perishing man have I saved from perdition]

. (But the reading commonly found in grammars is مِنْ عَطَبِهْ, “from his state of perdition.”)

The following is an example of the use of رُبَّ to denote a small number, [or rather to denote singleness:] [Now surely scarce an instance is there of anyone born not having a father, and of anyone having offspring whom two parents have not procreated]

— meaning [our Lord] Jesus and Adam. (Mughnee: but I have substituted يَلْدِهِ for يَلْدَهُ, the reading in my copy of that work; لَمْ يَلْدِهِ is for لَمْ يَلِدْهُ, for the sake of the metre, like لِمْ أَجْدِ for لَمْ أَجِدْ.)

Among the many examples of its use to denote a large number is the saying in a tradition, يَا رُبَّ كاَسِيَةٍ فِى الدُّنْيَا عَارِيَةٌ يَوْمَ القِيٰمَةِ [O, many a female having clothing in the present state of existence will be naked on the day of resurrection!]; and the saying of an Arab of the desert after the ending of Ramaḍān, يَا رُبَّ صَائِمِهِ لَنْ يَعصُومَهُ وَيَا رُبَّ قَائِمِهِ لَنْ يَقُومَهُ [O, many a keeper of its fast will not keep its fast again! and O, many a passer of its nights in prayer, or performer of its تَرَاوِيح, will not pass its nights in prayer, or perform its تراويح, again!]. [But in this last example, and in others, it relates to few in comparison with others, though many in the absolute.]

Rob, or inspissated juice, of any fruit; that is, the first, or clear, juice of the thick residuum of any fruit after it has been pressed and cooked: thick طِلَآء [or expressed juice; such as the inspissated juice of dates with which a skin for clarified butter is seasoned; see form 1, in the latter half of the paragraph].

Or what flows from fresh ripe dates, like honey, when it has been cooked [and so thickened]; before which it is called صَقْرٌ: what is prepared by cooking from, or of, dates: the expressed juice of grapes, of apples, and the like, cooked and so thickened: and the dregs, or black dregs, of clarified butter and of olive-oil.

Plural رُبُوبٌ and رِبَابٌ [and plural of the plural رُبُوبَاتٌ, which means sorts, or species, of رُبّ].

See also رُبَّى.

See رَبٌّ, in three places.

See also رُبَّى.

A party, division, sect, or distinct body or class, of men; or a large assembly or company; or a myriad, that is, ten thousand, or thereabouts. رِبّةٌ means the same, or means a company [of men].

The plural of the former is رِبَابٌ, and that of the latter is أَرِبَّةٌ. Th [and the K] say that the former plural is a plural of رِبَّةٌ, but this is a mistake.

See also رُبَّى.

See the previous entry, first sentence.

Also a species of plant of the [season called] صَيْف, remaining at the end of the صَيْف; or the name of a number of plants that do not dry up in the صَيْف, remaining green through the winter and the صيف [or summer]; among them the حُلَّب and the رُخَامَى and the مَكْر and the عَلْقَى, or عَلْقًى [see رَبْلٌ].

Or a certain soft, or tender, herb, or leguminous plant; or any plant that is green in the hot season; or certain undefined species of trees or plants. Plural رِبَبٌ. [In the dialect of Egypt, Alexandrian trefoil of the second and third crops.]

Or مَآءٌ رَبَبٌ: much water, collected together; or sweet water. According to Th it means مَا رَبَّبَهُ الطِينُ [apparently such water as the clay has collected; for تَرَبَّبَ, meaning تَجَمَّعَ, is probably quasi-passive of رَبَّبَ, so that this last seems to mean جَمَّعَ].

And رَبَتَ, etc.; and رُبَتَمَا and رَبَتَمَا, etc.: see رُبَّ.

Clouds; or white clouds; or clouds that one sees beneath other clouds, or suspended beneath other clouds, sometimes white and sometimes black — IB says this last is the meaning commonly known; or clouds consisting of an accumulation of parts. (A ʿObeyd) Ism waḥda with ة. Hence الرَّبَابُ as a proper name of a woman.

Also a certain instrument of diversion, [meaning, of music,] having strings, with which one plays [literally beats]. [The رباب in common use among the Arabs today is a kind of viol. A specimen of it is figured and described in my work on the Modern Egyptians. Being an instrument of remarkable simplicity, it is probably similar to the ancient رباب.] Memdood Ibn-ʿAbd-Allah El-Wāsiṭee Er-Rabābee became proverbial for his musical skill with the رباب.

See also رُبَّانٌ.

See رُبَّى, of which it is an irregular plural.

And see also رُبَّانٌ.

See رِبَابَةٌ, in two places.

It is also a plural of رُبَّةٌ, not of رِبَّةٌ, as Th [and the K] say.

See form 1, last sentence.

And see رُبَّانٌ.

See رَبِيبٌ.

See also رَبٌّ, of which it is said in the M to be apparently an ism jamʿ.

Reared, fostered, brought up, fed, or nourished; [and well cared for until the age of puberty; see form 1;] as also مَرْبُوبٌ, both applied to a boy, and likewise applied to a horse. Or the latter adjective, applied to a horse, means tended well, or well cared for.

The former is also applied to a gazelle, [meaning brought up in, or near, the house or tent, and there fed,] like أَهْلِىٌّ.

[Its feminine] رَبِيبَةٌ is applied to a ewe or she-goat, meaning brought up in the tent, or house, for the sake of her milk; [see also رُبَّى]. Plural رَبَائِبُ, applied to sheep or goats that are tied near the tents, or houses, and there fed, and do not go out to pasture; of which it is said that none are to be taken for the poor-rate.

See رُبُوبِيَّةٌ.

Also a covenant, compact, confederacy, or league; as also رِبَابٌ, of which, in this sense, the plural is أَرِبَّةٌ. [See رِبَّةٌ, second sentence.]

And a thing [or case] resembling a quiver, in which the arrows of the game called المَيْسِر are enclosed together; or a piece of skin, or of thin skin, in which the arrows are enclosed, resembling a quiver; or a piece of rag, or of skin, in which the arrows are enclosed or bound; or a piece of thin skin bound on the hand of the man who takes out the arrows of that game, so that he may not know by touch an arrow whose owner he favours; or a small cord with which the arrows are bound [together]; or the arrows themselves collectively — it is sometimes used in this last sense.

رِبَابٌ also seems to be used in the same way, meaning the رِبَابَة of the arrows of the game of الميسر. [See an example in a verse cited under أَفَاضَ in art. فيض.]

See رُبُوبِيَّةٌ.

A player on the رَبَاب [q.v.].

With fet-ḥ [to the ر], a relative noun from الرَّبُّ, deviating from rule; as in the phrase عِلْمٌ رَبُوبِىٌّ [knowledge, science, or doctrine relating to the Lord, that is, to God].

[Lordship; or the state, or quality, of one termed رَبٌّ, that is, a lord, a possessor, an owner, or a proprietor, etc.; and, with the article ال, particularly godship, godhead, or deity:] a substantive from الرَّبُّ, as also رِبَابَةٌ [which seems properly to be a maṣdar of form 1 in the sense first explained].

Also, or رُبُوبَةٌ: the state, or condition, of a مَمْلُوك [or slave].

And رَبَّتَ, etc.; and رُبَّتَمَا and رَبَّتَمَا, etc.: see رُبَّ, in five places.

Applied to a ewe or she-goat: that has brought forth; and so if her young one has died; or that has recently brought forth; or that brought forth twenty days before; or that brought forth two months before (El-Umawee); or that is followed, or accompanied, by her young one; or that is confined in the tent, or house, for the sake of her milk. [See also رَبِيبَةٌ under رَبِيبٌ.]

According to AZ it is applied to a she-goat, and رَغُوثٌ is applied to a ewe; according to others the former is applied to a she-goat and a ewe, and sometimes to a she-camel.

The plural is رُبَابٌ, which is irregular [in form]. Lh mentions the phrase غَنَمٌ رُبَابٌ, or رِبَابٌ, which, he says, is rare.

A benefit, favour, boon, or good. [See an example in the first paragraph of art. جشأ.]

A child's nurse; synonym دَايَةٌ. (AA, T. In one copy of the T بابه, and in the TA راية. [Perhaps the right reading is رَابَّةٌ, meaning a foster-mother.])

A firm knot: [and so, apparently, رُبَّانٌ, if it is correctly written thus, in the instance here following.]

A proverb; also said as بِرُبَّا إِزْرِكَ (so in the TT, as from the M, [as though for بِرُبَّى]) and مِنع رُبَّى إِزْرِكَ. Here رُبَّى [properly] means a firm knot. [See also a similar proverb in Freytag's Arab. Prov. i. 24.]

Also a name of Jumādà-l-Oolà [the fifth month of the Arabian calendar]; and so رُبٌّ; and likewise, or according to Kr, a name of Jumādà-l-Ākhireh [the sixth month]; and so رُبَّةُ; and this last also, (K, where it is expressly said to be with ḍamm,) or رَبَّةُ, (so according to the M as transcribed in the TT,) a name of Dhu-l-Kaadeh [the eleventh month]: thus these months were called in the Time of Ignorance. [See also شَهْرٌ, and see رُنَّى, or الرُّنَّى, in art. رن.]

See رَبَّانِىٌّ.

Relative noun of رُبَّةٌ, q.v.

Singular of رِبِّيُّونَ, which means thousands of men. According to Akh it is from الرَّبُّ, and if so it is رَبِّيُّونَ, with fet-ḥ to the ر; but according to Fr it is from رِبَّةٌ, meaning “a company.”

Zj says that it is رِبِّيُّونَ and رُبِّيُّونَ, with kesr to the ر and also with ḍamm to the ر, and means a numerous company; he adds that رِبَّةٌ is said by some to mean “ten thousand,” and that ربّيُون is said to mean learned, pious, patient men, and that each of these sayings is good.

According to Aboo-Ṭālib it means numerous companies. [In the Qur'an 3:140] El-Ḥasan read رُبِّيُّونَ, and Ibn-ʿAbbās رَبِّيُّونَ, the former with ḍamm and the latter with fet-ḥ to the ر.

See the next entry, in four places.

The first, or beginning, or commencement, or the first and fresh state, of anything; (As, A ʿObeyd) [and so رَبَّانٌ, etc., as appears from what follows.]

You say likewise رَبَّانِ شبابه, or رِبَّانِ شبابه, and رُبَابِ شبابه, and رَبَابِ شبابه, or رِبَابِ شبابه, and رُبَّى شبابه, all with the same meaning.

So according to ISk; and hence, he says, شَاةٌ رُبَّى [explained above].

And أَخَذْتُ الشَّىْءَ بِرُبَّانِهِ and بِرَبَّانِهِ, with ḍamm and with fet-ḥ, mean [I took the thing] in its first state; or altogether, leaving none of it.

They said also ذَرْهُ بِرُبَّانٍ [apparently meaning: leave him early, before he acquires more power]; and Th cites [as an example]: [Then leave them early, before they acquire more power; for if you do not, or will not, leave them, they will make you taste what is in them, though it be more]

.

Also a captain of sailors at sea; and so رُبَّانِىٌّ: one skilled in navigation. Plural [or rather collective noun of the latter] رُبَّانِيَّةٌ.

See also رُبَّى, in two places.

See the previous entry, second sentence.

And رِبِّىٌّ, or رِبِّىٌّ: one who devotes himself to religious services or exercises, or applies himself to acts of devotion; who possesses a knowledge of God; or a learned man.

Or the first, or also the second, is equivalent to حَبْرٌ [that is, a learned man, particularly of the Jews, etc.; or a good, or righteous, man]; and a lord, or master, of knowledge or science; or a worshipper of the Lord; or a learned man who teaches others, nourishing people with the small matters of knowledge before the great; or a learned man firmly grounded in knowledge and religion; or a learned man who practises what he knows and instructs others; or one of high rank in knowledge; or one learned in what is lawful and what is unlawful, and what is commanded and what is forbidden.

رَبَّانِىٌّ is a relative noun from رَبَّانٌ, or from الرَّبُّ meaning “God,” the ا and ن being added to give intensiveness to the meaning; or, as Sb says, to denote a special reference to the knowledge of the Lord, as though the word meant one possessing a knowledge of the Lord to the exclusion of other branches of knowledge — so that it is like لِحْيَانِىٌّ, meaning “long-bearded,” or “large-bearded,” and رَقَبَانِىٌّ, “thick-necked,” and شَعْرَانِىٌّ, “having much hair.”

Or it is a Syriac word, or Hebrew, unknown to the [pagan] Arabs and known only to the men of law and science. The plural is رَبَّانِيُّونَ, occurring in the Qur'an 3:73 [and 5:48 and 68].

See رُبَّانٌ, last sentence but one.

The quality denoted by the adjective رَبَّانِىٌّ [q.v.].

A herd of oxen, [that is,] of wild oxen; or, as some say, of gazelles; or, according to Kr, a number of [wild] oxen together, fewer than ten. It has no singular and no ism waḥda.

And its feminine, with ة: see رَبِيبٌ, in three places.

Said in the T and K to be a plural of رِبَّةٌ [q.v.]; and said by AAF to be a plural of رِبَابٌ.

A place where people gather; a place of alighting; a place of abiding, or dwelling, and congregating. [Hence the phrase.]

Also, and مِرْبَابٌ: land abounding with plants, or herbage, or with رِبَّة [q.v.]; or land in which moisture does not cease; and so مَرَبَّةٌ, or مرْبَابٌ, which means land abounding with plants, or herbage, and with people.

Anything keeping, or cleaving, to a thing. (M. See its verb, form 4.)

It is originally مَرَابِبُ, plural of مُرِبٌّ.

The last occurs in a tradition; or the adjective there is مُلِبٌّ.

See مَرَبٌّ.

Made [or preserved] with رُبّ [or inspissated juice]; as مُعَسَّلٌ means “made [or preserved] with عَسَل [or honey].”

Also مُرَبًّى.

مُرَبَّبَاتٌ means preserves, or confections, made with رُبّ; and likewise مُرَبَّيَاتٌ, except that this is from التَّرْبِيَةُ [maṣdar of رَبَّى].

See the previous entry.

See مَرَبٌّ, in two places.

See رَبِيبٌ.

One who confers a benefit, or benefits.