امو

أَمَةٌ ذ , originally اموة, (Msb,) [but whether أَمَوَةٌ or أَمْوَةٌ is disputed, as will be seen in what follows,] A female slave; (M, K;) a woman whose condition is that of slavery; (T;) contr. of حُرَّةٌ: (S:) [in relation to God, best rendered a handmaid: ] dual أَمَتَانِ: (Msb:) pl. اآمٍ, (Lth, T, S, M, Msb, K, &c.,) like قِاضٍ, (Msb,) a pl. of pauc. [respecting which see what follows after the other pls.], (Lth, T,) and اـِمَاآءٌ [the most common form] (T, S, M, Mgh, Msb, K) and اـِمْوَانٌ (T, S, M, Msb, K) and أُمْوَانٌ (K, and so in some copies of the M) and أَمْوَانٌ (K, and so in some copies of the M) [the last, or last but one, accord. to different copies of the M, on the authority of Lh,] and أَمَوَاتٌ, (M, Msb, K,) for which one may say أَمَاتٌ. (Ibn-Keysán, TA.) Accord. to Sb (M) and Mbr (TA) it is originally أَمَوَةٌ, (S, M, K,) because it has for a pl. اآمٍ, (S, M,) which is [originally أَأْمُوٌ,] of the measure أَفْعُلٌ, (Lth, T, S,) like اآكُمٌ, pl. of أَكَمَةٌ, (Sb, M,) and like أَيْنُقٌ, [pl. of نَاقةٌ, which is originally نَوَقةٌ,] for a sing. of the measure فَعْلَةٌ has not a pl. of this form; (S;) and Mbr says that there is no noun of two letters but a letter has been dropped from it, which it indicates by its pl. or dual, or by a verb if it is derived therefrom: (TA:) or it is originally فَعْلَةٌ: (AHeyth, T, K:) AHeyth says that they suppressed its final radical letter, and, forming a pl. from it after the manner of نَخْلَةٌ and نَخْلٌ, instead of saying أَمٌ, which they disliked as being of only two letters, they transposed the suppressed و, changing it into ا, and placing it between the ا and م. (T: [in which this opinion, though it does not account for the termination of the pl. اآمٍ, is said to be preferable.]) One says, جَاآءَ تْنِىً أَمَةُ اللّٰهِ [ The handmaid of God came to me ]: and in the dual, جَاآءَ تْنِى أمَتَا اللّٰهِ: and in the pl., جَاآءَ نِى اـِمَاآءُ اللّٰهِ and اـِمْوَانُ اللّٰهِ and أَمَوَاتُ اللّٰهِ; and one may also say, أَمَاتُ اللّٰه. (Ibn-Keysán, TA.) [ISd says,] وَمَاهُ اللّٰهُ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمَةٍ بحَجَرٍ is mentioned by IAar as said in imprecating evil on a man; but I think it is من كلّ أَمْتِ [ May God cast a stone at him from every elevated place, or the like]. (M.)