عون

10 استعانهُ 10 and استعان بِهِ He sought, desired, demanded, or begged, of him, aid, help, or assistance. (MA.) You say, اِسْتَعَنْتُهُ, (Mgh,) or اِسْتَعَنْتُ بِهِ, (S, Msb,) or both, (K,) ↓ فَأَعَانَنِى (S, Mgh, Msb, * K) and ↓ عَاوَنَنِى, (S, TA,) for which last, ↓ عَوَّنَنِى is erroneously put in the copies of the K; (TA;) [i. e. I sought, &c., of him, aid, &c., and he aided me. ] The alteration of the infirm letter [و into ا] is made in استعان and ↓ اعان in imitation of a general rule [which requires it when that alteration is made in the unaugmented triliteral verb], though عَانَ, aor. يَعُونُ, [as their source of derivation,] is not used. (TA.) ب [i. e. بِ] is called حَرْفُ ا@سْتِعَانَةٍ [ A particle denotative of seeking aid, &c.,] because when you say ضَرَبْتُ بِالسَّيْفِ and كَتَبْتُ بِالقَلَمِ and بَرَيْتُ بِالمُدْيَةِ, it is as though you said اِسْتَعَنْتُ بِهٰذِهِ الأَدَوَاتِ عَلَي هٰذِهِ الأَفْعَالِ [meaning I sought aid of these instruments, or made use of them as means, against, i. e. to perform, these actions of smiting &c.]. (TA.) [And you say, استعان بِنَفْسِهِ, meaning He sought self-help, or exerted himself, فِي أَمْرٍ in an affair, and عَلَيْهِ against it, or him. ] -A2- استعان signifies also He shaved his عَانَة, or pubes; (S, Msb, K;) and so ↓ تَعَيَّنَ, originally تَعَوَّنَ, on the authority of ISd. (TA.)