خير

خَيْرٌ خير [ Good, moral or physical; anything that is good, real or ideal, and actual or potential; and, being originally an inf. n., used as sing and pl.;] a thing that all desire; such as intelligence, for instance, and equity; (Er-Rághib, and so in some copies of the K;) [or goodness; ] and excellence; and what is profitable or useful; benefit; (Er-Rághib;) contr. of شَرٌّ: (S, A, Msb:) pl. خُيُورٌ, (Msb, K,) and also, accord. to the Msb, ↓ خِيَارٌ: (TA:) [but this latter seems to be properly pl. only of خَيْرٌ used as an epithet (see below) and as a noun denoting the comparative and superlative degrees: it may however be used as an epithet in which the quality of a subst. is predominant:] خير is of two kinds: namely, absolute خير, which is what is desired in all circumstances and by every person: and what is خير [or good ] to one and شرّ [or evil ] to another; as, for instance, (Er-Rághib,) wealth, or property: (Zj, L in art. شد, Er-Rághib, K:) it has this last signification, namely wealth, or property, in the Kur, ii. 176 (S, TA) and ii. 274 and xxiv. 33 and xli. 49: or in the first and second of these instances it is thus called to imply the meaning of wealth, or property, that has been collected in a praiseworthy manner, or it means much wealth or property; and this is its meaning in the first of the instances mentioned above, agreeably with a trad. of 'Alee; and also in the Kur, c. 8: (TA:) [being used as a pl. (as well as a sing.), it may be also rendered good things: ] and it is also used by the Arabs to signify horses; (K, * TA;) and has this meaning in the Kur, xxxviii. 31: (TA:) [it is often best rendered good fortune; prosperity; welfare; wellbeing; weal; happiness; or a good state or condition: and sometimes bounty, or beneficence. ] رَجُلٌ قَلِيلُ الخَيْرِ means [ A man possessing little, or no, good; possessing few, or no, good things; or poor: and in whom is little, or no, good or goodness; or niggardly: and also] a man who does little good: (TA in art. عص:) or [ who does no good; ] who is not near to doing good; denoting the nonexistence of good in him. (Msb in art. قل.) [Thus it sometimes means the same as رَجُلٌ لَا خَيْرَ فِيهِ A man in whom is no good or goodness; devoid of goodness; worthless. ] And قِلَّةُ خَيْرٍ means Poverty: and also niggardliness. (A and TA in art. جحد.) هُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الخَيْرِ وَالخِيرِ is explained voce خِيرٌ. عَلَىيَدَىِ الخَيْرِ وَاليُمْنِ [May it be with the aid of good fortune and prosperity ] is a prayer used with respect to a marriage. (A 'Obeyd, TA.) And اـِنَّكَ مَا وَخَيْرًا means مَعَ خَيْرٍ, i. e., Mayest thou meet with, or attain, good. (K.) ― -b2- خَيْرٌ in the phrase فُلَانٌ خَيْرٌ resembles an epithet [like ↓ خَيِّرٌ, and signifies Good; or possessing good ]; (Akh, S;) therefore the fem. is خَيْرَةٌ, of which the pl. is خَيْرَاتٌ, (Akh, S, Msb, *) as occurring in the Kur, lv. 70; and they do not [there] mean by it [the comparative or superlative signification of the measure] أَفْعَلُ: (Akh, S:) you say ↓ رَجُلٌ خَيِّرٌ, (S, A, Msb,) meaning [ A good man; or] a man possessing خَيْر [or good ]; (Msb;) and رَجُلٌ خَيْرٌ: (S:) and in like manner, ↓ اِمْرَأَةٌ خَيِّرَةٌ and خَيْرَةٌ, (S, Msb,) meaning [ A good woman; or] a woman excellent in beauty and disposition: (Msb:) or خَيْرٌ and ↓ خَيِّرٌ signify possessing much خَيْر [or good ], (K,) applied to a man; (TA;) and in the same sense you say ↓ رَجُلٌ خَيْرَى, and ↓ خُورَى, and ↓ خِيَرى: and the fem. of the first is خَيْرَةٌ; and of the second, ↓ خَيِّرَةٌ: (K:) and the pl. [of pauc.] (of the first, TA) is أَخْيَارٌ, and [of mult.] خِيَارٌ: (A, Msb, K:) you say also خِيَارُ المَالِ, meaning The excellent of the camels or the like: (Msb, K:) and in like manner you say of men &c.: (TA:) [see also below:] and the fem. is خَيْرَةٌ, of which the pl. is خَيْرَاتٌ: (Msb:) خِيَارٌ is contr. of أَشْرَارٌ, (S, Mgh,) [thus] used as an epithet: (Mgh:) and ↓ خَيْرَةٌ [used as a subst.] signifies anything excellent; and the pl. thereof in this sense, خَيْرَاتٌ, occurs in the Kur, ix. 89: (S:) or خَيْرٌ, (K,) or the fem. خَيْرَةٌ, (Lth,) or each, (K.) signifies excellent in beauty: (Lth, K:) and ↓ خَيِّرٌ and خَيِّرَةٌ signify excellent in righteousness (Lth, K) and religion: (K:) or there is no difference in the opinion of the lexicologists [in general] between خَيْرَةٌ and ↓ خَيِّرَةٌ: (Az:) accord. to Zj, خَيْرَاتٌ and ↓ خَيِّرَاتٌ, both occurring in different readings of the Kur, lv. 70, signify good in dispositions: accord. to Khálid Ibn-Jembeh, خَيْرَةٌ, applied to a woman, signifies generous in race, exalted in rank or quality or reputation, goodly in face, good in disposition, possessing much wealth, who, if she bring forth, brings forth a generous child: (TA:) [↓ خِيَارٌ is also applied as an epithet to a sing. subst., either masc. or fem.:] you say جَمَلٌ خِيَارٌ and نَاقَةٌ خِيَارٌ, meaning A he-camel [ that is excellent or] excellent and brisk and so a she-camel. (TA.) See also مُخْتَارٌ, in three places. In the saying لَعَمَرُ أَبِيكَ الخَيْرُ, the word خَيْر is in the nom. case as an epithet of عَمْر; [so that the phrase lit. means By the good life of thy father; ] but properly it should be لَعَمْرُ أَبِيكَ الخَيْرِ [ By the life of thy good father ]: and the like is said with شَرّ. (TA.) [See also art. عمر.] ― -b3- خَيْرٌ is also used to denote superiority: one says, هٰذَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ هٰذَا This is better than this: and in the dial. of the Benoo-'Ámir, ↓ هٰذَا أَخْيَرُ مِنْ هٰذَا, with أ, and in like manner, أَشَّرُ; but the rest of the Arabs drop the أ in each case: (Msb:) you say, مِنْكَ ↓ هُوَ أَخْيَرُ [ He is better than thou ], and in like manner, أَشَّرُ مِنْكَ; and هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِنْكَ, and in like manner, شَرٌّ مِنْكَ; and, [using the dim. form of خَيْرٌ,] مِنْكَ ↓ خُيَيْرٌ, and in like manner, شُرَيْرٌ مِنْكَ. (Ibn-Buzurj, TA.) You also say, when you mean to express the signification of superiority, فُلَانَةٌ خَيْرُ النَّاسِ [ Such a woman is the best of mankind ]; [...]