كوث

Root entry · 5 derived lemmas

This root primarily relates to place names, specifically Mecca and a location in Iraq associated with the prophet Abraham. It also has a less common meaning related to the early growth stages of crops and a specific type of garment.

Derived headwords

الكَوْثَىname

1.
Meccaclassical
A name for the city of Mecca.
2.
Location in Iraqclassical
A place in Iraq, specifically in the Sawad region, considered the birthplace of Prophet Abraham.

الكوثيadjective

1.
Shortclassical
Describing something as short.

كوثnoun

1.
Crop growth stageclassical
The stage of crop growth when it has four or five leaves.
2.
Garmentclassical
A type of garment that is cut short and worn by men, possibly named by analogy with the crop stage.

تكويثverb

1.
To reach growth stageclassical
The act of a crop reaching the stage of having four or five leaves.

أمعرverb

1.
To become poorclassical
To become poor or destitute.

Parallel reading

الكوثى من أسماء مكة؛ عن كراع.

Al-Kuthā is among the names of Mecca; according to Kurāʿ.

التهذيب: الكوثى القصير، والكوثي مثله.

Al-Tahdhīb: Al-Kuthā means short, and Al-Kuthī is similar.

كوث الزرع تكويثا إذا صار أربع ورقات، وخمس ورقات، وهو الكوث.

A crop grows (takwīthan) when it reaches four leaves, five leaves, and this is Al-Kūth.

وكأن المقطوع الذي يلبس الرجل، سمي كوثا، تشبيها بكوث الزرع، ويقال له: القفش، وكأنه معرب.

And it is as if the cut garment that a man wears is named Kūth, by analogy with the crop's Kūth, and it is also called Al-Qafsh, and it seems to be a loanword.

وأما كوثى التي بالسواد، فما أراها عربية، ولقد قال محمد بن سيرين: سمعت عبيدة يقول سمعت عليا، عليه السلام، يقول: من كان سائلا عن نسبتنا، فإنا نبط من كوثى.

As for Al-Kuthā which is in Al-Sawād, I do not think it is Arabic, and Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn said: I heard ʿUbaydah say I heard ʿAlī, peace be upon him, say: Whoever asks about our lineage, we are Nabataeans from Kuthā.

فقالت طائفة: أراد كوثى العراق، وهي سرة السواد التي ولد بها إبراهيم، عليه السلام؛

So one group said: He meant Kuthā of Iraq, which is the heart of Al-Sawād where Abraham, peace be upon him, was born;

وقال آخرون: أراد كوثى مكة، وذلك أن محلة بني عبد الدار يقال لها كوثى، فأراد علي: إنا مكيون أميون، من أم القرى؛

And others said: He meant Kuthā of Mecca, and that is because a quarter of Banu ʿAbd al-Dār is called Kuthā, so ʿAlī meant: We are Meccans, unlettered, from the Mother of Cities;

لعن الله منزلا بطن كوثى، ... ورماه بالفقر والإمعار

May God curse a dwelling in the valley of Kuthā, ... and he described him with poverty and destitution.

ليس كوثى العراق أعني، ولكن ... كنثة الدار، دار عبد الدار

I do not mean Kuthā of Iraq, but rather ... the quarter of the house, the house of Banu ʿAbd al-Dār.

أمعر الرجل إذا افتقر.

A man becomes destitute (amʿara) if he becomes poor.

والقول الأول هو الأدل لقول علي عليه السلام: فإنا نبط من كوثى ، ولو أراد كوثى مكة، لما قال نبط، وكوثى العراق هي سرة السواد من محال النبط، وإنما أراد عليه السلام، أن أبانا إبراهيم كان من نبط كوثى وأن نسبنا انتهى إليه، ونحو ذلك؛

And the first opinion is more indicative of ʿAlī's saying, peace be upon him: 'We are Nabataeans from Kuthā.' If he had meant Kuthā of Mecca, he would not have said Nabataeans, and Kuthā of Iraq is the heart of Al-Sawād among the Nabataean settlements. He only meant, peace be upon him, that our father Abraham was from the Nabataeans of Kuthā and that our lineage goes back to him, and so forth;

نحن معاشر قريش حي من النبط، من أهل كوثى، والنبط من أهل العراق.

We, the people of Quraysh, are a tribe of Nabataeans, from the people of Kuthā, and the Nabataeans are from the people of Iraq.

إن أكرمكم عند الله أتقاكم.

Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.