خطف

Root entry · 21 derived lemmas

The root خطف (khaṭafa) primarily denotes snatching, seizing, or taking something rapidly and suddenly. It extends to meanings of swift movement, quick glances, and even metaphorical 'snatching' of sound or attention. Derived terms describe the act, the agent, and the object of this rapid taking.

Derived headwords

خَطَفَverb

1.
to snatch, to seizeboth
To take something quickly and suddenly, often by force or stealth.
2.
to snatch away (sight)both
Used metaphorically for light or a sudden event that momentarily blinds or distracts.

خَطَفَهُ، بالكسر، يَخْطَفُهُ خَطْفًا، بالفتح — He snatched him, with kasra, he snatches him a snatching, with fatha

خَطْفًاnoun

1.
snatching, seizingboth
The act of taking something rapidly and suddenly.
2.
swift movementboth
A very fast pace or passage.

مر يخطف خطفا منكرا — He passed with a terrible swiftness

اخْتَطَفَverb

1.
to snatch away, to stealboth
To take something away quickly, often implying stealth or suddenness.
2.
to snatch (sound, attention)both
To steal or intercept something intangible like sound or attention.

اختطفه وتخطفه بمعنى — He snatched it, and he snatched it, meaning the same

تَخَطَّفَverb

1.
to snatch away, to seizeboth
To snatch something away, often implying repeated or aggressive action.

فتخطفه الطير — Then the birds snatched him away

خَاطِفadjective

1.
snatching, swiftboth
Describing something that snatches or moves with great speed.

ورجل خيطف: خاطف — And a swift man: a snatcher

مِخْطَفadjective

1.
snatching (bird of prey)both
Used for a bird of prey that snatches its quarry.
2.
flashing (sword)both
Describing a sword that flashes brightly, catching the eye.

وباز مخطف: يخطف الصيد — And a snatching falcon: it snatches the prey

وسيف مخطف: يخطف البصر بلمعه — And a flashing sword: it snatches the sight with its gleam

خُطْفَةnoun

1.
a snatch, a quick takeboth
A single instance of snatching something, or a small portion taken quickly.
2.
a small amount (of milk)both
A small quantity of milk taken quickly by a nursing infant.

إلا من خطف الخطفة — Except he who snatches a snatch

خَاطِفَةnoun

1.
snatching (action)both
The act of snatching, often used in the context of lightning or a swift event.

يكاد البرق يخطف أبصارهم — The lightning almost snatches away their sight

خَطَّافnoun

1.
swallow (bird)both
The common swallow bird.
2.
devilclassical
Referred to as the devil, who steals or snatches away hearing.
3.
hook, grappling ironboth
A curved piece of metal used for snatching or holding things.

والخطاف، بالفتح، الذي في الحديث هو الشيطان — And al-khuttaf, with fatha, which is in the hadith is the devil

وكل حديدة حجناء خطاف — And every curved iron is a khuttaf

خَطَّاطِيفnoun

1.
hooks, grappling ironsboth
Plural of خطاف, referring to hooked implements.
2.
claws (of a lion)both
The claws of a lion, likened to hooks.

خطاطيف حجن في حبال متينة — Hooks curved in strong ropes

خَاطِفَةnoun

1.
swift movementclassical
A rapid or swift manner of moving.

وعنقا بعد الرسيم خيطفا — And a swift gait after the slow one

خَيْطَفadjective

1.
swift-movingboth
Describing a camel or horse with a swift, gliding gait.

وجمل خيطف أي سريع المر — And a swift camel, meaning fast-moving

خَطِيفَةnoun

1.
a dish of cooked flour and milkboth
A dish made by cooking flour with milk or yogurt, often eaten quickly.

فإذا به بين يديه صحفة فيها خطيفة وملبنة — And behold, before him was a bowl containing khateefah and malbanah

خَاطُوفnoun

1.
snare, trapclassical
A tool resembling a sickle used by hunters to snatch prey.

وشبيه بالمنجل يشد في حبالة الصائد يختطف الظبي — And similar to a sickle, tied to the hunter's rope, it snatches the gazelle

مُخْطَفadjective

1.
swift-moving (horse)both
Describing a horse with a swift gait, particularly a small belly.

وفرس مخطف الحشى — And a horse with a swift-moving belly

أَخْطَفَverb

1.
to miss, to errboth
To miss a target when throwing or shooting.
2.
to recover quickly from illnessclassical
To experience a brief illness and recover swiftly.

أخطف لي من حديثه شيئا ثم سكت — He took a bit of his speech and then fell silent

رمى الرمية فأخطفها أي أخطأها — He threw the shot and missed it, meaning he erred

إخْطَافnoun

1.
swiftness (of horses)classical
A quality of swiftness in horses, related to their build.
2.
missing a targetclassical
The act of missing a thrown or shot object.

وهو صغر الجوف — And it is a smallness of the belly

فمخطفة تنمي ومقعصة تصمي — So a swift one grows and a slow one strikes

خَاطِف الظِّلِّnoun

1.
a type of birdclassical
A bird, possibly the roller, that is said to chase its own shadow.

وريطة فتيان كخاطف ظله — And a garment of youths like the snatcher of its shadow

خَطَفَ الشَّيْطَانُ السَّمْعَverb phrase

1.
to steal the hearingclassical
Metaphorically, for the devil to steal or intercept one's hearing, often referring to eavesdropping on divine messages.

خطف الشيطان السمع واختطفه: استرقه — The devil snatched the hearing and he snatched it: he stole it

خَطْفnoun

1.
leanness, emaciationclassical
A state of leanness or thinness in the flanks.
2.
madness, frenzyclassical
A state resembling madness or extreme agitation.

والخطف والخطف: الضمر وخفة لحم الجنب — And al-khaṭf and al-khuṭf: leanness and lightness of flesh in the flank

خَيْطَفَىnoun

1.
swift gaitclassical
A swift and gliding manner of walking or running.

وعنقا بعد الرسيم خيطفا — And a swift gait after the slow one

Parallel reading

الخطف: الاستلاب، وقيل: الخطف الأخذ في سرعة واستلاب.

Al-khaṭf: snatching, and it is said: al-khaṭf is taking with speed and snatching.

خَطَفَهُ، بالكسر، يَخْطَفُهُ خَطْفًا، بالفتح، وهي اللغة الجيدة، وفيه لغة أخرى حكاها الأخفش: خَطَفَ، بالفتح، يَخْطِفُ، بالكسر، وهي قليلة رديئة لا تكاد تعرف: اجتذبه بسرعة

He snatched him, with kasra, he snatches him a snatching, with fatha, and it is the good pronunciation; and there is another pronunciation narrated by Al-Akhfash: khaṭafa, with fatha, yakhṭifu, with kasra, and it is rare, poor, and hardly known: he pulled him quickly.

وقرأ بها يونس في قوله تعالى: يخطف أبصارهم، وأكثر القراء قرأوا: يخطف ، من خطف يخطف، قال الأزهري: وهي القراءة الجيدة.

And Yunus recited it in the saying of Allah Almighty: 'yakhṭifu their sight', and most reciters recited: 'yakhtifu', from khaṭafa yakhṭifu, Al-Azhari said: and it is the good recitation.

روي عن الحسن أنه قرأ يخطف أبصارهم ، بكسر الخاء وتشديد الطاء مع الكسر، وقرأها يخطف ، بفتح الخاء وكسر الطاء وتشديدها

It is narrated from Al-Hasan that he recited 'yakhṭifu their sight', with kasra on the kha and shadda with kasra, and he recited 'yakhtifu', with fatha on the kha and kasra on the ta and shadda.

قال: ويختطف ليس أصله غيرها ولا يكون مرة على يفتعل ومرة على يفتعل، فكسر لالتقاء الساكنين في موضع غير ملتبس.

He said: And 'yakhtatif' does not have another origin, nor is it sometimes on 'yaftail' and sometimes on 'yaftail', so it is broken for the meeting of two silent letters in a non-ambiguous place.

شمر: الخطف سرعة أخذ الشيء.

Shammar said: Al-khaṭf is the swiftness of taking a thing.

ومر يخطف خطفا منكرا أي مر مرا سريعا.

And he passed with a terrible swiftness, meaning he passed very quickly.

واختطفه وتخطفه بمعنى.

And he snatched him, and he snatched him, meaning the same.

وفي التنزيل العزيز: فتخطفه الطير ، وفيه: ويتخطف الناس من حولهم .

And in the Noble Qur'an: 'Then the birds snatched him away', and in it: 'and snatch people from around them'.

إلا من خطف الخطفة فأتبعه شهاب ثاقب ؛ وأما قراءة من قرأ إلا من خطف الخطفة ، بالتشديد، وهي قراءة الحسن فإن أصله اختطف فأدغمت التاء في الطاء وألقيت حركتها على الخاء فسقطت الألف

Except he who snatches a snatch, and a burning meteor follows him; as for the recitation of him who recited 'illa man khaṭṭafa al-khaṭfah', with shadda, which is the recitation of Al-Hasan, its origin is 'ikhtaṭafa', so the ta was assimilated into the ta, and its vowel was cast onto the kha, so the alif dropped.

ورجل خيطف: خاطف، وباز مخطف: يخطف الصيد.

And a swift man: a snatcher, and a snatching falcon: it snatches the prey.

وفي الحديث: أن النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، نهى عن المجثمة والخطفة ؛ وهي ما اختطف الذئب من أعضاء الشاة وهي حية من يد ورجل، أو اختطفه الكلب من أعضاء حيوان الصيد من لحم أو غيره والصيد حي لأن كل ما أبين من حي فهو ميت، والمراد ما يقطع من أعضاء الشاة؛ قال: وكل ما أبين من الحيوان وهو حي من لحم أو شحم، فهو ميت لا يحل أكله، وذلك أنه لما قدم المدينة رأى الناس يجبون أسنمة الإبل وأليات الغنم ويأكلونها.

And in the Hadith: that the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade al-mujaththamah and al-khaṭfah; and it is what the wolf snatches from the sheep's limbs while it is alive, from a hand or a leg, or what the dog snatches from the limbs of hunted animals, meat or otherwise, while the animal is alive, because anything separated from a living being is carrion, and what is meant is what is cut from the sheep's limbs; he said: And anything separated from an animal while it is alive, whether meat or fat, is carrion and is not permissible to eat, because when he arrived in Medina, he saw people cutting the humps of camels and the tails of sheep and eating them.

والخطفة: المرة الواحدة فسمي بها العضو المختطف.

And al-khaṭfah: the single instance, so the snatched limb was named after it.

وفي حديث الرضاعة: لا تحرم الخطفة والخطفتان أي الرضعة القليلة يأخذها الصبي من الثدي بسرعة.

And in the Hadith of nursing: 'A snatch and two snatches do not prohibit', meaning a small amount of milk that the child takes from the breast quickly.

وسيف مخطف: يخطف البصر بلمعه؛ قال: وناط بالدف حساما مخطفا

And a flashing sword: it snatches the sight with its gleam; he said: And he hung on the drum a flashing sword.

والخاطف: الذئب. وذئب خاطف: يختطف الفريسة، وبرق خاطف لنور الأبصار.

And al-khāṭif: the wolf. And a snatching wolf: it snatches the prey, and lightning that snatches the sight.

وخطف البرق البصر وخطفه يخطفه: ذهب به.

And lightning snatched the sight, and it snatched it, it takes it away.

وفي التنزيل العزيز: يكاد البرق يخطف أبصارهم ، وقد قرئ بالكسر، وكذلك الشعاع والسيف وكل جرم صقيل؛ قال: والهندوانيات يخطفن البصر

And in the Noble Qur'an: 'The lightning almost snatches away their sight', and it has been recited with kasra, as well as the sun's rays, the sword, and every polished object; he said: 'And the Indian swords snatch the sight'.

وفي الحديث: لينتهين أقوام عن رفع أبصارهم إلى السماء في الصلاة أو لتخطفن أبصارهم ؛ هو من الخطف استلاب الشيء وأخذه بسرعة.

And in the Hadith: 'People will cease raising their eyes to the sky in prayer, or their eyes will be snatched away'; it is from al-khaṭf, snatching a thing and taking it quickly.

ومننه حديث أحد: إن رأيتمونا تختطفنا الطير فلا تبرحوا أي تستلبنا وتطير بنا، وهو مبالغة في الهلاك.

And among its examples is the Hadith of Uhud: 'If you see us being snatched by birds, do not leave', meaning they are snatched away and flown with, and it is an exaggeration of destruction.

وخطف الشيطان السمع واختطفه: استرقه.

And the devil snatched the hearing and he snatched it: he stole it.

وفي التنزيل العزيز: إلا من خطف الخطفة .

And in the Noble Qur'an: 'Except he who snatches a snatch'.

والخطاف، بالفتح، الذي في الحديث هو الشيطان، يخطف السمع: يسترقه، وهو ما ورد في حديث علي: نفقتك رياء وسمعة للخطاف ؛ هو، بالفتح والتشديد، الشيطان لأنه يخطف السمع، وقيل: هو بضم الخاء على أنه جمع خاطف أو تشبيها بالخطاف، وهو الحديدة المعوجة كالكلوب يختطف بها الشيء ويجمع على خطاطيف.

And al-khuttaf, with fatha, which is in the Hadith is the devil, he snatches the hearing: he steals it, and it is what is mentioned in the Hadith of Ali: 'Your spending is for show and reputation for al-khuttaf'; it is, with fatha and shadda, the devil because he snatches the hearing, and it is said: it is with damma on the kha as a plural of khāṭif or by analogy with al-khuttaf, which is the curved iron like a hook with which one snatches a thing, and its plural is khāṭāṭīf.

وفي حديث الجن: يختطفون السمع أي يسترقونه ويستلبونه.

And in the Hadith of the Jinn: 'they snatch the hearing', meaning they steal it and snatch it away.

والخيطف والخيطفى: سرعة انجذاب السير كأنه يختطف في مشيه عنقه أي يجتذبه.

And al-khayṭaf and al-khayṭafā: the swiftness of the gait's pull, as if it snatches its neck in its walk, meaning it pulls it.

وجمل خيطف أي سريع المر.

And a swift camel, meaning fast-moving.

ويقال: عنق خيطف وخطفى؛ قال جد جرير: وعنقا بعد الرسيم خيطفا

And it is said: a swift neck and khayṭafā; the grandfather of Jarir said: And a swift gait after the slow one.

والخطفى: سيرته، ويروى خطفى، وبهذا سمي الخطفى، وهو لقب عوف جد جرير بن عطية بن عوف الشاعر؛ وحكى ابن بري عن أبي عبيدة قال: الخطفى جد جرير واسمه حذيفة بن بدر ولقب بذلك لقوله: يرفعن بالليل، إذا ما أسدفا، ... أعناق جنان وهاما رجفا، وعنقا بعد الكلال خيطفا

And al-khuṭfā: his gait, and it is narrated as khuṭfā, and by this al-khuṭfā was named, and it is the nickname of Auf, the grandfather of Jarir bin Attiyah bin Auf the poet; and Ibn Bariy narrated from Abu Ubaidah saying: Al-khuṭfā is the grandfather of Jarir, his name is Hudhayfah bin Badr, and he was nicknamed thus for his saying: They raise at night, when dusk falls, ... the necks of jinnān and trembling heads, and a swift gait after weariness.

والخطف والخطف، جميعا: مثل الجنون؛ قال أسامة الهذلي: فجاء، وقد أوجت من الموت نفسه، ... به خطف قد حذرته المقاعد

And al-khaṭf and al-khuṭf, both: like madness; Usamah al-Hudhali said: So he came, and his soul was agitated by death, ... with him was a frenzy that the seats warned him of.

والإخطاف: أن ترمي الرمية فتخطئ قريبا، يقال منه: رمى الرمية فأخطفها أي أخطأها؛ وأنشد أيضا: فانقض قد فات العيون الطرفا، ... إذا أصاب صيده أو أخطفا

And al-ikḥṭāf: is to throw a throw and miss it nearby, it is said of it: he threw the throw and missed it, meaning he erred; and he also recited: So he swooped, having passed the eyes' glance, ... whether he hit his prey or missed it.

والإخطاف في الخيل: ضد الانتفاخ، وهو عيب في الخيل.

And al-ikḥṭāf in horses: the opposite of bloating, and it is a defect in horses.

وقال أبو الهيثم: الإخطاف سر الخيل، وهو صغر الجوف؛ وأنشد: لا دنن فيه ولا إخطاف

And Abu Al-Haytham said: Al-ikḥṭāf is the secret of horses, and it is the smallness of the belly; and he recited: No short neck in it, nor al-ikḥṭāf.

والخطيفة: دقيق يذر على لبن ثم يطبخ فيلعق؛ قال ابن الأعرابي: هو الحبولاء.

And al-khaṭīfah: flour sprinkled on milk then cooked and licked; Ibn Al-Arabi said: it is al-ḥabūlā'.

وفي حديث علي: فإذا به بين يديه صحفة فيها خطيفة وملبنة ؛ الخطيفة: لبن يطبخ بدقيق ويختطف بالملاعق بسرعة.

And in the Hadith of Ali: And behold, before him was a bowl containing khaṭīfah and malbanah; al-khaṭīfah: milk cooked with flour and snatched with spoons quickly.

وفي حديث أنس: أنه كان عند أم سليم شعير فجشته وعملت للنبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، خطيفة فأرسلتني أدعوه ؛ قال أبو منصور: الخطيفة عند العرب أن تؤخذ لبينة فتسخن ثم يذر عليها دقيقة ثم تطبخ فيلعقها الناس ويختطفوها في سرعة.

And in the Hadith of Anas: that he had barley with Umm Sulaym, so she ground it and made a khaṭīfah for the Prophet, peace be upon him, and sent me to call him; Abu Mansur said: Al-khaṭīfah among the Arabs is to take milk, heat it, then sprinkle flour on it, then cook it, and people lick it and snatch it quickly.

ودخل قوم على علي بن أبي طالب، عليه السلام، يوم عيد وعنده الكبولاء، فقالوا: يا أمير المؤمنين أيوم عيد وخطيفة؟ فقال: كلوا ما حضر واشكروا الرزاق.

And a group entered upon Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him, on Eid day, and he had al-kabūlā', so they said: O Commander of the Faithful, is it Eid day and khaṭīfah? He said: Eat what is present and thank the Provider.

وخاطف ظله: طائر؛ قال الكميت بن زيد: وريطة فتيان كخاطف ظله، جعلت لهم منها خباء ممددا

And khāṭif ẓillih: a bird; Al-Kumait bin Zaid said: And a garment of youths like the snatcher of its shadow, I made for them from it a spread-out tent.

قال ابن سلمة: هو طائر يقال له الرفراف إذا رأى ظله في الماء أقبل إليه ليخطفه يحسبه صيدا، والله أعلم.

Ibn Sallamah said: It is a bird called ar-rafraf, when it sees its shadow in the water, it approaches it to snatch it, thinking it is prey, and Allah knows best.