قتا

Root entry · 13 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the concept of service, particularly the service of rulers or important figures. It extends to encompass the idea of being a servant or attendant, and in a less common usage, it can refer to slander or gossip.

Derived headwords

قَتَا، يَقْتُو، قَتْوًاverb

1.
to serveboth
To provide service, especially to rulers or important people.

القَتْوnoun

1.
serviceboth
The act of serving or providing service.
2.
good service to rulersclassical
Specifically refers to the excellent service provided to kings or rulers.

القتو: الخدمة — Service.

وقد قتاهم — And he served them.

مَقْتًىnoun

1.
service (masdar)classical
The verbal noun (masdar) indicating the act of serving.

وقد قتوت أقتو قتوا ومقتى أي خدمت مثل غزوت أغزو غزوا ومغزى — And I served, I serve, with service and maptan, meaning I served, like I invaded, I invade, with invasion and maghzan.

يَقْتُوverb

1.
he servesboth
Present tense verb indicating the act of serving, particularly rulers.

تقول هو يقتو الملوك أي يخدمهم — You say he serves the kings, meaning he serves them.

المُقَاتِيَةnoun

1.
servantsclassical
Plural noun referring to those who serve, the servants.

والمقاتية هم الخدام — And the muqatiyah are the servants.

مُقْتَوِيnoun

1.
servantclassical
Singular noun for a servant, one who serves.

والواحد مقتوي — And the singular is muqtawi.

حال حالك مقتوي — My condition is not a servant to your condition.

مُقْتَوِينَnoun

1.
servants (plural, accusative/genitive)classical
Plural form of 'muqtawi' used in the accusative or genitive case, referring to servants.

ورأيت مقتوين ومررت بمقتوين — And I saw muqtawin and I passed by muqtawin.

مُقْتَوُونnoun

1.
servants (plural, nominative)classical
Plural form of 'muqtawi' used in the nominative case, referring to servants.

وإذا جمعت «1» بالنون خففت الياء مقتوون — And when you pluralize with 'noon', you lighten the 'ya' to muqtawun.

مُقْتَوِيْنَاnoun

1.
servants (plural, nominative, lightened)classical
A lightened plural form of 'muqtawi' in the nominative case.

متى كنا لأمك مقتوينا؟ — When were we servants to your mother?

المُقْتَوِيnoun

1.
servant (definite)classical
The definite form of 'muqtawi', referring to the servant.

المُقَاتَوَةnoun

1.
servantsclassical
Another plural form for servants.

والمقتوون والمقاتوة والمقاتية الخدام — And the muqtawun, the muqatawah, and the muqatiyah are the servants.

اقتوىverb

1.
to use (as a servant)classical
To employ someone as a servant or to make them serve.

اقتوته أي استخدمته — I employed him, meaning I used him.

القَتْوَةnoun

1.
slanderclassical
Gossip or slander.

القتوة النميمة — Al-qutwah is slander.

Parallel reading

القتو: الخدمة.

Al-qutw: service.

وقد قتوت أقتو قتوا ومقتى أي خدمت مثل غزوت أغزو غزوا ومغزى

And I served, I serve, with service and maptan, meaning I served, like I invaded, I invade, with invasion and maghzan.

وقيل: القتو حسن خدمة الملوك، وقد قتاهم.

And it was said: Al-qutw is the good service of kings, and he served them.

تقول هو يقتو الملوك أي يخدمهم؛

You say he serves the kings, meaning he serves them;

والمقاتية هم الخدام، والواحد مقتوي، بفتح الميم وتشديد الياء كأنه منسوب إلى المقتى، وهو مصدر،

And the muqatiyah are the servants, and the singular is muqtawi, with a fatha on the mim and shadda on the ya, as if it is attributed to al-maptá, which is a masdar,

بلغ بني عصم بأني، ... عن فتاحتكم، غني لا أسرتي قلت، ولا ... حالي لحالك مقتوي

Inform the sons of 'Isam that I... am independent of your opening, not my family, I said, nor... is my condition a servant to your condition.

تهددنا وتوعدنا، رويدا ... متى كنا لأمك مقتوينا؟

You threaten us and warn us, take it easy... When were we servants to your mother?

وإذا جمعت «1» بالنون خففت الياء مقتوون، وفي الخفض والنصب مقتوين كما قالوا أشعرين، وأنشد بيت عمرو بن كلثوم.

And when you pluralize with 'noon', you lighten the 'ya' to muqtawun, and in the genitive and accusative to muqtawin, as they said 'ash'arin', and he recited the verse of Amr ibn Kulthum.

المقتوون الخدام، واحدهم مقتوي؛

The muqtawun are the servants, their singular is muqtawi;

أرى عمرو بن ضمرة مقتويا، ... له في كل عام بكرتان»

I see Amr ibn Damrah being served, ... he has two young she-camels each year.

وهم الذين يخدمون الناس بطعام بطونهم.

And they are those who serve people with the food of their bellies.

والمقتوون والمقاتوة والمقاتية الخدام، واحدهم مقتوي.

And the muqtawun, the muqatawah, and the muqatiyah are the servants, their singular is muqtawi.

ويقال: مقتوين، وكذلك المؤنث والاثنان والجمع؛

And it is said: muqtawin, and likewise the feminine, the dual, and the plural;

ليست الواو في هؤلاء مقتوون ورأيت مقتوين ومررت بمقتوين إعرابا أو دليل إعراب، إذ لو كانت كذلك لوجب أن يقال هؤلاء مقتون ورأيت مقتين ومررت بمقتين، ويجري مجرى مصطفين.

The 'waw' in these 'muqtawun', 'I saw muqtawin', and 'I passed by muqtawin' is for inflection or an indicator of inflection, because if it were so, it would be necessary to say 'these are muqtun', 'I saw muqtin', and 'I passed by muqtin', and it follows the pattern of 'mustafina'.

جعله سيبويه بمنزلة الأشعري والأشعرين، قال: وكان القياس في هذا، إذ حذفت ياء النسب منه، أن يقال مقتون كما يقال في الأعلى الأعلون إلا أن اللام صحت في مقتوين، لتكون صحتها دلالة على إرادة النسب، ليعلم أن هذا الجمع المحذوف منه النسب بمنزلة المثبت فيه.

Sibawayh made it equivalent to 'al-Ash'ari' and 'al-Ash'arin', he said: And the analogy in this, when the 'ya' of attribution is removed from it, is to say 'muqtun' as it is said for 'al-A'la' 'al-A'laun', except that the 'lam' is sound in 'muqtawin', so that its soundness is an indication of the intention of attribution, so that it is known that this plural from which attribution is removed is equivalent to that in which it is established.

وإن شئت قلت جاؤوا به على الأصل كما قالوا مقاتوة، حدثنا بذلك أبو الخطاب عن العرب، قال: وليس العرب يعرف هذه الكلمة.

And if you wish, you can say they brought it according to the origin, as they said 'muqatawah', Abu al-Khattab narrated this to us from the Arabs, he said: And the Arabs do not know this word.

وإن شئت قلت هو بمنزلة مذروين حيث لم يكن له واحد يفرد.

And if you wish, you can say it is equivalent to 'madhruwin' where it does not have a singular form.

فأما ما أنشده أبو الحسن عن الأحول عن أبي عبيدة: تبدل خليلا بي كشكلك شكله، ... فإني خليلا صالحا بك مقتوي

As for what Abu al-Hasan recited from al-Ahwal from Abu Ubaydah: You replaced a friend with me like your form, ... for I am a good friend with you, being served.

فإن مقتو مفعلل،، ونظيره مرعو، ونظيره من الصحيح المدغم محمر ومخضر، وأصله مقتو، ومثله رجل مغزو ومغزاو، وأصلهما مغزو ومغزاو، والفعل اغزو يغزاو «3» كاحمر واحمار والكوفيون يصححون ويدغمون ولا يعلون، والدليل على فساد مذهبهم قول العرب ارعوى ولم يقولوا ارعو، فإن قلت: بم انتصب خليلا ومقتو غير متعد؟ فالقول فيه أنه انتصب بمضمر يدل عليه المظهر كأنه قال أنا متخذ ومستعد، ألا ترى أن من اتخذ خليلا فقد اتخذه واستعده؟

Then 'maqtu' is 'muf'al'al', and its parallel is 'mar'u', and its parallel from the sound verbs with assimilation is 'muhmar' and 'mukhḍar', and its origin is 'maqtu', and similarly a man is 'maghzu' and 'maghzaw', and their origin is 'maghzu' and 'maghzaw', and the verb is 'aghzu' 'yaghzaw' like 'iḥmarra' and 'iḥmārra'. And the Kufis make it sound, assimilate, and do not weaken. The evidence for the corruption of their doctrine is the Arabs' saying 'ir'awa' and not saying 'ir'aw'. If you say: By what is 'khalilan' and 'maqtu' non-transitive منصوب? The saying about it is that it is منصوب by an implied pronoun indicated by the explicit, as if he said 'I am taking and preparing', do you not see that whoever takes a friend has taken him and prepared him?

وقد جاء في الحديث: اقتوى متعديا ولا نظير له،

And it has come in the hadith: 'iqtawa' is transitive and has no parallel.

وسئل عبيد الله بن عبد الله بن عتبة عن امرأة كان زوجها مملوكا فاشترته فقال: إن اقتوته فرق بينهما، وإن أعتقته فهما على النكاح؛ اقتوته أي استخدمته.

And Ubayd Allah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah was asked about a woman whose husband was a slave and she bought him, so he said: If she employed him (iqtawatuhu), a separation is made between them, and if she freed him, they remain on the marriage; I employed him, meaning I used him.

والقتو: الخدمة؛ قال الهروي: أي استخدمته، وهذا شاذ جدا لأن هذا البناء غير متعد ألبتة، من الغريبين.

And Al-qutw: service; Al-Harawi said: meaning I used him, and this is very rare because this pattern is not transitive at all, from the two rare ones.

يقال قتوت الرجل قتوا ومقتى أي خدمته، ثم نسبوا إلى المقتى فقالوا رجل مقتوي، ثم خففوا ياء النسبة فقالوا رجل مقتو ورجال مقتوون، والأصل مقتويون.

It is said 'qatawtu al-rajula qatwan wa maptan', meaning I served him, then they attributed to al-maptá, so they said 'rajulun muqtawi', then they lightened the 'ya' of attribution, so they said 'rajulun maktu' and 'rijalun muqtawun', and the origin is 'muqtawiyun'.

القتوة النميمة.

Al-qutwah is slander.