قفا

Root entry · 19 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the back of the neck and the act of following or pursuing. It extends to concepts of imitation, accusation, and the end or rear of something, including the end of a verse in poetry.

Derived headwords

القَفَاnoun

1.
nape of the neckboth
The back part of the neck, situated below the skull and above the shoulders. It is often referred to as the 'back of the head'.
2.
rear, backboth
The posterior part or hind side of something.

قَفَاverb

1.
to followboth
To pursue or trail someone or something, often by following their tracks or path.
2.
to pursue (accusation)classical
To accuse or blame someone, to spread rumors or falsehoods about them.
3.
to strike the napeclassical
To hit someone on the back of the neck.
4.
to go away, departclassical
To leave or move away, often implying turning one's back.

قَفَاةnoun

1.
nape of the neckclassical
An alternative term for the nape of the neck.

أَقْفَاءnoun

1.
napes of necksboth
The plural of 'qafa', referring to the napes of necks.
2.
rear partsboth
The plural of 'qafa', referring to the rear or back parts of things.

أَقْفِيَةnoun

1.
napes of necksclassical
A plural form of 'qafa', referring to the napes of necks. This form is considered less common or non-standard by some.

قَفِيّnoun

1.
nape of the neckclassical
Another term for the nape of the neck.

قَفِيّadjective

1.
followingclassical
One who follows or pursues.
2.
lastclassical
The one who comes last, particularly in a sequence or lineage.

قَفْوnoun

1.
followingboth
The act of following or pursuing someone or something.
2.
accusation, slanderclassical
The act of falsely accusing or slandering someone.

قَفْوَةnoun

1.
followingclassical
The act of following or pursuing.
2.
end, rearclassical
The end or rear part of something.

قَافِيَةnoun

1.
rhyme, end-rhymeboth
The rhyming word or sound at the end of a line of poetry.
2.
rear, endboth
The end or rear part of something, analogous to the end of a verse.
3.
poem, verseclassical
A poem or a verse, especially one characterized by its rhyme.

قَفَّىverb

1.
to follow upboth
To follow up on something, to send messengers or successors after someone.
2.
to rhymeclassical
To make words or verses rhyme.
3.
to strike the napeclassical
To strike someone on the nape of the neck.

تَقَفَّىverb

1.
to follow the track ofboth
To follow closely in the footsteps or tracks of someone.
2.
to imitateclassical
To imitate someone's actions or behavior.

اِقْتَفَىverb

1.
to follow the track ofboth
To follow someone's tracks or path, to pursue them.
2.
to choose, selectclassical
To choose or select someone or something.

اِسْتَقْفَىverb

1.
to strike the napeclassical
To strike someone on the nape of the neck.
2.
to approach from behindclassical
To come up to someone from behind, often to attack or strike.

مَقْفُوّadjective

1.
followedclassical
One who is followed or pursued.
2.
lastclassical
The last one in a sequence.

مُقَفٍّadjective

1.
followingclassical
One who follows or pursues.
2.
lastclassical
The one who comes last, especially the last prophet.

قَفَنnoun

1.
nape of the neckclassical
A term for the nape of the neck.

قَفِينَةnoun

1.
slaughtered from the napeclassical
An animal, especially a sheep, slaughtered by cutting from the nape of the neck.

قَفْوَانnoun

1.
followingclassical
The act of following.

Parallel reading

القفا، مقصور، مؤخر العنق، ألفها واو والعرب تؤنثها، والتذكير أعم.

The qafa, shortened, is the back of the neck; its alif is a waw, and the Arabs feminine it, while masculine usage is more common.

فما المولى، وإن عرضت قفاه، ... بأحمل للملاوم من حمار

The master, even if his nape is exposed, is not more capable of bearing blame than a donkey.

القفا يذكر ويؤنث

The nape of the neck is masculine and feminine.

حتى إذا قلنا تيفع مالك، ... سلقت رقية مالكا لقفائه

Until when we said 'Tayfa' Malik, Ruqayyah struck Malik on his nape.

يا ابن الزبير طال ما عصيكا، ... وطال ما عنيتنا إليكا، لنضربن بسيفنا قفيكا

O son of Zubayr, for a long time you disobeyed, and for a long time you troubled us; we will surely strike your nape with our sword.

والجمع أقف وأقفية؛ الأخيرة عن ابن الأعرابي، وهو على غير قياس لأنه جمع الممدود مثل سماء وأسمية، وأقفاء مثل رحا وأرحاء؛

And the plural is aqf and aqfiyah; the latter is from Ibn al-A'rabi, and it is irregular because it is a plural of a lengthened noun like sama' (sky) and samawiyah, and aqfa' like raha (millstone) and arha'.

والكثير قفي على فعول مثل عصا وعصي، وقفي وقفين؛

And the common plural is qafi on the pattern 'fuhool' like 'asa (staff) and 'isiyy (staves), and qafiyy and qafiyayn;

يعقد الشيطان على قافية رأس أحدكم ثلاث عقد، فإذا قام من الليل فتوضأ انحلت عقدة ؛

Satan ties three knots on the nape of your head when one of you sleeps. When he wakes up and performs ablution, one knot is untied.

ويقال للشيخ إذا هرم: رد على قفاه ورد قفا؛

It is said of an old man when he becomes frail: 'He has returned to his nape' and 'he has returned his nape';

إن تلق ريب المنايا أو ترد قفا، ... لا أبك منك على دين ولا حسب

If you encounter the calamities of death or return to your nape, I will not weep for you over debt or lineage.

ويقولون: القفن في موضع القفا، وقال: هي قافية الرأس.

And they say: 'Al-qufn' is in the place of 'al-qafa', and he said: 'It is the nape of the head'.

وقافية كل شيء: آخره، ومنه قافية بيت الشعر، وقيل قافية الرأس مؤخره، وقيل: وسطه؛

And the qafiyah of everything is its end, and from it is the qafiyah of a verse of poetry. It is said the qafiyah of the head is its rear, and it is said: its middle;

وقفوته: ضربت قفاه.

And I qafawtuhu: I struck his nape.

وقفيته ولصيته: رميته بالزنا.

And I qaffaytuhu and lasstaytuhu: I accused him of adultery.

ويقال: قفا وقفوان، قال: ولم أسمع قفيان.

And it is said: qafa and qafwan, he said: and I have not heard qafiyayn.

وتقفيته بالعصا واستقفيته: ضربت قفاه بها.

And I taqfaytuhu with a stick and istaqfaytuhu: I struck his nape with it.

أخذ المسحاة فاستقفاه فضربه بها حتى قتله

He took the spade, approached him from behind, and struck him with it until he killed him.

فوضعوا اللج على قفي أي وضعوا السيف على قفاي، قال: وهي لغة طائية يشددون ياء المتكلم.

So they placed the sword on my nape, meaning they placed the sword on my nape; he said: and this is a Tayyi' dialect where they double the ya' of the first person singular.

فما قلص وجدن معقلات ... قفا سلع بمختلف التجار

So what remained were strongholds... the rear of Sal' with various traders.

وشاة قفية: مذبوحة من قفاها، ومنهم من يقول قفينة، والأصل قفية، والنون زائدة؛

And a qafiyyah sheep: slaughtered from its nape, and some say qafinnah, but the origin is qafiyyah, and the 'nun' is extra;

هي المذبوحة من قبل القفا، قال: ويقال للقفا القفن، فهي فعيلة بمعنى مفعولة.

It is the one slaughtered from the nape; he said: and 'al-qufn' is said for 'al-qafa', so it is 'fai'ilah' in the meaning of 'maf'oolah'.

ثم أكون على قفانه ، عند من جعل النون أصلية.

Then I will be on its nape, according to one who made the 'nun' original.

لا أفعله قفا الدهر أي أبدا أي طول الدهر وهو قفا الأكمة وبقفا الأكمة أي بظهرها.

I will not do it for qafa al-dahr, meaning forever, meaning the length of time, and it is the rear of the hill and at the rear of the hill, meaning its back.

والقفي: القفا.

And al-qafiyy: the nape of the neck.

وقفاه قفوا وقفوا واقتفاه وتقفاه: تبعه.

And qafahu qafwan and qafawu and iqtafahu and taqfah: he followed him.

ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم ؛

And do not follow what you have no knowledge of;

أي لا تتبع ما لا تعلم، وقيل: ولا تقل سمعت ولم تسمع، ولا رأيت ولم تر، ولا علمت ولم تعلم، إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسؤلا.

Meaning, do not follow what you do not know. And it is said: Do not say you heard what you did not hear, or saw what you did not see, or knew what you did not know, for indeed the hearing, the sight, and the heart – all of those will be questioned.

هو يقفو ويقوف ويقتاف أي يتبع الأثر.

He follows (yaqfu), and he follows (yaqoofu), and he follows (yaqtaafu), meaning he follows the track.

ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم لا ترم؛

And do not follow what you have no knowledge of; do not accuse;

معناه لا تشهد بالزور.

Its meaning is: do not bear false witness.

الأصل في القفو والتقافي البهتان يرمي به الرجل صاحبه، والعرب تقول قفت أثره وقفوته مثل قاع الجمل الناقة وقعاها إذا ركبها، ومثل عاث وعثا.

The origin of al-qafw and al-taqafi is slander that a man throws at his companion. The Arabs say 'qaftu atharahu' (I followed his track) and 'qafawtuhu' (I mounted her) like a camel mounts a she-camel and mounts her, and like 'atha' and 'atha'.

يقال قفوت فلانا اتبعت أثره، وقفوته أقفوه رميته بأمر قبيح.

It is said: 'Qafawtu fulanan' means I followed his track, and 'qafawtuhu' means I accused him of something ugly.

قفا أثره أي تبعه، وضده في الدعاء: قفا الله أثره مثل عفا الله أثره.

'Qafa atharahu' means he followed his track, and its opposite in supplication is: 'Qafa Allah atharahu' (May God follow his track), like 'Afa Allah atharahu' (May God erase his track).

قولهم قد قفا فلان فلانا، قال أبو عبيد: معناه أتبعه كلاما قبيحا.

Their saying 'Qafa fulan fulanan' (So-and-so followed so-and-so), Abu Ubayd said: its meaning is he followed him with ugly speech.

اقتفى أثره وتقفاه: اتبعه.

Iqtafa atharahu and taqfahu: he followed him.

وقفيته غيري وبغيري أتبعته إياه.

And I qaffaytuhu with someone else and with someone else: I made him follow it.

ثم قفينا على آثارهم برسلنا ؛ أي أتبعنا نوحا وإبراهيم رسلا بعدهم؛

Then We followed them up with Our messengers; meaning We sent messengers after Noah and Abraham;

وقفى على آثارهن بحاصب أي أتبع آثارهن حاصبا.

And he followed their tracks with a hailstorm, meaning he followed their tracks with a hailstorm.

استقفاه إذا قفا أثره ليسلبه؛

Istaqfahu if he followed his track to rob him;

كم دونها من فلاة ذات مطرد، ... قفى عليها سراب راسب جاري

How many a desolate plain with a flowing stream is beyond it, ... upon which a shimmering mirage passed.

قُفِّيَ عليه أي ذهب به؛ وأنشد:

Quffiya 'alayhi, meaning he was taken away; and he recited:

ومأرب قُفِّيَ عليه العَرَمُ

And Ma'rib was taken away by the flood.

لي خمسة أسماء منها كذا وأنا المقفي ، وفي حديث آخر: وأنا العاقب ؛

I have five names, among them is this, and I am al-Muqaffi, and in another hadith: and I am al-'Aqib;

المقفي نحو العاقب وهو المولي الذاهب.

Al-Muqaffi is like al-'Aqib, meaning the one who goes last.

فإذا قفى فلا نبي بعده، قال: والمقفي المتبع للنبيين.

So when he follows, there is no prophet after him. He said: And al-Muqaffi is the one who follows the prophets.

فلما قفى قال كذا أي ذهب موليا ، وكأنه من القفا أي أعطاه قفاه وظهره؛

So when he turned away, he said such-and-such, meaning he went away turning his back, and it is as if from 'al-qafa' meaning he gave his nape and his back;

هذينك الرجلين المقفيين أي الموليين،

Those two men, the muqaffiyayn, meaning the ones going last,

أنا محمد وأحمد والمقفي والحاشر ونبي الرحمة ونبي الملحمة ؛

I am Muhammad, and Ahmad, and al-Muqaffi, and al-Hashir, and the Prophet of Mercy, and the Prophet of Battle;

لا تقتفي بهم الشمال إذا ... هبت، ولا آفاقها الغبر

Do not let the north wind follow them when it blows, nor its dusty horizons.

اللهم إنا نتقرب إليك بعم نبيك وقفية آبائه وكبر رجاله ؛

O Allah, we draw near to You by the uncle of Your Prophet, and the successor of his fathers, and the elder of his men;

يعني العباس. يقال: هذا قفي الأشياخ وقفيتهم إذا كان الخلف منهم، مأخوذ من قفوت الرجل إذا تبعته، يعني أنه خلف آبائه وتلوهم وتابعهم

Meaning Al-'Abbas. It is said: This is the successor of the elders and their successor if he is the خلف (successor) from them, derived from 'qafawtu al-rajul' (I followed the man), meaning he is the successor of his fathers and follows them.

وهو القفوة: ك الصفوة من اصطفى، وقد تكرر ذلك القفو والاقتفاء في الحديث اسما وفعلا ومصدرا.

And it is al-qufwah: like al-safwah (the best) from 'istafa' (to choose), and the root qafw and iqtifa' have been repeated in the hadith as nouns, verbs, and masdars.

وفلان قفي أهله وقفيتهم أي الخلف منهم لأنه يقفو آثارهم في الخير.

And so-and-so is the successor of his family and their successor, meaning the خلف (successor) from them because he follows their good deeds.

والقافية من الشعر: الذي يقفو البيت، وسميت قافية لأنها تقفو البيت،

And the qafiyah of poetry is that which follows the verse, and it is named qafiyah because it follows the verse,

لأن بعضها يتبع أثر بعض.

Because some of it follows the track of the other.

القافية آخر كلمة في البيت، وإنما قيل لها قافية لأنها تقفو الكلام،

The qafiyah is the last word in the verse, and it is called qafiyah because it follows the speech,

لا يشتكين عملا ما أنقين

They do not complain about any work, no matter how much they are given.

فنحكم بالقوافي من هجانا، ... ونضرب حين تختلط الدماء

So we judge by the qafiyahs against whoever insults us, ... and we strike when blood mixes.

وقافية مثل حد السنان ... تبقى، ويهلك من قالها

And a qafiyah like the sharpness of a spear ... remains, while the one who uttered it perishes.

عفت الديار محلها فمقامها

The dwellings have become desolate, their location and their dwelling place.

القافية الحرف الذي تبنى القصيدة عليه، وهو المسمى رويا؛

The qafiyah is the letter upon which the poem is built, and it is called the rawiyy;

القافية كل شيء لزمت إعادته في آخر البيت،

The qafiyah is everything that must be repeated at the end of the verse,