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ليس

Root entry · 12 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns negation, functioning as a past tense verb similar to 'to be' but used for present negation. It also has derived terms related to bravery and a specific type of camel.

Derived headwords

لَيْسَverb
  1. 1.
    a word of negation, and it is a past tense verbboth

    a word of negation, and it is a past tense verb

ليس زيد بمنطلق — Zayd is not departing.
لَسْتُverb
  1. 1.
    I am notboth

    The first-person singular conjugation of 'ليس' (laysa), indicating present negation for the speaker.

لَسْتَverb
  1. 1.
    you are not (m. sg.)both

    The second-person masculine singular conjugation of 'ليس' (laysa), indicating present negation for the addressee.

لَسْتُماverb
  1. 1.
    you are not (dual)both

    The dual conjugation of 'ليس' (laysa), indicating present negation for two people.

لَسْتُمْverb
  1. 1.
    you are not (m. pl.)both

    The second-person masculine plural conjugation of 'ليس' (laysa), indicating present negation for a group of males.

لَسْتُنَّverb
  1. 1.
    you are not (f. pl.)both

    The second-person feminine plural conjugation of 'ليس' (laysa), indicating present negation for a group of females.

لَيْسَparticle
  1. 1.
    a word of negation, and it is a past tense verbboth

    a word of negation, and it is a past tense verb

أَلَيْسَverb
  1. 1.
    is it not?both

    An interrogative form of 'ليس' (laysa), used to ask a rhetorical question expecting affirmation.

أَلِيسname
  1. 1.
    Alis (name)classical

    A proper name mentioned in the text.

أَلْيَسnoun
  1. 1.
    brave manclassical

    A brave man, a term derived from the root 'ليس' (laysa) and used to describe a courageous individual.

رجل أليس — A brave man.
اللَّيْسnoun
  1. 1.
    brave peopleclassical

    Plural form referring to brave people, derived from 'أليس' (alys).

من قوم ليس — From a people of brave men.
أَلْيَسnoun
  1. 1.
    camel carrying heavy loadclassical

    A camel that carries a heavy load, a specific term for a type of camel.

الأليس: البعير يحمل كل ما حمل — Al-lays: the camel that carries whatever it carries.

Parallel reading

وهو فعل ماض.
And it is a past tense verb.
والذى يدل على أنها فعل وإن لم تتصرف تصرف الأفعال، قولهم لست ولستما ولستم، كقولهم ضربت وضربتما وضربتم.
And what indicates that it is a verb, even though it does not conjugate like other verbs, is their saying 'lastu', 'lastuma', and 'lastum', like their saying 'darabtu', 'darabtuma', and 'darabtum'.
وجعلت من عوامل الأفعال نحو كان وأخواتها التي ترفع الأسماء وتنصب الأخبار
And it is made one of the agents of verbs, like 'kana' and its sisters, which raise nouns and نصب predicates.
إلا أن الباء تدخل في خبرها نحو ما، دون أخواتها.
Except that the 'ba' enters into its predicate, like 'ma', unlike its sisters.
تقول: ليس زيد بمنطلق.
You say: 'Laysa Zaydun bi-muntaIiq' (Zayd is not departing).
فالباء لتعدية الفعل وتأكيد النفي.
So the 'ba' is for making the verb transitive and confirming the negation.
ولك أن لا تدخلها، لأن المؤكد يستغنى عنه، ولأن من الأفعال ما يتعدى مرة بحرف جر ومرة بغير حرف، نحو اشتقتك واشتقت إليك.
And you may not include it, because the emphasis is dispensed with, and because among verbs are those that are transitive once with a preposition and once without a preposition, like 'ishtaqtuk' (I missed you) and 'ishtaqtu ilayka' (I longed for you).
ولا يجوز تقديم خبرها عليها كما جاز في أخواتها تقول: محسنا كان زيد.
And it is not permissible to precede its predicate over it as was permissible with its sisters, you say: 'Muhsinan kana Zayd' (Zayd was good).
ولا يجوز أن تقول: محسنا ليس زيد.
And you may not say: 'Muhsinan laysa Zayd' (Zayd is not good).
وقد يستثنى بها، تقول: جاءني القوم ليس زيدا، كما تقول: إلا زيدا، تضمر اسمها فيها وتنصب خبرها بها، كأنك قلت ليس الجائي زيدا.
And exception may be made with it, you say: 'Ja'ani al-qawmu laysa Zaydan' (The people came to me, except Zayd), as you say: 'illa Zaydan' (except Zayd), you conceal its subject within it and نصب its predicate with it, as if you said 'laysa al-ja'i Zaydan' (the one coming is not Zayd).
ولك أن تقول جاء القوم ليسك، إلا أن المضمر المنفصل ها هنا أحسن، كما قال الشاعر:
And you may say 'Ja'a al-qawmu laysaka' (The people came to you), except that the detached pronoun is better here, as the poet said:
ليت هذا الليل شهر * لا نرى فيه غريبا * ليس إياي وإيا * ك ولا نخشى رقيبا
May this night be a month * in which we see no stranger * It is not I and you * and we fear no watcher
ولم يقل ليسني وليسك، وهو جائز إلا أن المنفصل أجود.
And he did not say 'laysani' and 'laysuka', and it is permissible, except that the detached pronoun is better.
ورجل أليس، أي شجاع بين الليس، من قوم ليس.
And a brave man ('alys), meaning courageous among the brave ('al-lays), from a people of the brave ('al-lays).
وقال الفراء: الأليس: البعير يحمل كل ما حمل.
And Al-Farra' said: 'Al-alys': the camel that carries whatever it carries.