← Back to Al-Sihah

وسط

Root entry · 12 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the concept of being in the middle, center, or intermediate position. It extends to notions of fairness, justice, and mediating between parties. It also encompasses terms for the middle part of something and geographical locations.

Derived headwords

وَسَطَverb
  1. 1.
    he was in the middle of the peopleboth

    he was in the middle of the people

  2. 2.
    between good and badboth

    between good and bad

  3. 3.
    an adverb of place (meaning 'in the middle of')both

    an adverb of place (meaning 'in the middle of')

  4. 4.
    Any place where 'between' is appropriate, it is 'wasat'.both

    Any place where 'between' is appropriate, it is 'wasat'.

  5. 5.
    And if 'between' is not appropriate, it is 'wasat' with tahreek (vowel movement).both

    And if 'between' is not appropriate, it is 'wasat' with tahreek (vowel movement).

وسطت القوم أسطهم وسطا وسطة، أي توسطتهم — I was in the middle of the people, I mediated among them, meaning I was in their midst.
تَوَسَّطَverb
  1. 1.
    to be in the middleboth

    To be situated in the central part or position.

  2. 2.
    to mediateboth

    To act as a mediator or intermediary.

أي توسطتهم — meaning I was in their midst.
وَسَطٌnoun
  1. 1.
    he was in the middle of the peopleboth

    he was in the middle of the people

  2. 2.
    between good and badboth

    between good and bad

  3. 3.
    an adverb of place (meaning 'in the middle of')both

    an adverb of place (meaning 'in the middle of')

  4. 4.
    Any place where 'between' is appropriate, it is 'wasat'.both

    Any place where 'between' is appropriate, it is 'wasat'.

  5. 5.
    And if 'between' is not appropriate, it is 'wasat' with tahreek (vowel movement).both

    And if 'between' is not appropriate, it is 'wasat' with tahreek (vowel movement).

وجلست وسط القوم بالتسكين، لأنه ظرف — And I sat in the middle of the people, with sukūn, because it is an adverbial noun.
وجلست في وسط الدار بالتحريك، لانه اسم — And I sat in the middle of the house, with harakah, because it is a noun.
وَسِيطٌnoun
  1. 1.
    mediatorboth

    A person who mediates between parties; an intermediary.

  2. 2.
    middlemanboth

    A person who acts as a link between people or groups.

  3. 3.
    intermediateboth

    Someone or something that is in a middle position, especially in terms of rank or status.

وفلان وسيط في قومه، إذا كان أوسطهم نسبا وأرفعهم محلا — And so-and-so is a 'waseet' among his people, if he is the most central in lineage and highest in status.
وُسْطَىadjective
  1. 1.
    middleboth

    Being in the middle; intermediate.

والاصبع الوسطى — And the middle finger.
تَوْسِيطٌnoun
  1. 1.
    placing in the middleboth

    The act of putting something in the central position.

  2. 2.
    halvingclassical

    The act of cutting something into two halves.

والتوسيط: أن تجعل الشئ في الوسط — And 'tawseet': is to place the thing in the middle.
والتوسيط: قطع الشئ نصفين — And 'tawseet': is cutting the thing in half.
وَسَاطَةٌnoun
  1. 1.
    mediationboth

    The act or process of mediating; intervention to resolve a dispute.

  2. 2.
    intercessionboth

    The act of interceding on behalf of someone.

والتوسط بين الناس، من الوساطة — And mediating between people, from 'wasaatah'.
أَوْسَطُadjective
  1. 1.
    middleboth

    Being in the middle; central.

  2. 2.
    fairestclassical

    Most just or equitable.

إذا كان أوسطهم نسبا وأرفعهم محلا — if he is the most central in lineage and highest in status.
وَاسِطَةٌnoun
  1. 1.
    centerpieceboth

    The jewel or ornament in the center of a necklace.

  2. 2.
    meansboth

    A method or way of achieving something; a medium.

  3. 3.
    connectionmodern

    Influence or power through personal connections.

واسطة القلادة: الجوهر الذي في وسطها، وهو أجودها — The 'wasitah' of the necklace: the jewel that is in its middle, and it is the finest part.
وَاسِطname
  1. 1.
    a country/cityboth

    a country/city

واسط: بلد سمى بالقصر الذى بناه الحجاج بين الكوفة والبصرة — Wasit: a city named after the palace built by Al-Hajjaj between Kufa and Basra.
وَاسِطُ الكُورِnoun
  1. 1.
    forefrontclassical

    The foremost part or position; the front.

وإن شئت سامى واسط الكور رأسها — And if you wish, its head will rise above the forefront of the saddle-girths.
وَاسِطِيٌّadjective
  1. 1.
    from Wasitboth

    Pertaining to the city of Wasit.

يا واسطى، فمن رفع رأسه أخذه وحمله — 'O Wasiti!', whoever raised his head was seized and carried away.

Parallel reading

وسطت القوم أسطهم وسطا وسطة، أي توسطتهم.
I was in the middle of the people, I mediated among them, meaning I was in their midst.
وقد وسطت مالكا وحنظلا
And I was in the middle of Malik and Hanzalah.
وفلان وسيط في قومه، إذا كان أوسطهم نسبا وأرفعهم محلا.
And so-and-so is a 'waseet' among his people, if he is the most central in lineage and highest in status.
والاصبع الوسطى.
And the middle finger.
والتوسيط: أن تجعل الشئ في الوسط.
And 'tawseet': is to place the thing in the middle.
وقرأ بعضهم: {فوسطن به جمعا}.
And some of them recited: {So they caused him to pass through the midst of them}.
والتوسيط: قطع الشئ نصفين.
And 'tawseet': is cutting the thing in half.
والتوسط بين الناس، من الوساطة.
And mediating between people, from 'wasaatah'.
والوسط من كل شئ: أعدله.
And the 'wasat' of everything: is its most equitable part.
{وكذلك جعلناكم أمة وسطا} أي عدلا.
{And thus We have made you a community of the middle way} meaning just.
ويقال أيضا: شئ وسط، أي بين الجيد والردئ.
And it is also said: a thing is 'wasat', meaning between good and bad.
واسطة القلادة: الجوهر الذي في وسطها، وهو أجودها.
The 'wasitah' of the necklace: the jewel that is in its middle, and it is the finest part.
واسط: بلد سمى بالقصر الذى بناه الحجاج بين الكوفة والبصرة، وهو مذكر مصروف لان أسماء البلدان الغالب عليها التأنيث وترك الصرف، إلا منى والشام والعراق وواسطا ودابقا وفلجا وهجرا، فإنها تذكر وتصرف.
Wasit: a city named after the palace built by Al-Hajjaj between Kufa and Basra, and it is masculine and declinable because place names are predominantly feminine and indeclinable, except for Mina, Sham, Iraq, Wasit, Dabik, Falaj, and Hajar, for they are masculine and declinable.
ويجوز أن تريد به البقعة أو البلدة فلا تصرفه، كما قال الشاعر: منهن أيام صدق قد عرفت بها * أيام واسط والايام من هجرا
And it is permissible to intend by it the area or the town and not decline it, as the poet said: Among them are days of truth that you knew, * days of Wasit and days from Hajar.
وقولهم في المثل: " تغافل كأنك واسطى " قال المبرد: أصله أن الحجاج كان يتسخرهم في البناء فيهربون وينامون وسط الغرباء في المسجد، فيجئ الشرطي ويقول: يا واسطى، فمن رفع رأسه أخذه وحمله، فلذلك كانوا يتغافلون.
And their saying in the proverb: 'Pretend to be unaware as if you were a Wasiti.' Al-Mubarrad said: Its origin is that Al-Hajjaj used to conscript them for building, so they would escape and sleep among strangers in the mosque, then the policeman would come and say: 'O Wasiti!', and whoever raised his head was seized and carried away, so for that reason they used to pretend to be unaware.
وإن شئت سامى واسط الكور رأسها * وعامت بضبعيها نجاء الخفيدد
And if you wish, its head will rise above the forefront of the saddle-girths * and it will swim with its forelegs, escaping the sandy ground.
وكل موضع صلح فيه بين فهو وسط، وإن لم يصلح فيه بين فهو وسط بالتحريك، وربما سكن وليس بالوجه، كقول الشاعر: وقالوا يال أشجع يوم هيج * ووسط الدار ضربا واحتمايا
And every place where mediation is appropriate is 'wasat' (with sukūn), and if mediation is not appropriate there, it is 'wasat' (with harakah), and sometimes it is with sukūn, but it is not the preferred way, as in the poet's saying: And they said, 'O Bani Ashja', on the day of the fray, * strike and defend in the middle of the house.'