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لفا

Root entry · 5 derived lemmas

This root primarily deals with concepts of inferiority, meanness, and deficiency, often in relation to something valuable or rightful. It extends to the idea of finding or encountering something, and subsequently, of rectifying or making up for a deficiency.

Derived headwords

اللِّفَاءnoun
  1. 1.
    Meanness, basenessboth

    The mean or base part of something. Anything that is insignificant and lowly.

  2. 2.
    Scarcity, deficiencyclassical

    A small or insufficient amount, especially when referring to one's rightful share.

لَفِيَverb
  1. 1.
    To be mean, baseclassical

    To be characterized by meanness or baseness.

لَفَاهُ حَقَّهُverb
  1. 1.
    To deprive someone of their dueclassical

    To give someone less than their rightful share or due; to shortchange them.

أَلْفَىverb
  1. 1.
    To find, encounterboth

    To come across or discover something; to find it.

تَلَافَىverb
  1. 1.
    To make up for, compensateboth

    To rectify a mistake, deficiency, or loss; to compensate for it.

  2. 2.
    To avoid, evadeboth

    To manage to avoid or escape something.

Parallel reading

الخسيس من الشئ.
The mean part of something.
وكل شئ يسير حقير فهو لفاء.
And anything insignificant and lowly is a 'lifa'.
وما أنا بالضعيف فتظلموني * ولا حظي اللفاء ولا الخسيس
And I am not weak so you may wrong me, nor is my share the mean or the base.
رضي فلان من الوقاء باللفاء
So-and-so was content with the mean part of his due.
أي من حقه الوافر بالقليل.
Meaning, from his ample right, with the little.
لفاه حقه
He deprived him of his right.
أي بخسه.
Meaning, he gave him less than his due.
وألفيت الشئ: وجدته.
And I found the thing: I discovered it.
وتلافيته: تداركته.
And I rectified it: I made up for it.