مذحج

Root entry · 9 derived lemmas

This entry discusses the origin and etymology of the tribal name 'Mudhḥij'. It delves into linguistic debates regarding the root letters, particularly the initial 'm', and whether it is original or an addition. The discussion also touches upon the possibility of the name deriving from a verb meaning 'to gather'.

Derived headwords

مَذْحَجname

1.
Mudhḥij tribeclassical
The name of a prominent tribe from Yemen, descended from Mudhḥij bin Yaḥābir bin Mālik bin Zayd bin Kahlān bin Saba'.

مِفْعَلother

1.
Pattern of 'masjid'classical
A morphological pattern in Arabic, exemplified by 'masjid' (mosque), often indicating a place or instrument. The entry uses this pattern to analyze the structure of 'Mudhḥij'.

مَسْجِدnoun

1.
mosqueboth
A place of worship for Muslims. Used here as an example of the 'maf'al' pattern.

جَعْفَرname

1.
Ja'farclassical
A proper name used as a linguistic example for words with an original 'j', 'f', 'r' structure, contrasting with patterns involving added letters.

مَأْجَجname

1.
Ma'ajjclassical
The name of a place, cited as an example of a word with an original 'm' and a structure that was potentially confused with 'Mudhḥij'.

مَذْحَجَتْverb

1.
they gatheredclassical
The past tense, third-person plural form of a verb potentially related to 'Mudhḥij', meaning 'they gathered' or 'they assembled'.

مِنْهَجnoun

1.
method, pathboth
A way, path, or method. Used here as an example of a word with a structure similar to 'Mudhḥij' when the 'm' is considered original.

نَرْجِسname

1.
Narcissusclassical
A proper name (Narcissus), used as an example in a discussion about the declension of names and the origin of letters, specifically the initial 'n'.

نَضْرِبverb

1.
we strikeboth
The present tense, first-person plural form of the verb 'to strike'. Used as a linguistic example for the origin of the initial 'n'.

Parallel reading

أبو قبيلة من اليمين، وهو مذحج بن يحابر بن مالك بن زيد بن كهلان بن سبإ

The father of a tribe from Yemen, and he is Mudhḥij bin Yaḥābir bin Mālik bin Zayd bin Kahlān bin Saba'.

ووهم الجوهري في ذكره هنا بناء على أن ميمه أصلية

And Al-Jawhari was mistaken in mentioning it here based on the assumption that its 'm' is original.

ذكره مذحج خطأ من وجهين

Mentioning Mudhḥij is an error in two ways.

مذحج مثال مسجد، يدل على أن الميم زائدة

Mudhḥij is like 'masjid', indicating that the 'm' is an addition.

فكان الواجب أن يورده في (ذحج)

So it was incumbent to list it under (dhḥj).

وإن كانت الميم أصلية كما ذكره عن سيبويه، فكيف يقال: مثل مسجد؟

And if the 'm' is original, as he mentioned from Sibawayh, then how can it be said: like 'masjid'?

إذا ثبت أن الميم أصلية، وجب أن يكون (مذحج) مثل جعفر

If it is established that the 'm' is original, it must be that (Mudhḥij) is like Ja'far.

فإنه قد روي في كتاب سيبويه (مأجج) فصحفه بمذحج

For it has been narrated in Sibawayh's book (Ma'ajj), and he mistook it for Mudhḥij.

وقد قال بعضهم إن (مذحج) قبائل شتى، مذحجت أي اجتمعت

And some of them have said that (Mudhḥij) refers to various tribes, 'madḥajat' meaning 'they gathered'.

فإن كان هاطا ثبتا في اللغة، فلا بد أن تكون الميم زائدة، وتكون الكلمة مفعلا، لأنهم قد قالوا مذحج.

If this is established in the language, then the 'm' must be an addition, and the word would be of the 'maf'al' pattern, because they have said 'madḥaj'.

فإن جعلت الميم أصلا كان وزن الكلمة فعللا وهذا خطأ لأنه ليس في الكلام اسم مثل جعفر.

If you make the 'm' original, the word's pattern would be 'fa'lal', and this is an error because there is no word in Arabic like 'Ja'far'.

فثبت أنه مفعل مثل منهج

So it is established that it is 'maf'al' like 'manhaj'.

ولهاذا لم يصرف (نرجس) اسم رجل، لأنه ليس في الأصول مثل جعفر

And for this reason, (Narcissus), a man's name, is not fully declined, because there is no root like Ja'far.

وقضي بأن النون زائدة مثلها في (نضرب)

And it was ruled that the 'n' is an addition, similar to its presence in (nadrib).