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ع ن ق س

Root entry · 2 derived lemmas

This root appears to describe a person, particularly a man, as cunning, wicked, or deceitful. It can also describe a woman as tall and well-built, with a specific poetic usage.

Derived headwords

العُنْقُسnoun
  1. 1.
    cunning manclassical

    A cunning and wicked man. This is the primary meaning attributed to the word.

العُنْقُسnoun
  1. 1.
    tall womanclassical

    A tall and well-built woman. This sense is noted as being from women.

Parallel reading

العنقس، بالفتح، أهمله الجوهري، وقال ابن دريد: هو الداهي الخبيث من الرجال.
Al-'unqusu, with a dammah, was neglected by Al-Jawhari. Ibn Duraid said: It is the cunning, wicked one among men.
العنقس، من النساء: الطويلة المعرقة
Al-'unqusu, from women: the tall, well-built one.
حتى رميت بمزاق عنقس ... تأكل نصف المد لم تلبق
Until I was struck by a cunning [woman]... eating half a measure, she did not hold back.