← Back to Taj al-Arus

نكص

Root entry · 12 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns the concept of retreating, turning back, or recoiling, often from a commitment or a course of action. It can specifically refer to stepping backward or returning from a position, sometimes with a connotation of abandoning good or retreating in fear.

Derived headwords

نَكَصَ عَنِ الأَمْرِ يَنْكِصُ نَكْصًا، بِالْفَتْحِ، وَنُكُوصًا، بِالضَّمِّ، وَمُنْكَصًا، كَمَطْلَبٍverb
  1. 1.
    to retreat, to recoilboth

    To turn back from a matter or situation, to withdraw or step back from a commitment or action.

  2. 2.
    to turn backboth

    To return from a previous state or position, often implying a reversal of intention or action.

نكص عن الأمر ينكص نكصا — He retreated from the matter, retreating with a 'nakṣan' (fath)
نكص عن الأمر ينكص نكوصا — He retreated from the matter, retreating with a 'nukūṣan' (ḍamm)
نَكْصًاnoun
  1. 1.
    retreating (fath)both

    The verbal noun for retreating or turning back, specifically with the first syllable pronounced with a fath.

نكص عن الأمر ينكص نكصا، بالفتح — He retreated from the matter, retreating with a 'nakṣan' (fath)
نُكُوصًاnoun
  1. 1.
    retreating (ḍamm)both

    The verbal noun for retreating or turning back, specifically with the first syllable pronounced with a ḍamm.

نكص عن الأمر ينكص نكوصا، بالضم — He retreated from the matter, retreating with a 'nukūṣan' (ḍamm)
مُنْكَصًاnoun
  1. 1.
    retreating (noun)both

    A noun form indicating the act of retreating or turning back, similar to the verbal noun.

نكص عن الأمر ينكص منكصا — He retreated from the matter, retreating with a 'munkasan'
تَكَأْكَأَ عَنْهُverb
  1. 1.
    to recoil fromclassical

    To shrink back or recoil from something, indicating hesitation or aversion.

تكأكأ عنه — He recoiled from it
أَحْجَمَverb
  1. 1.
    to refrain, to hold backboth

    To cease from doing something, to hold back or refrain from an action, often due to hesitation or fear.

أحجم — He refrained
انْقَدَعَverb
  1. 1.
    to turn backclassical

    To turn back or retreat, similar to 'nakṣa'.

انقدع — He turned back
نَكَفَverb
  1. 1.
    to refrain, to hold backclassical

    To refrain from or hold back, used synonymously with 'nakṣa' in the sense of hesitating.

نكف — He refrained
يَنْكُصُونَverb
  1. 1.
    you (plural) retreatboth

    The second-person plural present tense verb form, referring to the act of retreating.

فكنتم على أعقابكم تنكصون — So you became upon your heels, retreating
نَكْصٌ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِphrase
  1. 1.
    to turn back on one's heelsboth

    To turn back from a course of action, especially from something good, or to retreat backward.

نكص على عقبيه — He turned back on his heels
مُنْكَصٌnoun
  1. 1.
    retreating place, place of withdrawalclassical

    A place or position from which one retreats or withdraws.

وما كان لي منكص — And I had no place of retreat from you
نَاكِصٌadjective
  1. 1.
    diminishing, decreasingclassical

    Used metaphorically to describe someone whose fortune or share is diminishing or decreasing.

وجده ناكص — He found him diminishing

Parallel reading

نكص عن الأمر ينكص نكصا، بالفتح، ونكوصا، بالضم، ومنكصا، كمطلب، تكأكأ عنه وأحجم وانقدع.
He retreated from the matter, retreating with 'nakṣan' (fath), and 'nukūṣan' (ḍamm), and 'munkasan' (like maṭlab), he recoiled from it, refrained, and turned back.
وقال أبو تراب: نكص عن الأمر، ونكف، بمعنى واحد، أي أحجم.
Abu Turab said: 'nakṣa' from the matter and 'nakafa' are synonymous, meaning to refrain.
يقال: أراد فلان أمرا ثم نكص، من حد نصر وضرب: رجع، كما في الصحاح.
It is said: So-and-so intended a matter then he retreated, from the pattern of naṣara and ḍaraba: he returned, as stated in Al-Ṣiḥāḥ.
وقال الأزهري: قرأ بعض القراء ينكصون بالضم، وأنكره الصاغاني.
Al-Azhari said: Some reciters read 'yankuṣūn' with a ḍamm, and Al-Saghani rejected it.
وقال الزجاج: الضم جائز، ولكنه لم يقرأ به.
Al-Zajjaj said: The ḍamm is permissible, but it was not recited.
قال شيخنا: وهو وهم صريح وقصور ظاهر، لا سيم والكلمة قرآنية، وأجمع القراء كلهم على كسر الكاف في قوله تعالى: فكنتم على أعقابكم تنكصون.
Our Sheikh said: This is a clear delusion and an apparent deficiency, especially since the word is from the Quran, and all the reciters agreed on the kasra of the kaf in His saying, the Almighty: 'So you became upon your heels, retreating'.
وعبارة الصحاح سالمة من هذا، فإنه ذكر الوجهين كما تقدم.
The wording of Al-Ṣiḥāḥ is free from this, as it mentioned both possibilities as previously stated.
وقال ابن دريد: نكص على عقبيه: رجع عما كان عليه من خير، قال: وهو خاص بالرجوع عن الخير.
Ibn Duraid said: 'Nakṣa 'alā 'aqibayhi': to return from what one was upon of good, he said: and it is specific to returning from good.
قال: وكذا فسر في التنزيل.
He said: And thus it was interpreted in the Revelation.
والمعروف عن الجمهور أن النكوص كالرجوع وزنا ومعنى.
And what is known from the majority is that 'al-nukūṣ' is like 'al-rujū'' in form and meaning.
وإليه ذهب الجوهري، والزمخشري، وابن القطاع، وغيرهم، وكفى بهم عمدة، ويؤيد الإطلاق قول علي، رضي الله تعالى عنه، في صفين: والشيطان قدم للوثبة يدا وأخر للنكوص رجلا.
And to this went Al-Jawhari, Al-Zamakhshari, Ibn Al-Qatta', and others, and they are sufficient as authorities, and the general usage is supported by the saying of Ali, may God be pleased with him, at Siffin: 'And Satan advanced a hand for the leap and delayed a leg for the retreat'.
قال ابن أبي الحديد: النكوص: الرجوع إلى وراء وهو القهقرى، فتأمل.
Ibn Abi Al-Hadid said: 'Al-Nukūṣ': is returning backward, which is a retrograde movement, so ponder.
أو في الشر أيضا، وهو قول ابن دريد أيضا، وهو نادر، ونصه: وربما قيل في الشر.
Or in evil as well, and this is also the saying of Ibn Duraid, and it is rare, and his text is: 'And sometimes it is said in relation to evil'.
والمُنْكَص، كمقعد: المتنحى، نقله المصنف في البصائر، والصاغاني في العباب، وأنشد للأعشى يمدح علقمة بن علاثة:
And 'al-munkas', like 'maq'ad': the one who withdraws, the author transmitted it in Al-Baṣā'ir, and Al-Saghani in Al-'Ubāb, and he cited for Al-A'sha praising 'Alqamah ibn 'Ilathah:
(أعلقم قد صيرتني الأمور ... إليك وما كان لي منكص)
(O Alqamah, matters have made me ... turn to you, and I had no retreat from you)
قولهم: فلان حظه ناقص، وجده ناكص، وهو مجاز، كما في الأساس:
Their saying: So-and-so's fortune is diminishing, he found him diminishing, and this is metaphorical, as in Al-Asas: