قدح

From the root ق د ح‎ (q-d-ḥ). The base stem verb is cognate to Classical Syriac ܩܕܰܚ‎ (qdaḥ, “to bore, to pierce; to light, to heaten”), Aramaic קָדַח‎ (qādah, “to bore, to pierce”), Ge'ez ቀድሐ (ḳädḥä, “to draw water; to pierce, to drill”). For the “cup” meaning, Ge'ez መቅድሕ (mäḳdəḥ, “water jar; drill”), Old South Arabian 𐩣𐩤𐩵𐩢‎ (“cup, vessel for offerings”). Compare also قَدَّ‎ (qadda, “to cut off”), as that root has been confused at least by Aramaic where ܩܕܰܚ‎ (qdaḥ) also means “to shave” and קְדַד‎ (qədad) “to penetrate”.

• Audio

  (file)

قَدَحَ • (qadaḥa) I, non-past يَقْدَحُ‎‎ (yaqdaḥu)

1. to light, to ignite, to spark
2. to pierce, to bore, to drill
3. to belittle, to diminish, to disparage, to vilify
4. to vilify, to libel, to calumniate

قَدَّحَ • (qaddaḥa) II, non-past يُقَدِّحُ‎‎ (yuqaddiḥu)

1. to attenuate, to lessen

قَدْح • (qadḥ) m

1. verbal noun of قَدَحَ (qadaḥa) (form I)

قِدْح • (qidḥ) m (plural قِدَاح‎ (qidāḥ) or أَقْدُح‎ (ʾaqduḥ) or أَقْدَاح‎ (ʾaqdāḥ) or أَقَادِيح‎ (ʾaqādīḥ))

1. arrow shaft
   • 7th century CE, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Buḵāriyy, 61:117:

     ‏يَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرْآنَ لَا يُجَاوِزُ تَرَاقِيَهُمْ، يَمْرُقُونَ مِنَ الدِّينِ كَمَا يَمْرُقُ السَّهْمُ مِنَ الرَّمِيَّةِ، يُنْظَرُ إِلَى نَصْلِهِ فَلَا يُوجَدُ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ، ثُمَّ يُنْظَرُ إِلَى رِصَافِهِ فَمَا يُوجَدُ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ، ثُمَّ يُنْظَرُ إِلَى نَضِيِّهِ ـ وَهْوَ قِدْحُهُ ـ فَلَا يُوجَدُ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ، ثُمَّ يُنْظَرُ إِلَى قُذَذِهِ فَلَا يُوجَدُ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ، قَدْ سَبَقَ الْفَرْثَ وَٱلدَّمَ.‎‎

     yaqraʾūna l-qurʾāna lā yujāwizu tarāqiyahum, yamruqūna mina d-dīni kamā yamruqu s-sahmu mina r-ramiyyati, yunẓaru ʾilā naṣlihi falā yūjadu fīhi šayʾun, ṯumma yunẓaru ʾilā riṣāfihi famā yūjadu fīhi šayʾun, ṯumma yunẓaru ʾilā naḍiyyihi - wahwa qidḥuhu - falā yūjadu fīhi šayʾun, ṯumma yunẓaru ʾilā quḏaḏihi falā yūjadu fīhi šayʾun, qad sabaqa l-farṯa wad-dama.

     They recite Qurʾān but it does not go beyond their clavicles and they will desert the creed as an arrow goes through a target’s body, so one would, on looking at the arrow’s blade, see nothing on it; then one would look at its sinew and see nothing, then one would look at its arrowshaft and see nothing, then one would look at its fletching and would see nothing, for the arrow, by its speed, has even obviated entrails and blood.

   Synonym: نَضِيّ‎ (naḍiyy)

2. (pars pro toto) arrow

قَدَح • (qadaḥ) m (plural أَقْدَاح‎ (ʾaqdāḥ))

1. drinking bowl, tumbler, mug, cup
   • 7th century CE, Jamīʿ at-Tirmiḏiyy, 14:17:

     ‏رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَاعَ حِلْسًا وَقَدَحًا وَقَالَ ‏”مَنْ يَشْتَرِي هَذَا الْحِلْسَ وَالْقَدَحَ؟“‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ ”أَخَذْتُهُمَا بِدِرْهَمٍ‏“.‏ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ‏”‏مَنْ يَزِيدُ عَلَى دِرْهَمٍ مَنْ يَزِيدُ عَلَى دِرْهَمٍ“‏ فَأَعْطَاهُ رَجُلٌ دِرْهَمَيْنِ فَبَاعَهُمَا مِنْهُ.‏‎

     rasūlu llāhi ṣallā llāh ʿalayhi wasallama bāʿa ḥilsan waqadaḥan waqāla ”man yaštarī haḏā l-ḥilsa wālqadaḥa?“. faqāla rajulun ”ʾaḵaḏtuhumā bidirhamin“. faqāla n-nabiyyu ṣallā llāh ʿalayhi wasallama ”man yazīdu ʿalā dirhamin man yazīdu ʿalā dirhamin“ faʾaʿṭāhu rajulun dirhamayni fabāʿahumā minhu.

     The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sold a saddle blanket and a drinking bowl. He (ﷺ) said: “Who will buy saddle blanket and drinking bowl ?”. So a man said: “I will take them for a Dirham.” So the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Who will give more than a Dirham? Who will give more that a Dirham?” A man gave him two Dirham, so he sold them to him.

2. (obsolete, Egypt, Sudan, until 1892) a dry measure, 32 قِيرَاط‎‎, ¹⁄₈ of a كَيْلَة‎‎, ¹⁄₉₆ of a إِرْدَبّ‎‎ – 2.062 ℓ

• “qdḥ”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Cardarelli, François (2003) Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. Their SI Equivalences and Origins, London: Springer, →ISBN, page 129
• Freytag, Georg (1835), “قدح”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 405
• Kazimirski, Albin de Biberstein (1860), “قدح”, in Dictionnaire arabe-français contenant toutes les racines de la langue arabe, leurs dérivés, tant dans l’idiome vulgaire que dans l’idiome littéral, ainsi que les dialectes d’Alger et de Maroc (in French), volume 2, Paris: Maisonneuve et C^ie, pages 683–684
• Wehr, Hans; Kropfitsch, Lorenz (1985), “قدح”, in Arabisches Wörterbuch für die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart (in German), 5th edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, published 2011, →ISBN, pages 1003–1004

From Arabic قَدَح‎ (qadaḥ).

قدح • (kadeh)

1. cup