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حَتَّى حتى حتي is a particle, used in three senses: (Mughnee:) it is a particle denoting the end of an extent; (Mughnee, K;) which is its predominant meaning; (Mughnee;) asserted by some to be always its meaning: (TA:) and denoting a cause, or motive: and syn. with إِِلَّا as an exceptive; (Mughnee, K;) which last is the rarest, and is mentioned by few. (Mughnee.) ― -b2- It is used as a preposition governing the gen. case, in the same manner as إِِلَى (S, Mughnee) in respect of meaning and government, (Mughnee,) denoting the end of an extent; (S;) [signifying To, till, until, or to the time of;] but the word that it so governs must be a noun properly so called, not a pronoun except in a case of poetic license; and must signify the last part, or portion, of what is signified by that which precedes حتّى, as in the saying, أَكَلْتُ السَّمَكَةَ حَتَّى رَأْسِهَا [I ate the fish, even to its head]; or must be prefixed to the word signifying that part, or portion, as in the saying, [in the Kur xcvii. last verse,] سَلَامٌ هِىَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الفَجْرِ [A night of peace, or of salutation, is it, until the time of the rising of the dawn]. (Mughnee.) It is also followed by a mansoob aor., as in سِرْتُ حَتَّى أَدْخُلَهَا [I journeyed until I entered it, ادخلها here virtually meaning دَخَلْتُهَا], أَنْ being here understood after حتّى, and the ان together with the verb being rendered in grammatical analysis by an inf. n. governed in the gen. case by حتّى [so that حتّى ان ادخلها means حتّى دُخُولِى إِِيَّاهَا]: this is one of the cases in which حتّى differs from إِِلَى; for one may not say, سِرْتُ إِِلَى أَدْخُلَهَا [with أَنْ understood after الى]: and in the same sense it is used in the phrase, [in the Kur xx. 93,] حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ إِِلَيْنَا مُوسَى [Until Moses return to us]. (Mughnee.) ― -b3- It is also syn. with كَىْ, denoting a cause or motive [of action &c., signifying To the end that, in order that, or so that], as in the saying, أَسْلِمْ حَتَّى تَدْخُلَ الجَنَّةَ [Become a Muslim, to the end that, or in order that, or so that, thou mayest enter Paradise]; being in this case, likewise, followed by a mansoob aor. (Mughnee.) ― -b4- It is also used [as a preposition virtually governing the gen. case, أَنْ being understood after it,] in the sense of إِِلَّا, meaning Except, or unless, likewise followed by a mansoob aor., as in the following verse: “ لَيْسَ العَطَآءُ مِنَ الفُضُولِ سَمَاحَةً
حَتَّى تَجُودَ وَمَا لَدَيْكَ قَلِيلُ
” [The giving of superfluities is not liberality: (giving is not liberality) except, or unless, (or here we may also say until,) thou be bountiful when little is in thy possession]. (Mughnee.) ― -b5- It is also a conjunction, like وَ, [signifying And, or rather even,] (S, Mughnee,) but on three conditions: first, that the word following it and conjoined by it be a noun properly so called, not a pronoun: secondly, that this noun signify a part, or portion, of what is signified by that which precedes حتّى, as in قَدِمَ الحُجَّاجُ حَتَّى المُشَاةُ [The pilgrims arrived: even those on foot], and أَكَلْتُ السَّمَكَةَ حَتّى رَأْسَهَا [I ate the fish: even its head]: thirdly, that the noun following it and conjoined by it denote either the greatest or the least [literally or figuratively] of what are included in the signification of the noun that precedes حتّى, as in مَاتَ النَّاسُ حَتَّى الأَنْبِيَآءُ [Men have died: even the prophets], and زَارَكَ النَّاسُ حَتَّى الحَجَّامُونَ [The people visited thee: even the cuppers]. (Mughnee.) ― -b6- It is also used as an inceptive particle, (S, Mughnee,) preceding a nominal proposition, (Mughnee,) as in the following verse (of Jereer [so in a copy of the S]): “ فَمَا زَالَتِ القَتْلَى تَمُجَّ دِمَآءَهَا
بِدِجْلَةَ حَتَّى مَآءُ دِجْلَةَ أَشْكَلُ
” [And the slain ceased not to emit their blood into the Tigris, so that the water of the Tigris was of a mixed colour consisting of red and white]: (S, Mughnee:) and preceding a verbal proposition, of which the verb is a pret., as in the phrase, [in the Kur vii. 93,] حَتَّى عَفَوْا وَقَالُوا [So that they became numerous, and said]: (Mughnee:) and preceding a marfooa aor., as in the phrase, [in the Kur ii. 210,] حَتَّى يَقُولُ الرَّسُولُ [So that the Apostle said, or, as in the S, so that this was the case: the Apostle said], accord. to him who reads يَقُولُ; (IHsh, in De Sacy's “ Anthol. Gramm. Ar., ” p. 82 of the Arabic text;) others reading يَقُولَ, which, as well as يَقُولُ, here means قَالَ. (Jel.) ― -b7- [Respecting the cases in which the mansoob aor. is used after حاّى, and those in which the marfooa aor. is used, the following observations are made.] When حتّى precedes a future, the latter is mansoob, by reason of أَنْ understood before it, as in the saying, سِرْتُ إِِلى الكُوفَةِ حَتَّى أَدْخُلَهَا [I journeyed to El-Koofeh until I entered it: see above]: (S:) it is not mansoob unless the verb is a future: if it is future with respect to the time of speaking, it must be mansoob, as in حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ إِِلَيْنَا مُوسَى [cited above]: if the verb is future with respect to what precedes, only, it may be mansoob, as in حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ [mentioned above]; or it may be marfooa; but not unless [somehow] denoting a present time; (Mughnee;) and if present with respect to the time of speaking, it must be marfooa, as in the saying, سِرْتُ إِِلَى الكُوفَةِ حَتَّى أَدْخُلُهَا [I have journeyed to El-Koofeh so that now I am entering it]; (S, Mughnee; *) but if not really present, it is not marfooa unless denoting a past event as though it were present, as in حَتَّى يَقُولُ الرَّسُولُ [explained above]; nor may it be marfooa unless denoting an effect of what precedes it; so that you may not say, سِرْتُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعُ الشَّمْسُ, nor مَا سِرْتُ حَتَّى أَدْخُلُهَا unless the ما is regarded as prefixed to the entire affirmative phrase that follows it, nor هَلْ سِرْتَ حَتَّى تَدْخُلُهَا; nor may it be marfooa unless it denote a complement to what precedes it, so that you may not say سيْرى حَتَّى أَدْخُلُهَا, as the inchoative would in this case be without an enunciative. (Mughnee.) ― -b8- [The following verse of El-Farezdak is cited in the Mughnee as an ex. of حتّى used as an inceptive particle: “ فَوَاعَجَبَا حَتَّى كُلَيْبٌ تَسُبُّنِى
كَأَنَّ أَبَاهَا نَهْشَلٌ وَمُجَاشِعُ
” and it is there added that يَسُبُّنِى النَّاسُ must be understood in this verse before حتّى: but I rather think that حتّى is here a conjunctive particle, and that the meaning is, And alas, my wonder! the people revile me: even Kuleyb revile me, as though their father were Nahshal and as though he were Mujáshi'.] ― -b9- It should be observed that حتُّى may be used in three different ways in some sentences: thus you may say, using it as a preposition (in the sense of إِِلَى), أَكَلْتُ السَّمَكَةَ حَتَّى رَأْسِهَا [I ate the fish, even to its head]; and, using it as a conjunction, حَتَّى رَأْسَهَا [even its head]; and, using it as an inceptive particle, حَتَّى رَأْسُهَا [for حَتَّى رَأْسُهَا مَأْكُولٌ so that its head was eaten]. (Mughnee.) ― -b10- It is said in the K that حتّى renders makhfood and marfooa and mansoob; and that therefore Fr said, أَمُوتُ وَفِى نَفْسِى مِنْ حَتَّى شَىْءٌ [“ I shall die with something respecting حتّى (remaining unsettled) in my mind ”]: this is said on the supposition that حتّى deviates in government from an established rule, which is, that a particle which governs one part of speech governs that only; those, for instance, which render mansoob and mejzoom governing verbs only, and the particles that govern nouns governing none but nouns: but the truth is, that حتّى governs only the gen. case; a marfooa noun or aor. after it would be so without it, as حتّى in this case is only an inceptive particle; and a mansoob aor. after it is rendered so by أَنْ understood, so that حتّى in this case virtually governs a noun in the gen. case [as has been shown above]: therefore the remark quoted above from the K is faulty, and confounds things that should be distinguished. (MF, TA.) ― -b11- Some say that حتّى is [a noun] of the measure فَعْلَى, from ↓ الحَتُّ the ceasing from a thing, having finished it; or the becoming unoccupied by a thing; like شَتَّى from الشَّتُّ: but Az disapproves of this, because, were it so, the pronunciation termed إِِمَالَة would be allowable in its case, and it is not so: حتّى, he says, is a particle, not a noun, nor a verb. (TA.) ― -b12- حَتَّامَ is originally حَتَّى مَا [Till when? until when? or how long?]: the ا of ما is elided because the expression is used interrogatively, like as it is when any preposition is prefixed to it if used interrogatively, as in بِمَ and فِيمَ and عَمَّ. (S.) ― -b13- In the dial. of Hudheyl, عَتَّى is said for حَتَّى. (L.)
An Arabic-English Lexicon. London. Williams and Norgate. 1863.

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