This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
دُونً دون دونن Low, base, vile, mean, paltry, inconsiderable, or contemptible; (Fr, T, S, M, * Msb, K;) applied to a man &c.: (T, Msb:) and inferior, i. e. lower, baser, viler, &c., in grounds of pretension to respect or honour [or in any approvable quality]: (Lth, T:) and such as falls short [of a thing]; used in this sense as a prefixed noun: (Ham p. 686:) [see below what is said of its usage as a prefixed noun by Lth and by Sb: and used as an epithet, scanty, or deficient; applied to anything:] and of a middling sort; between good and bad; applied to a man and to a commodity: (M:) and also high, or eminent, in rank or condition; noble, or honourable: (T, K:) thus it bears two contr. significations (K) [and significations intermediate between those two]. A poet says, “ إِِذَا مَا عَلَا المَرْءُ رَامَ العَلَآء
وَيَقْتَعُ بِالدُّونِ مَنْ كَانَا دُونَا
” [When the man is high in rank, or nobility, he seeks highness: and he who is low is content with that which is low]. (S.) Accord. to the most common usage, (Msb,) or accord. to what is asserted to be the most common usage, (Lh, M,) one says رَجُلٌ مِنْ دُونٍ (T, M, Msb, K) and شَىْءٌ مِنْ دُونٍ (M, Msb) A man who is [of a kind that is] low, base, &c., and a thing that is [of a kind that is] low, base, &c.: (Msb:) but sometimes they said رَجُلٌ دُونٌ and شَىْءٌ دُونٌ, without مِنْ; (M, Msb;) and ثَوْبٌ دُونٌ a bad [or an inferior] garment, or piece of cloth: (M:) or one should not say رَجُلٌ دُونٌ; (T, K;) for the Arabs did not use this phrase. (T.) Accord. to Lth, one says, هٰذَا دُونُ ذَاكَ [This is the inferior of that], when meaning to denote by it low estimation, using the nom. case: (T:) [but this is uncommon, if allowable:] Sb says that دُون is not used in the nom. case as a prefixed noun: as to the saying in the Kur [lxxii. 11, an instance similar to which occurs also in vii. 167], مِنَّا الصَّالِحُونَ وَ مِنَّا دُونَ ذٰلِكَ, the meaning is, وَ مِنَّا قَوْمٌ دُونَ ذٰلِكَ [i. e. Of us are the righteous, and of us are a party below that party in rank or estimation]; (M, TA;) or, as another says, دون is here in the accus. case but in the place of a noun in the nom. case because it is generally used as an adv. n. (TA.) ― -b2- As an adv. n., دُون signifies Below, contr. of فَوْق; (S, K;) as denoting a falling short of the [right or approved] limit; (S;) or denoting low, or mean, estimation or condition; (Lth, T, M;) or a condition lower, baser, viler, &c., than that of another, in grounds of pretension to respect or honour [or in any approvable quality]; (Lth, T;) [and hence, inferior to, beneath, under, or short of, another in rank, height, size, &c.;] and less than another, and more deficient than another: (Fr, T:) and also above; i. q. فَوْق; (T, K;) in highness, or eminence, of rank or condition, or in nobility; (T;) [and hence, exceeding another, and more than another:] thus bearing two contr. significations. (K.) You say, زَيْدٌ دُونَكَ meaning Zeyd is [below thee, or] in a condition lower, baser, viler, &c., than thine, in grounds of pretension to respect or honour [&c.]: and when one says, “ Verily such a one is high, or eminent, in rank or condition, ” or “ is noble, ” another replies, وَ دُونَ ذٰلِكَ meaning And above that. (T.) ― -b3- Also Beneath, below in situation, or under; syn. تَحْت. (T, TA.) Using it in this sense, you say, دُوَن قَدَمِكَ خَدُّ عَدُوِّكَ [May the cheek of thine enemy be beneath thy foot]: (T, TA:) and جَلَسَ دُونَهُ [He sat below him]. (TA.) ― -b4- Also Before in respect of place, or in front: and [the contr., namely,] behind, or beyond. (T, M, K.) [You may say, using it in the former sense, جَلَسَ دُونَهُ He sat before him, or in front of him: (see Ham p. 86:) and, using it in the latter sense,] you say, هٰذَا أَمِيرٌ عَلَى مَا دُونَ جَيْحُونَ This [man] is governor, or prince, over what is beyond [the river] Jeyhoon. (TA.) ― -b5- And i. q. قَبْل [generally signifying Before in respect of time; but as some say, in respect of place also, which may perhaps be here meant]: (T:) and [the contr., namely,] i. q. بَعْد [generally meaning after in respect of time; but as some say, in respect of place also, which may perhaps be here meant]. (Fr, T, TA.) ― -b6- It signifies also Nearer than another thing: (S, Msb, K:) so in the phrase هٰذَا دُونَ ذٰلِكَ [This is nearer than that]; (S Msb;) or هٰذَا دُونَهُ [this is nearer than he, or it]. (K.) [Hence,] one says also, اُدْنُ دُونَكَ meaning Draw thou near in the space that is between me and thee: (A Heyth, T:) [or approach thou nearer to me:] or draw thou near [or nearer] to me. (IAar, T, M, K.) And يَزِيدُ بَغُضُّ الطَّرْفَ دُونِى, a saying of a poet, means Yezeed lowers the eye towards a spot between me and him. (A Heyth, T.) [خَشَعَتْ دُونَهُ الأَبْصَارُ, also, has a similar meaning: see 1 in art. خشع. So, too, has the phrase, خَاوَتَ طَرْفَهُ دُونِى: see 3 in art. خوت. And hence,] one says, دُونَ النَّهْرِ جَمَاعَةٌ [In the way of, or to, the river, or on this side of the river, or nearer than the river, is a company of men; or] before thy reaching the river [there is to be found, or encountered, a company of men]. (K.) And دُونَ قَتْلِ الأَسَدِ أَهْوَالٌ [In the way of, or to, the slaying of the lion, or] before thine attaining to the slaying of the lion, terrors [are to be encountered]. (T, TA.) [And دُونَهُ خَرْطُ القَتَادِ: see 1 in art. خرط.] And حَالَ دُونَ الشَّىْءِ [It intervened as an obstacle in the way to the thing; or] it prevented from attaining the thing. (W p. 71.) [And لَيْسَ دُونَهُ شَىْءٌ There is nothing intervening as an obstacle in the way of, or to, him, or it.] And [hence,] قُتِلَ دُونَ مَالِهِ, and نَفْسِهِ, and أَخِيهِ, and جَارِهِ, He was slain in defence of his property, and of himself, and of his brother, and of his neighbour. (Occurring in a trad. commencing with the words الغَرِيقُ شَهِيدٌ, in the “ Jámi' es-Sagheer, ” and thus explained in the margin of a copy of that work.) [And نَبَحَ دُونَهُ is a modern phrase meaning (assumed tropical:) He defended him as though by barking in the way to him.] ― -b7- [Hence,] also i. q. عَلَى [as meaning Against; denoting defence by means of intervention: see an ex. in a verse cited voce شَخْصٌ]. (Fr, T, TA.) ― -b8- And i. q. عِنْدَ [meaning At, near, nigh, by, or near by; with, or present with; &c.]. (Fr, T, Ibn-Es-Seed.) Accord. to Ez-Zowzanee, it has this meaning in the saying of Imra-el-Keys, [describing a horse,] “ فَأَلْحَقَنَا بِالهَادِيَاتِ وَ دُونَهُ
جَوَاحِرُهَا فِى صَرَّةٍ لَمْ تُزَيَّلِ
” (TA, but only the former hemistich is there given,) i. e. And he made us to overtake the foremost of the wild animals, while near to him were those that lagged behind, in a herd, not dispersed. (EM p. 48.) ― -b9- And i. q. غَيْر [as meaning Other than, beside, or besides, exclusively of, or not as used before a substantive or an adjective]. (K.) Hence, in the Kur [xxi. 82], وَيَعْمَلُونَ عَمَلًا دُونَ ذٰلِكَ [And who should do work other than, or beside, that]. (Fr, TA.) And in the same [iv. 51 and 116], وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذٰلِكَ But He will forgive what is other than that: or, as some say, what is less than that. (Er-Rághib, TA.) And so, it is said, in the trad., لَيْسَ فِيمَا دُونَ خَمْسِ أَوَاقٍ صَدَقَةٌ [There is no poor-rate to be exacted in the case of what is other than, or not, or, rather less than, five ounces]. (K.) So, too, it is said to mean in the trad., أَجَازَ الخُلْعَ دُونَ عِقَاصِ رَأْسِهَا [He allowed the divorcing a wife for a gift, or compensation, other than the عِقَاص (q. v.) of her head: in the CK, in which الخَلْعُ is erroneously put for الخُلْعَ, this is given as an ex. of ذُونَ in the sense of سَوِى, which is syn. with غَيْر]: or the meaning is, for anything, even for the عقاص of her head. (K, TA.) ― -b10- It is also used (M, K, TA) as a subst. (M, TA) with مِنْ prefixed to it, [very often in this case, in the Kur and elsewhere, as meaning غَيْر and sometimes in other senses explained above,] and likewise with بِ (M, K, TA,) though rarely. (K.) One says, هٰذَا دُونَكَ and هٰذَا مِنْ دُونِكَ [This is below thee, or above thee: &c.]. (M, TA.) And it is said in the Kur [xxviii. 23], وَوَجَدَ مِنْ دُونِهِمُ ا@مْرَأَتَيْنِ (M, TA) And he found in a place below them two women: (Bd:) or beside them, or exclusively of them. (Jel.) One says also, هٰدَا لِىدُونَ لَكَ or مِنْ دُونِكَ [meaning This belongs to me exclusively of thee]; i. e. thou hast no right nor share [with me] in this. (Kull p. 186.) The phrase فِيهِمْ مَنْ لَيْسَ بِدُونِهِ [app. as meaning Among whom was such as was not below him in respect of knowledge of poetry] is used by Akh in his book on rhymes. (M, TA.) ― -b11- It also denotes a command, (T, K,) and an incitement (Fr, T, S, K) to do a thing. (S.) Using it in the former sense, you say, دُونَكَ الدِّرْهَمَ, meaning Take thou the dirhem; (T;) or دُونَكَ الشَّىْءَ and دُونَكَ بِالشَّىْءِ, meaning Take thou the thing: (M:) and using it in the latter sense, you say, دُونَكَهُ, (S, K, TA,) meaning Keep thou, cleave thou, cling thou, or hold thou fast, to him; and take care of him: (TA:) or دُنَكَ زَيْدًا Keep thou, &c., to Zeyd, taking care of him. (T.) Temeem [meaning a party of the tribe so named] said to El-Hajjáj, when he had slain, i. e. crucified, Sálih Ibn-' Abd-Er-Rahmán, “ Permit us to bury Sálih: ” and he replied, دُونَكُمُوهُ [Take ye him]. (S, TA.) ― -b12- And it also denotes a threat. (T, K.) So in the sayings دُوَكَ صِرَاعِى [Beware thou of wrestling with me] and دُونَكَ فَتَمَرَّسْ بِى [Beware thou, and then set thyself against me to do evil if thou canst]. (T, TA.) ― -b13- It is said that no verb is derived from it: (T, S, M, Msb:) but some assert that دَانَ and أُدِينَ [mentioned in the first paragraph of this art.] are derived from it. (S.) ― -b14- The dim. of دُونَ is ↓ دُوَيْنَ : (Ham p. 404:) and ↓ دُوَيْنَةَ occurs as a dim. in a verse of a post-classical poet; but, [ISd says,] of what word I know not, unless they said ↓ دُونَةَ [for دُونَ]. (M.)
An Arabic-English Lexicon. London. Williams and Norgate. 1863.
The U.S. Department of Education, The Max Planck Society provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.
hide
Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
