قنطار

Arabic

Etymology

From Classical Syriac ܩܰܢܛܺܝܪܳܐ (qanṭīrā), ܩܰܢܛܺܝܢܳܪܳܐ (qanṭīnārā), from Byzantine Greek κεντηνάριον (kentēnárion), from Latin centēnārium (“hundredweight”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qin.tˤaːr/

Noun

قِنْطَار • (qinṭār) m (plural قَنَاطِير (qanāṭīr))

1. hundredweight, quintal, kantar (a weight measure, usually the largest and dividing to 100 رَطْل (raṭl))
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 3:75:

     وَمِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَابِ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنْطَارٍ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِدِينَارٍ لَا يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ إِلَّا مَا دُمْتَ عَلَيْهِ قَائِمًا

     wamin ʔahli l-kitābi man ʔin taʔmanhu biqinṭārin yuʔaddihi ʔilayka waminhum man ʔin taʔmanhu bidīnārin lā yuʔaddihi ʔilayka ʔillā mā dumta ʕalayhi qāʔiman

     And among the People of the Scripture is he who, if you entrust him with a qinṭār, he will return it to you. And among them is he who, if you entrust him with a dīnār, he will not return it to you unless you persist confronting him.

   1. (obsolete, Syria until 1931) ‎ 6000 ‎وُقِيّة (wuqiyya)‎ – 256.4 kg
   2. (obsolete, Saudi-Arabia until 1964) 150 رَطْل (raṭl) – 67.5 kg
   3. (obsolete, Egypt/Sudan until 1891) ‎ 36 ‎أُقَّة (ʔuqqa)‎ – ‎⁴⁰⁰⁄₃ ‎وِقِيّة (wiqiyya)‎ – 230400 ‎قِيرَاط (qīrāṭ)‎ – 44.93 kg
   4. (obsolete, Libya until 1927) ‎ 40 ‎أُقَّة (ʔuqqa)‎ – 51.28 kg
   5. (obsolete, Tunisia until 1895) ‎ 2000 ‎وُقِيّة (wuqiyya)‎ – 53.9 kg
   6. (obsolete, Algeria until 1843) ‎ 2400 ‎وُقِيّة (wuqiyya)‎ – 81.912 kg
   7. (obsolete, Morocco until 1923) ‎ – 50.75 kg
2. (figurative) wealth, great possessions
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 3:14:

     زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ ٱلشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِينَ وَٱلْقَنَاطِيرِ ٱلْمُقَنْطَرَةِ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَبِ وَٱلْفِضَّةِ وَٱلْخَيْلِ ٱلْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَٱلْأَنْعَامِ وَٱلْحَرْثِ ذٰلِكَ مَتَاعُ ٱلْحَيَاةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱللّٰهُ عِنْدَهُ حُسْنُ ٱلْمَآبِ

     zuyyina li-n-nāsi ḥubbu š-šahawāti mina n-nisāʾi wālbanīna wal-qanāṭīri l-muqanṭarati mina ḏ-ḏahabi wal-fiḍḍati wal-ḵayli l-musawwamati wal-ʾanʿāmi wal-ḥarṯi ḏālika matāʿu l-ḥayāti d-dunyā wal-lāhu ʿindahu ḥusnu l-maʾābi

     Beautified for men is the love of things they covet, women, children, heaped-up wealth of gold and silver, branded beautiful horses, cattle and cropland. This is the pleasure of the present world’s life, but Allah has the finest return with Him.

Declension

Declension of noun قِنْطَار (qinṭār)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قِنْطَار qinṭār	الْقِنْطَار al-qinṭār	قِنْطَار qinṭār
Nominative	قِنْطَارٌ qinṭārun	الْقِنْطَارُ al-qinṭāru	قِنْطَارُ qinṭāru
Accusative	قِنْطَارًا qinṭāran	الْقِنْطَارَ al-qinṭāra	قِنْطَارَ qinṭāra
Genitive	قِنْطَارٍ qinṭārin	الْقِنْطَارِ al-qinṭāri	قِنْطَارِ qinṭāri
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قِنْطَارَيْن qinṭārayn	الْقِنْطَارَيْن al-qinṭārayn	قِنْطَارَيْ qinṭāray
Nominative	قِنْطَارَانِ qinṭārāni	الْقِنْطَارَانِ al-qinṭārāni	قِنْطَارَا qinṭārā
Accusative	قِنْطَارَيْنِ qinṭārayni	الْقِنْطَارَيْنِ al-qinṭārayni	قِنْطَارَيْ qinṭāray
Genitive	قِنْطَارَيْنِ qinṭārayni	الْقِنْطَارَيْنِ al-qinṭārayni	قِنْطَارَيْ qinṭāray
Plural	basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	قَنَاطِير qanāṭīr	الْقَنَاطِير al-qanāṭīr	قَنَاطِير qanāṭīr
Nominative	قَنَاطِيرُ qanāṭīru	الْقَنَاطِيرُ al-qanāṭīru	قَنَاطِيرُ qanāṭīru
Accusative	قَنَاطِيرَ qanāṭīra	الْقَنَاطِيرَ al-qanāṭīra	قَنَاطِيرَ qanāṭīra
Genitive	قَنَاطِيرَ qanāṭīra	الْقَنَاطِيرِ al-qanāṭīri	قَنَاطِيرِ qanāṭīri

Derived terms

• قَنْطَرَ (qanṭara, “to heap up wealth”)

Descendants

• Armenian: ղանթար (ġantʻar)
• Crimean Tatar: qantar
• English: kantar
• Italian: cantaro
• Italian: quintale
• Latin: quintale
• quintal (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish)
• Maltese: qantar
• → Ottoman Turkish: قنطار (kantar)
  • → Albanian: kandar
  • → Bulgarian: кантар (kantar)
  • → Greek: καντάρι (kantári)
  • Turkish: kantar
  • → Romanian: cântar
  • → Serbo-Croatian: ка̀нта̄р/kàntār
• Persian: قنطار (qentâr)
• Russian: канта́рь (kantárʹ), конта́рь (kontárʹ)

References

• Cardarelli, François (2003) Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. Their SI Equivalences and Origins, London: Springer, →ISBN
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 203

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Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic قِنْطَار (qinṭār), from Byzantine Greek κεντηνάριον (kentēnárion), from Latin centēnārium (“hundredweight”).

Noun

قنطار • (kantar)

1. kantar
2. steelyard
3. hundredweight, quintal

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Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic قِنْطَار (qinṭār), from Byzantine Greek κεντηνάριον (kentēnárion), from Latin centēnārium (“hundredweight”).

Noun

قنطار • (qentâr) (plural قناطیر)

1. kantar
2. hundredweight, quintal