معبلة

Arabic

Etymology

Borrowed from Ge'ez ማዕበልት (maʿəbält, “instrument, fitting, weapon, spear, arrow”) (plural መዓብል (mäʿabəl), related to ዐበለ (ʿäbbälä, “to make”), of unclear further derivation, possibly the same as عَمِلَ (ʕamila, “to work”), Aramaic עָמֵל (ʿāmel, “to work”). Note that the mother of ʿantara who uses this word was a captive from Aksum. At the time of the Arabic lexicographers the Arabic word had become obsolete already so they were unsure about the quality of the instrument denoted by it; the frequent characterization as “broad and long arrowhead” is interpolated by the root ع ب ل (ʕ-b-l).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miʕ.ba.la/

Noun

مِعْبَلَة • (miʕbala) f (plural مَعَابِل (maʕābil)) (obsolete)

1. arrowhead
   • a. 608, عَنْتَرَة بِن شَدَاد الْعَبْسِي (ʕantara ibn šaddād al-ʕabsī), خذوا ما أسأرت منها قداحى (first line):

     وَآخِرَ مِنْهُم أَجْرَرْتُ رُمْحِي
     وَفِي ٱلْبَجْلِيِّ مِعْبَلةٌ وَقِيعُ

     waʔāḵira minhum ʔajrartu rumḥī
     wafī l-bajliyyi miʕbalatun waqīʕu

     And the last of them I pierced with my spear
     And in al-bajlī was a sharpened arrowhead

Declension

Declension of noun مِعْبَلَة (miʕbala)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مِعْبَلَة miʕbala	الْمِعْبَلَة al-miʕbala	مِعْبَلَة miʕbalat
Nominative	مِعْبَلَةٌ miʕbalatun	الْمِعْبَلَةُ al-miʕbalatu	مِعْبَلَةُ miʕbalatu
Accusative	مِعْبَلَةً miʕbalatan	الْمِعْبَلَةَ al-miʕbalata	مِعْبَلَةَ miʕbalata
Genitive	مِعْبَلَةٍ miʕbalatin	الْمِعْبَلَةِ al-miʕbalati	مِعْبَلَةِ miʕbalati
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مِعْبَلَتَيْن miʕbalatayn	الْمِعْبَلَتَيْن al-miʕbalatayn	مِعْبَلَتَيْ miʕbalatay
Nominative	مِعْبَلَتَانِ miʕbalatāni	الْمِعْبَلَتَانِ al-miʕbalatāni	مِعْبَلَتَا miʕbalatā
Accusative	مِعْبَلَتَيْنِ miʕbalatayni	الْمِعْبَلَتَيْنِ al-miʕbalatayni	مِعْبَلَتَيْ miʕbalatay
Genitive	مِعْبَلَتَيْنِ miʕbalatayni	الْمِعْبَلَتَيْنِ al-miʕbalatayni	مِعْبَلَتَيْ miʕbalatay
Plural	basic broken plural diptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	مَعَابِل maʕābil	الْمَعَابِل al-maʕābil	مَعَابِل maʕābil
Nominative	مَعَابِلُ maʕābilu	الْمَعَابِلُ al-maʕābilu	مَعَابِلُ maʕābilu
Accusative	مَعَابِلَ maʕābila	الْمَعَابِلَ al-maʕābila	مَعَابِلَ maʕābila
Genitive	مَعَابِلَ maʕābila	الْمَعَابِلِ al-maʕābili	مَعَابِلِ maʕābili

References

• Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1881) “معبلة”, in Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes‎^[1] (in French), volume 2, Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 92
• Freytag, Georg (1835) “معبلة”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[2] (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 101
• Lane, Edward William (1863) “معبلة”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[3], London: Williams & Norgate, page 1942
• Leslau, Wolf (1991) Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 54
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1910) Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎^[4] (in German), Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner, page 55
• Schwarzlose, Friedrich Wilhelm (1886) كتاب السلاح. Die Waffen der alten Araber aus ihren Dichtern dargestellt. Ein Beitrag zur arabischen Alterthumskunde, Synonymik und Lexicographie nebst Registern (in German), Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, page 312