Arabic-L:LING:wine plural discussion

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Arabic-L: Mon 26 Jul 1999
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
[To post messages to the list, send them to arabic-l at byu.edu]
[To unsubscribe, send message to listserv at byu.edu with first line reading:
          unsubscribe arabic-l                                      ]

-------------------------Directory-------------------------------------

1) Subject: wine plural discussion

-------------------------Messages--------------------------------------
1)
Date: 26 Jul 1999
From: Muhammad Deeb <mdeeb at gpu.srv.ualberta.ca>
Subject: wine plural discussion

		-------------------------------------------------------
		> I checked Lisaan Al-Carab and could not find a plural
		> for /nabiidh/, but Mukhtaar Al-SaHHaaH gives
		> /'anbidhatun/ as a plural form for it.
		> However, I personally have not come
		> across this word. Usually one would
		> see /'anwaaCu al-nabiidh/
		> as the plural version.
		-----------------------

	The chance omission of certain inflections of a given entry is no
index of its non-existence.  Arabic lexicons vary in size, range, and none,
including *Lisaan 'l- at Arab,* would claim comprehensiveness, let alone
absolute accuracy.

	Besides the rules of morphology I invoked in my earlier post, which
applies to the broken plural of "nabiidh" as "anbidhah," one may borrow from
philosophy the concept that "absence" is not "non-existence."

	Thus, while *al-Qaamuus 'l-MuHiiT,* and *al-MiSbaaH 'l-Muniir* are
silent on the plural of the word, *al-Munjid,* *Mukhtaar 'S-SiHaaH,*
*al-Mu at jam 'l-WasiiT,* and "Lisaan 'l- at Arab* state clearly the plural of the
word as "anbidhah."  Once again, these lexicons & lexicographers are sober,
even when they tackle an inebriating subject.

PS:  To the best of my knowledge, my edition of *Lisaan 'l- at Arab*
     has never been subject to human or divine abrogation.

								     M. Deeb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Arabic-L: 26 Jul 1999