Bibliotheca Polyglotta

▪ BṢR_1 ‘to be endowed with eyesight, to see clearly’ ↗baṣ˅ra
▪ BṢR_2 ‘a kind of porridge made of green beans’ ↗biṣāraẗ
▪ BṢR_3 ‘Basra’ (port in Iraq) ↗al-Baṣraẗ

♦ Semantic value spectrum in ClassAr (acc. to BAH2008): ‘eyesight, to see; to comprehend, to realize; proof, sign, eye opener; to warn, to guide; to reflect, to ponder’

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▪ DRS 2 (1994)#BṢR–1 nHbr *bāṣar ‘être raccourci, être diminué’, JP Syr bᵉṣar, Mand bṣar, Aysor bāṣir ‘être diminué, petit, peu’; (Ur.) baṣūrā ‘inférieur’; Mand bᵉṣīr ‘peu’; ?Ar baṣara ‘trancher (sabre) (?)’. –2 Ar baṣīr ‘sang frais, sang virginal’. –3 Ug bṣr ‘tester pour pierres (?)’; Hbr ? mᵉbaṣṣēr ‘testeur pour l’or’, beṣer ‘or’, Ar baṣura ‘être doué de la vue’, baṣar ‘vue’. –4 Ug bṣr ‘prende l’essor’; Hbr ? yibbaṣṣēr ‘être inaccessible, impossible’, nHbr beṣer ‘forteresse’. –5 Ar buṣr ‘bord, lisière, frange’. –6 Ar baṣr ‘terrain calcaire’.
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▪ Neither (Eg)Ar biṣāraẗ (BṢR_2) nor the name of the city of Baṣraẗ (BṢR_3) are mentioned in DRS. Apart from these, Lane lists also the items (all now obsolete) ^†baṣara u (baṣr) (al-ʔadīmayn) ‘to put together, sew together’ and ^†buṣr ‘thickness (of s.th.); cotton’.
▪ Out of these many values, only three have survived into MSA. The main complex is BṢR_1 ‘to be endowed with eyesight, to see clearly’, which has many semantic derivatives. Among these one may perhaps also group what in DRS is thought to be a distinct item (#BṢR-2), ^†baṣīr ‘sang frais, sang virginal’; for the f. form, ^†baṣīraẗ, at least, ClassAr lexicographers give (among other values) ‘evidence, testimony, proof, argument’, »and hence« ‘blood by which one is directed to an animal that has been shot,…, blood of a virgin,…, fine for homicide’; ‘witness’; ‘shield’; ‘oblong piece of cloth’ (Lane). Denominative from this are also ^†baṣṣara (arrows) ‘to besmear (with blood, ^†baṣīraẗ)’ or ‘to strengthen and fasten (with glue)’; ‘to hang upon the door of o.’s dwelling a ^†baṣīraẗ, i.e., an oblong piece of cotton or other cloth’.
▪ buṣāraẗ (BṢR_2), if appearing in MSA texts, is taken from EgAr, for which a Copt / Eg etymology has been suggested (see s.v.).
▪ Baṣraẗ belongs perhaps to DRS #BṢR-6 Ar ^†baṣr ‘terrain calcaire’, (Lane:) ^†baṣraẗ ‘soft stones, rugged ground, land that is as though it were a mountain of gypsum’. Popular etymology often derives it from baṣura, interpreting the name as ‘the overlooking one’. Also Pers and Aram etymologies have been suggested (see s.v.).

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baṣ˅r‑ :
▪ baṣur‑ بَصُرَ u (baṣar), and
▪ baṣir‑ بَصِرَ a (baṣar)

√BṢR

vb., I

to look, see; to realize, understand, comprehend, grasp (bi‑ s.th.)

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▪ eC7 Accord. to Badawi/AbdelHaleem2003, of this root, 14 forms occur 48 times in Q; some examples: baṣura 1 (to see, comprehend, to gain knowledge of something) 20:96 baṣurtu bi-mā lam yabṣurū bihī ‘he said, “I saw what they did not see [or: I have gained insight into something which they were unable to see]”’, 2 (to keep an eye on, to watch over) 28:11 wa-qālat li-ʔuḫti-hī quṣṣī-hi fa-baṣurat bi-hī ʕan ǧunubin wa-hum lā yašʕurūn ‘and she said to his sister “Track him,” so she watched him from a distance while they were unaware’; ʔabṣara 1 (to see) 7:179 wa-lahum ʔaʕyunun lā yubṣirūna bi-hā ‘they have eyes they do not see with’, 2 (to comprehend, to understand) 28:72 man ʔilāhun ġayru ’ḷḷāhi yaʔtī-kum bi-laylin taskunūna fīhi ʔa-fa-lā tubṣirūna ‘what god other than He could give you night in which to rest?, do you not comprehend?’, 3 (to find guidance) 6:104 qad ǧāʔa-kum baṣāʔiru min rabbi-kum fa-man ʔabṣara fa-li-nafsi-hī ‘ clear proofs have come to you from your Lord—so whoever finds guidance, it is for himself’; baṣīraẗ 1 (clear evidence, sure knowledge) 12:108 ʔadʕū ʔilā ’ḷḷāhi ʕalā baṣīratin ‘I call to God with sure knowledge’, 2 (witness, overseer) 75:14 bal-i ’l-ʔinsānu ʕalā nafsi-hī baṣīratun ‘truly, man is a [clear] witness against himself [in another interpretation: there is an observer observing him]’; tabṣiraẗ (providing insight, showing the way, eyesight) 50:8 tabṣiratun wa-ḏikrā li-kulli ʕabdin munībin ‘as an eye-opener and a reminder for every servant who turns to God’; baṣar (eyesight, eyes, sight, vision, sense of sight) 6:103 lā tudriku-hū ’l-ʔabṣāru wa-huwa yudriku ’l-ʔabṣāra ‘vision cannot encompass Him, but He encompasses all visions’

▪ DRS 2 (1994)#BṢR-3: Ug bṣr ‘tester pour pierres (?)’; Hbr ? mᵉbaṣṣēr ‘testeur pour l’or’, beṣer ‘or’, Ar baṣura ‘être doué de la vue’, baṣar ‘vue’.

▪ On baṣura may also depend the ClassAr word ^†baṣīr ‘sang frais, sang virginal’. For the f., ^†baṣīraẗ, ClassAr lexicographers give (among other values) ‘evidence, testimony, proof, argument’, »and hence« ‘blood by which one is directed to an animal that has been shot,…, blood of a virgin,…, fine for homicide’; ‘witness’; ‘shield’; ‘oblong piece of cloth’ (Lane). Denominative from this are also ^†baṣṣara (arrows) ‘to besmear (with blood, ^†baṣīraẗ)’ or ‘to strengthen and fasten (with glue)’; ‘to hang upon the door of o.’s dwelling a ^†baṣīraẗ, i.e., an oblong piece of cotton or other cloth’.

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► baṣṣara, vb. II, to make (s.o.) see, understand or realize (DO or bi‑ s.th.), make aware (of s.th.); to enlighten; to tell, inform (s.o., DO or bi‑ about): caus.
► ʔabṣara, vb. IV, to see, catch sight of, behold, discern, perceive; to notice, observe; to make out, recognize; to try to discern or perceive: denom. from baṣar ?
► tabaṣṣara, vb. V, to envisage, regard (fī s.th.); to try to get an insight (fī in); to consider, ponder (fī s.th.), reflect on; to gain or have a keen insight: autobenef./refl.
► ĭstabṣara, vb. X, to have the faculty of visual perception, be able to see; to be endowed with reason, be rational, reasonable, intelligent; to reflect (fī on s.th.), ponder (fī s.th.): denom. from baṣar ?

► ^BP#2385baṣar, pl. ʔabṣār, n., vision, eyesight; glance, look; insight; sight, discernment, perception: vn. I, or the etymon proper? | qaṣīr al-~, adj., shortsighted, myopic; lamḥ al-~, glance of the eye; ka‑, fī, dūna, fī ʔaqalli min lamḥ al-~, adv., in the twinkling of an eye, in a moment, in a flash, instantly; ʕalà madà ’l-~, adv., within sight; la-hū ~ fī, he is knowledgeable in, he is familiar with; ʔūlū ’l-ʔabsār, n.pl., people with deep insight.
► ^BP#4425baṣarī, adj., optic(al), visual, ocular: nsb-adj from baṣar.
► baṣariyyāt, n.pl., optics: abstr. in iyyaẗ from baṣar.
► baṣāraẗ, n.f., perception, discernment; perspicacity, acuteness of the mind, sharp-wittedness:.
► baṣīr, pl. buṣarāʔᵘ, adj., endowed with eyesight; acutely aware (bi‑ of), having insight (bi‑ into); possessing knowledge or understanding (bi‑ of), discerning, discriminating, versed, knowledgeable, proficient (bi‑ in), acquainted (bi‑ with s.th.): quasi-PP I.
► baṣīraẗ, pl. baṣāʔirᵘ, n., (keen) insight, penetration, discernment, understanding, (power of) mental perception, mental vision: quasi-PP I f. used as n.abstr. | ʕan ~, adv., deliberately, knowingly; kāna ʕalà ~in min, vb., to have insight into s.th., be informed about s.th.; nāfiḏ al-~, adj., discerning, clear-sighted, perspicacious, sharp-witted; nafāḏ al-~, n., sharp discernment, perspicacity.
► ʔabṣarᵘ, adj., more discerning: elat.
► tabṣiraẗ, n.f., enlightenment; instruction, information: n.abstr. of the tafʕilaẗ pattern.
► ʔibṣār, n., vision, sight, visual perception: vn. IV | ~ muzdawiǧ, n., diplopia (med.).
► tabaṣṣur, n., reflection, consideration; penetration, clear-sightedness, perspicacity: vn. V.
► ĭstibṣār, n., insight (psych.): vn. X.
► bāṣiraẗ, pl. bawāṣirᵘ, n., eye: f. of PA.f. (*‘the seeing one’).

biṣāraẗ بِصارة , var. EgArbuṣāraẗ

√BṢR

n.f.

(EgAr) a kind of porridge made of green beans, boiled with onions, garlic, parsley, etc. – WehrCowan1979.

Perhaps from Eg ps-wr ‘very cooked’ or from ps ‘cooking’ + i͗wryt ‘beans’ (Youssef2003).

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▪ Youssef2003: perhaps from Eg ps-wr ‘very cooked’ or from ps ‘cooking’ + i͗wryt ‘beans’

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al-Baṣraẗ البَصْرة

√BṢR

n.prop.loc., f.

Basra (port in S Iraq) - WehrCowan1979.

▪ EI², art. »al-Baṣra« (S.H. Longrikk): »probably derived from the nature of the soil«

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DRS 2 (1994)#BṢR-6 baṣr ‘terrain calcaire’. Cf. also (Lane:) ^†baṣraẗ ‘soft stones, rugged ground, land that is as though it were a mountain of gypsum’

▪ If S.H. Longrikk (art. »al-Baṣra«, in EI²) is right and the name of the city is »probably derived from the nature of the soil«, then one would have to see it together with ClassAr ^†baṣraẗ ‘soft stones, rugged ground, land that is as though it were a mountain of gypsum’ and/or ʔarḍ baṣiraẗ ‘land in which are stones that cut the hoofs of beasts’ (Lane).
▪ The value ‘terrain calcaire’ is listed in DRS 2 (1994) as #BṢR-6, but without mentioning Basra.
▪ Popular etymology explains the name as ‘the over-watching’, ‘the one seeing everything’ (from ↗baṣ˅ra ‘to see’). On the Internet, other etymologies can be found (from an allegedly Pers bas-rāh [sic!] ‘where many paths meet’, ‘where many ways come together’, or allegedly Aram basratha [sic!] ‘place of huts, settlement’ – e.g., en.wiki). None of these are reliable.
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