Bibliotheca Polyglotta

▪ ḤKM_1 ʻto be knowledgeable, be wise; wisdom’ ↗ḥikmaẗ, ʻwise, wise person, philosopher, doctor’ ↗ḥakīm; ʻarbiter’ ↗ḥakam, ʻto decide, pronounce a sentence, judge, govern, rule’ ↗ḥakama, ʻgovernment’ ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ‘arbitrariness; despotism’ ↗taḥakkum, ‘court, tribunal’ ↗maḥkamaẗ; ‘bit (of a horse’s bridle)’ ↗ḥakamaẗ, ‘to make s.th. firm, strong, solid, fortify; to do s.th. properly, be proficient; exactitude’ ↗ʔaḥkama
▪ ḤKM_2 ʻ…’ ↗ḥkm

♦ Semantic value spectrum in ClassAr (acc. to BAH2008): ‘bit of a bridle; to curb, restrain; to govern, control; to judge between, sentence, express an opinion, arbitrate; wisdom, knowledge; to tighten, fortify; to recognize’

▪ Etymologically, all the values listed sub ḤKM_1 seem to belong together (as is also assumed by the entry #ḤKM-1 in DRS, see below, section COGN).
▪ It is not clear, however, until which stage in the history of the Sem langs it can be traced back (Huehnergard2011: »CSem«; Kogan2015: »WSem«) and to which of the sub-values within the spectrum of ḤKM_1 one could/should ascribe etymological primacy (ʻto be wise’, ʻto govern’, ʻto contain, hold back, fence’, ʻto be strict, strong, solid, exact’?). Huehnergard2011 and Kogan2015 both seem to posit a primacy of *ʻto be wise, judge’. But it was already Jeffery1938 who pointed to the fact that, in Ar, this latter value obviously is secondary, formed under Aram influence, while the most prominent notion in Ar is that of *ʻto govern’.
▪ Kogan2015 suspects the Akk ḫakāmu ‘to know, understand’ to be a borrowing from WSem. Moreover, he remarks that Gz taḥakama ‘to hold back, contain’ is attested only once (in Pr 17:28) and all other representatives of *ḤKM in EthSem are borrowed from Ar, as are also most of the modSAr “cognates”. But there could be a link betw the Gz meaning [attested also in Ar] and ‘to be wise’: ʻrestraining one’s lips in order to look wise’…
▪ Our own hypothesis would be a development along the line *‘containment, restriction, solid fencing > to keep under control, govern > to be wise’. For more details see below, section DISC.
▪ …

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▪ DRS 9 (2010) #ḤKM-1 Akk ḫakāmu ‘comprendre’, Ug ḥkm, Hbr ḥakam ‘être sage’, EmpAram ḥkm ‘instruire’, BiblAram ḥᵊkam, Ar ḥakuma ‘être sage, savant (surtout en médecine)’, ḥakama ‘exercer le pouvoir, prononcer une sentence juridique; retenir, contenir, empêcher de, museler; faire solidement’, Ug ḥkmt, Phoen EmpAram YaAram ḥkmh, Ar ḥikmaẗ ‘sagesse’, ḥakam ‘arbitre, vieillard’, Sab mḥkm ‘règlement d’un litige, traité de paix’, Mhr ḥəkūm, Jib ḥkum, Soq ḥkom ‘devenir/être vieux’, ḥkəm ‘juger’, Mhr ḥəkūm, Jib ḥkum ‘pointer (un fusil); condamner; gouverner’, Ḥrs ḥəkōm ‘gouverner; conquérir’, Gz taḥakama ‘retenir’, Te ḥakma ‘décider, diriger’. – Ar ʔaḥkama ‘raffermir, consolider’. [Same attestations also in Kogan2015: 82-83 #18.] -2 Tña ḥakäm exprime le bruit de la manducation des herbes, ḥakäm bälä ‘happer une gueulée d’herbes, brouter’.
▪ Unlike DRS, Orel&Stolbova1994 #1497 align Ar ḥkm (u) ʻto take’ (sic!) with Akk ekēmu ʻto take away (by force)’ (CAD). – Outside Sem the authors see cognates in 2 CCh languages (kum-anuʔ, kum-ʔʋwi ‘to obtain’), 4 Rift idioms (3x kom‑ ‘to have’, 1x *kom-os‑ ‘to grip’), and Dhl kam‑ ‘to hold’.
▪ …

▪ Jeffery1938, 111 (s.v. ḥikmaẗ): »The root √ḤKM is of wide use in Sem, but the sense of ‘wisdom’ appears to be a NSem development,¹ while the SSem use of the word is more in connection with the sense of ‘govern’. […] Thus [Ar] ḥikmaẗ and ḥakīm seem undoubtedly to have been formed under Aram influence.² […] It is possible that the word came into use from SArabia, for we find ḥkm in a Qat inscription […] which Nielsen³ )] takes to be an epithet of the moon-god.«
▪ Kogan2015, 82-83 (#ḤKM ḥakam-): »The status of this isogloss as a protWSem feature is undermined by several circumstances which, in view of the cultural significance of the root, deserve to be mentioned in full: (1) The autochthonous vs. borrowed status of Akk ḫakāmu ‘to know, to understand’ has been hotly debated by several generations of Assyriologists and Semitists (v. Kogan 2011:111 for a select bibliography). Personally, we tend to favor the borrowing hypothesis (especially if several waves of WSem influence are assumed), but no complete certainty in this respect is possible. – (2) The Gz verb is attested only once in Pr 17:28. The semantic link between ‘se cohibere, continere’ (LLA 112) and ʻto be wise’ is far from trivial, but fits well the sapiential context of ʻrestraining one’s lips in order to look wise’. All other representatives of *ḤKM in EthSem are borrowed from Ar (Leslau 1990:341). – (3) Most of the meanings associated with this root in modSAr are almost certainly due to Ar influence. This is, however, much less evident as far as the meaning ʻto be old’ is concerned: while also attested in Ar (ḥakam ‘a man advanced in age to the utmost degree,’ Lane 617), it seems to be too marginal there to be considered a reliable source of borrowing. – (4) As reasonably argued by A. Jeffery (1938:111), the genuinely Ar meanings of ḥkm are “more in connection with the sense of govern” whereas the meaning ʻto be wise’ is likely due to Hbr and Aram influence.«
▪ For our own hypothesis (*ʻto contain, restrict, etc.’ as original value – see above, section CONC), cf. Lane ii 1865 where the entry on ḥakama (vn. ḥukm) starts with the value ‘to prevent\restrain\withhold s.o. from acting in an evil\corrupt manner; to pull (a horse) by the bridle and bit to stop it; to curb, restrain it’, suggesting that this is the primary meaning; cf. also BAH2008 where the overview over the semantic spectrum in ClassAr starts with ‘bit of a bridle; to curb, restrain; …’. Cf. also some older values given, among others, by Hava1899: ^†ḥakama ‘to practice fencing; to overtake s.o. (rain, mishap)’, ^†ʔaḥkama ‘to check (a horse) with a curb-bit; to put a ring to a horse’s bridle’, ^†ḥakam ‘fencing’, ^†ḥakamaẗ ‘martingale; bridle’, ^†ĭstiḥkamāt, mustaḥkamāt (pl.), ‘fortifications’. – With this hypothesis in mind, the suggestion made by Orel&Stolbova1994 (Ar ḥakam‑ ‘to take’ < Sem *ḥ˅kum‑ ‘to take’, with prefix *ḥ˅‑ from AfrAs *kum‑ ‘to take, get’) is not completely unconceivable.⁴ Kogan2015: 84 (fn. 240), too, finds that »[t]he meaning ʻto restrain, withhold’ [found in Gz, but] also rather prominently attested in Ar, opens an interesting possibility of comparsion between protWSem *ḥkm and Akk ekēmu ʻto take away’, otherwise with no WSem etymology.«⁵
▪ Nevertheless, Orel&Stolbova’s analysis of protSem *ḥkm as being the result of the addition of a prefix *ḥ˅‑ to the hypothetical AfrAs *kum‑ ‘to take, get’ sounds highly speculative.
▪ …

1. But see Zimmern, Akkad. Fremdw, 29. 2. For Jeffery’s footnotes and more details, cf. entry ↗ḥikmaẗ. 3. ZDMG, lxvi, 592. 4. For the other AfrAs branches the authors reconstruct: protCCh *kum‑ ‘to obtain’, protRift *kom‑ ‘to have; to grip’, and (with unexpected vocalism) Dhl kam‑ ‘to hold’. 5. Cf. however vonSoden1965 who thinks Akk ekēmu is from »ʔ_4?km«, not *ḥkm.

▪ Engl hakim ↗ḥakama, ↗ḥakīm.

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ḥakam‑ حَكَمَ , u (ḥukm)

ID 222 • Sw – • BP 1694 • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021

√ḤKM

vb., I

1 to pass judgment, express an opinion (ʕalà, fī on s.th.), judge (ʕalà s.th., bi‑by, from); 2 to decide, give a decision, pass a verdict, pass sentence (ʕalà on); 3 to sentence (ʕalà s.o., bi‑ to a penalty; said of the judge), impose, inflict (bi‑ a penalty) on s.o. (ʕalà); 4 to pronounce a verdict or judgment, deliver judgment, rule (li‑ in s.o.’s favor); 5 to order, command ( bi‑s.th.); 6 to adjudicate, adjudge, award (bi‑, li‑ to s.o. s.th.); 7 to take (bi‑ s.th.) as a standard or norm; 8 to have judicial power, have jurisdiction, have authority (ʕalà over), govern, rule, dominate, control (ʕalà or s.o.); 9 to bridle, check, curb (s.th., s.o.) – WehrCowan1976.

▪ The semantic spectrum of MSA ḥakama covers two main ideas: ʻto pass judgment, sentence, order, command’ (values [v1]-[v7]) and ʻto govern, control, check’ (values [v8]-[v9]). The notions of ʻaccuracy, perfection, suitability’ and ʻwisdom, knowledge’ that appear in other items of √ḤKM (↗ʔaḥkama; ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakīm) are absent.¹ Huehnergard2011 posits a »CSem« *ʻto be wise, judge’, Kogan2015 a »WSem« *ʻto be wise’ as earlier layers of Sem. However, as already pointed out by Jeffery1938, ʻto be wise, judge’ seems to be a secondary value (at least in Ar), developed under Aram influence (↗ḥikmaẗ), while the more original notion in Ar seems to be that of *ʻto govern’.
▪ Our own hypothesis is a development from an original *‘containment, restriction, solid fencing’ (preserved in Gz taḥakama ʻto restrain, withhold’ and Ar items such as ↗ḥakamaẗ ʻbridle, martingale’) via ʻto keep under control, govern’ to ʻto be wise’ (wisdom as s.th. a person capable of keeping control over s.th. gives proof of). The latter may be a borrowing from Aram, while ʻto govern, control’ represents a more genuine development from ʻto bridle, check, curb, contain, restrict, fence’.
▪ …

1. The ClassAr intr. vb. ^†ḥakuma ʻto be(come) wise, like a ḥakīm’ seems to be a secondary formation, denominative from ḥakīm.

▪ …

▪ Our own hypothesis follows Kogan’s opinion that the Akk ḫakāmu ‘to know, understand’ is a borrowing from WSem. We further suggest that the WSem *ḥkm ‘to be wise’ is a secondary development, based on an earlier ʻto keep control, govern’ (as in MSA ḥakama), from ʻto contain, restrict, fence, (from?) to bridle, curb’. But this assumption remains rather speculative, as the value posited as primary here is not preserved elsewhere than in Ar (and a single occurrence of ʻto contain, withhold’ in Gz). Akk ekēmu ʻto take away (by force)’ may be pertinent (as suggested by Orel&Stolbova1994 and considered an interesting possibility by Kogan2015); semantically, however, ʻto contain, restrict, withhold, bridle, curb’ and ʻto take away (by force)’ are still too distant as to take the Akk evidence as clear proof of an older common Sem layer.
▪ …

▪ Huehnergard 2011: Engl ¹hakim, from Ar ↗ḥakīm ‘wise (man), sage, doctor’, from ḥakama ‘to judge, decide, govern’; ²hakim, from Ar ḥākim ‘ruling; ruler, governor’, PA of ḥakama (this entry).
▪ …

►ḥukima ʕalay-hi bi’l-ʔiʕdām, expr., he was sentenced to death
►ḥukima bi-ʔidānati-h, to convict s.o., find s.o. guilty (jur.)
►ḥukima bi-barāʔati-hī, to acquit s.o. (jur.).

►ḥakkama, vb. II, 1 to appoint (s.o.) as ruler; 2 to choose (s.o.) as arbitrator, make (s.o.) the judge (fī over or in s.th., bayna between): D-stem; ¹v: denom. from ↓ḥākim; ²v: denom. from ↓ḥakam.
►ḥākama, vb. III, 1 to prosecute (s.o.); 2 to arraign, bring to trial, hale into court (s.o.); 3 to interrogate, hear (s.o.): L-stem, assoc.
►ʔaḥkama, vb. IV, 1 to make (s.th.) firm, strong, sturdy, solid; 2 to fortify (s.th.); 3 to strengthen, consolidate (s.th.); 4 to do well, do expertly, master (a field, work), be proficient (in): *Š-stem, caus. | ~ ʔamra-hū, to do s.th. thoroughly, carefully, properly; ~ qafl al-bāb, to lock the door firmly; ~ luġaẗan, to master a language.
►^BP#3360taḥakkama, vb. V, 1 to have one’s own way (fī in), proceed (fī with) at random, at will, handle (fī s.th.) arbitrarily; 2 to pass arbitrary judgment (fī on); 3a to make o.s. the judge (ʕalà of), pass judgment (ʕalà on); b to decide (bi‑ on); 4a to rule, reign, hold sway (fī over); b to dominate, control (fī s.th.), be in control, be in command (fī of): Dt-stem, self-ref.
►taḥākama, vb. VI, 1 to bring one another before the judge (ʔilà al-ḥākim); 2 to appeal (ʔilà to) for a legal decision; 3 to be interrogated, be heard (in court): Lt-stem; ¹v: reciprocal, denom. from ↓ḥākim or ↓maḥkamaẗ; ²v: self-ref., denom. (*‘to turn to a judge\court to obtain s.th. for o.s.’); ³v: quasi-pass.
►ĭḥtakama, vb. VIII, 1 to have one’s own way (fī in), proceed (fī with, in s.th.) at will, at random, handle (fī s.th.) arbitrarily, judge arbitrarily; 2 to rule, reign, hold sway (ʕalà, fī over); 3 to be in control, be in possession (ʕalà of); 4 to appeal (ʔilà to) for a legal decision, seek a decision (ʔilà from), have s.o. (ʔilà) decide.
►ĭstaḥkama, vb. X, 1 to be strong, sturdy, solid, firm; 2 to become stronger, be strengthened, be consolidated; 3 to take root, be or become deep-rooted, deep-seated, ingrained, inveterate, marked, pronounced (feeling, trait): *Št-stem, self-ref., intr. of vb. IV.

►^BP#311^BP#311ḥukm, pl. ʔaḥkām, n., 1 judgment, valuation, opinion; 2 decision; 3 (legal) judgment, verdict, sentence; 4 condemnation, conviction; 5 administration of justice; 6 jurisdiction; 7 legal consequence of the facts of a case (Isl.. Law); 8 regulation, rule, provision, order, ordinance, decree; 9 judiciousness, wisdom; 10 judgeship; 11 command, authority, control, dominion, power; 12 government, regime; 13 pl. ʔaḥkām, statutes, by-laws, regulations, rules, provisions, stipulations, principles, precepts: vn. I | ḥukman, adv., 1 virtually; 2 legally; bi-ḥukmⁱ…, adv., 1 by virtue of, on the strength of, pursuant to; 2 by force of; fī ḥukmⁱ…, prep., as good as, all but, e.g., huwa fī ḥukm al-ʕadam, expr., it is as good as nothing, it is practically nonexistent; ʔaṣbaḥa fī ḥukm al-muqarrar, expr., it is all but decided; kāna fī ḥukm al-šayʔ, vb., also: to be subject to s.th.; nazala ʕalà ḥukmi-h, vb., to give in, yield to s.o.; ḥukm al-barāʔaẗ, n., acquittal; ḥukm huḍūrī, n., judgment delivered in the presence of the litigant parties, after oral proceedings (jur.); ḥukm bi’l-ʔiʕdām, n., death sentence; ḥukm ġiyabī, n., judgment by default (jur.); al-ḥukm al-ḏātī, n., selfdetermination, autonomy (pol.); ḥukm ǧumhūrī, n., the republican form of government, the republican regime; ḥukm muṭlaq, n., the absolute, i.e., authoritarian, regime; ḥukm niyābī, n., the parliamentary regime, parliamentarianism; laǧnaẗ al-ḥukm, n.f., board of examiners, review board; ʔaḥkām al-ʕurfiyyaẗ, nonhum.pl., martial law; ʔaḥkām ĭntiqāliyyaẗ, nonhum.pl., provisional regulations (jur.); ʔaḥkām ḫitāmiyyaẗ, nonhum.pl., final regulations (jur.); ʔaḥkām ḫāṣṣaẗ, nonhum.pl., special regulations; li-kull sinn ḥukmu-h, expr., every age has its own set of rules, must be judged by its own standards; lil-ḍarūraẗ ʔaḥkām, expr.,necessity has its (own) rules, (approx.: necessity knows no law).
►ḥukmī, adj., legal: nisba formation from the preceding.
►ḥikimdār (Eg.), n., 1 commandant; 2 chief of police: from ḥik(i)m, dial. var. of ḥukm, + Pe suffix ‑dār ‘owner of…’, from Pers dādan, prs-stem dār‑ ‘to have’.
►ḥikimdāriyyaẗ (Eg.), n.f., commandant’s office: abstract formation in ‑iyyaẗ from the preceding.
►^BP#4081ḥakam, pl. ḥukkām, n., 1 arbitrator, arbiter; 2 umpire, referee.
►^BP#1559ḥikmaẗ, pl. ḥikam, n.f., 1 wisdom; 2 sagacity; 3 wise saying, aphorism; 4 maxim; 5 underlying reason | li-ḥikmaẗ … (with foll. genit.), prep., on account of, because of: cf. separate entry ↗ḥikmaẗ.
►ḥikmī, adj., gnomic, aphoristic, expressing maxims: nisba formation from the preceding. | šiʕr ~, n., gnomic poetry.
►ḥakamaẗ, pl. ‑āt, n.f., bit (of a horse’s bridle): perh. one of the earliest values.
►^BP#1948ḥakīm, pl. ḥukamāʔᵘ, adj., 1a wise, judicious; b wise man, sage; 2a philosopher; b physician, doctor: ↗s.v.
►ḥakīmbāšī, n., senior physician, chief surgeon: nisba formation from the preceding.
►^BP#103ḥukūmaẗ, pl. ‑āt, n.f., government: ↗s.v.
►^BP#884ḥukūmī, adj., 1 of government, governmental; 2 official; 3 state-owned, statecontrolled, of the state, state- (in compounds): nisba formation from the preceding.
►ʔaḥkamᵘ, adj., wiser: elative of ḥakīm.
►^BP#540maḥkamaẗ, pl. maḥākimᵘ, n.f., court, tribunal: n.loc. | maḥkamaẗ al-ĭstiʔnāf and maḥkamaẗ ĭstiʔnāfiyyaẗ, n.f., court of appeal, appellate court; maḥkamaẗ ʔahliyyaẗ, n.f., indigenous court (Eg.; jurisdiction limited to Egyptian nationals); maḥkamaẗ ĭbtidāʔiyyaẗ, n.f., court of first instance; maḥkamaẗ ĭbtidāʔiyyaẗ kulliyaẗ, n.f., civil court with jurisdiction in cases of major importance, at the same time appellate instance of maḥākim ǧuzʔiyyaẗ (Eg.); maḥkamaẗ ǧuzʔiyyaẗ, n.f., 1 in Eg., lowest court of both maḥkamaẗ ʔahliyyaẗ (approx.: district courts) and of maḥkamaẗ šarʕiyyaẗ, canonical courts (with jurisdiction in marital and family matters); 2 summary court; maḥkamaẗ al-ǧināyāt, n.f.,criminal court; maḥkamaẗ al-ʔaḥwāl al-šaḫṣiyyaẗ, n.f., courts dealing with vital statistics; maḥkamaẗ muḫtaliṭaẗ, n.f., mixed court (with jurisdiction over residents of foreign nationality); maḥkamaẗ šarʕiyyaẗ, n.f., canonical court (administering justice on the basis of the Sharia), court dealing with family matters of Muslims; maḥkamaẗ markaziyyaẗ, n.f., county court, dealing with minor offenses, esp. misdemeanors (Eg.); maḥkamaẗ al-qaḍāʔ al-ʔidārī, n.f., administrative court; maḥkamaẗ al-naqḍ wa’l-ʔibrām, n.f., Court of Cassation, the highest court of appeal in Egypt; maḥkamaẗ al-tamyīz, n.f., Court of Cassation (Syr., Leb. = maḥkamaẗ al-naqḍ wa’l-ʔibrām in Eg.); sāḥāt al-maḥākim, n. pl., tribunals.
►^BP#3186taḥkīm, n., 1 appointment of an arbitrator; 2 arbitration; 3 arbitral decision, award; pl. ‑āt, fortifications: vn. II. | taḥkīm al-ḥāl, expr., starting from the present state of a court’s findings (Isl. Law); hayʔaẗ al¬-taḥkīm, n.f., 1 board of arbitration; 2 jury, committee of judges, committee of umpires (in sports), committee of referees (in mil. maneuvers); laǧnaẗ taḥkīmiyyaẗ, n.f., dto.
►^BP#2302muḥākamaẗ, n.f., 1 judicial proceeding; 2 trial, hearing (in court); 3 legal prosecution: vn. III.
►ʔiḥkām, n., 1a perfection; b accuracy, exactness, exactitude, precision; c exact performance, precise execution: vn. IV. | bi’l-ʔiḥkām, adv., accurately, exactly, precisely; bāliġ fī ’l¬ʔiḥkām , adj., of highest perfection.
►^BP#2191taḥakkum, n., 1 arbitrariness, arbitrary powers or action; 2 despotism; domination, dominion, rule, sway, power; 3 control (fī of, over): vn. V.
►taḥakkumī, adj., 1 arbitrary; 2 despotic: nisba formation from the preceding.
►ĭstiḥkām, n., 1 intensification, increase, strengthening; 2 consolidation, stabilization; 3 fortification; pl. ‑āt, fortifications: vn. X.
►^BP#828ḥākim, I adj. 1 ruling, governing; 2 decisive; – II n. (pl. ‑ūn, ḥukkām) 3a ruler, sovereign; b governor; 4 judge: PA I. | ḥākim bi-ʔamri-h, adj., n., 1 autocratic; 2 autocrat, dictator; ḥākim ʕāmm, n., governor general; ḥākim mubārāẗ, n., umpire, referee (athlet.); ḥākim al-ṣulḥ, n. (SyrAr) justice of the peace; ḥākim al-nāḥiyaẗ, n. (Tun.), district magistrate.
►ḥākimiyyaẗ, n.f., 1 domination, dominion, rule, sovereignty; 2 judgeship, judicature, jurisdiction (iur.): abstract formation in ‑iyyaẗ from the preceding.
►maḥkūm ʕalayh, adj., sentenced (bi‑ to): PP I. | al-maḥkūm ʕalay-him bi’l-ʔiʕdām, n.pl., those sentenced to death; maḥkūm ʕalayh bi’l-fašal, adj., doomed to fail.
►muḥakkam, pl. ‑ūn, 1 arbitrator, arbiter; 2 umpire, referee (fī in, over): PP II.
►muḥkam, adj., 1a strengthened, reinforced; b firm, solid, sturdy; c tight, taut; 2a perfect, masterly, masterful; b well-aimed (blow, hit); c accurate, precise, exact: PP IV. | muḥkam al-tadbīr, adj., well-planned, well-contrived.
►mustaḥkam, adj., 1a reinforced, fortified; b strengthened, consolidated, strong; 2 inveterate, deep-seated, deep-rooted, ingrained (custom, trait, etc.); 3 mustaḥkamāt, nonhum.pl., defenses, fortifications: PP X.

See also individual entries ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗maḥkamaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

ʔaḥkam‑ أَحْكَمَ (ʔiḥkām)

ID – • Sw – • BP … • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021

√ḤKM

vb., IV

1 to make (s.th.) firm, strong, sturdy, solid; 2 to fortify (s.th.); 3 to strengthen, consolidate (s.th.); 4 to do well, do expertly, master (a field, work), be proficient (in) – WehrCowan1976.

▪ Morphologically, ʔaḥkama is a *Š-stem, which usually has either a caus. meaning or is denominative. Values [v1]-[v2] look as if they could be causatives; but there is no corresponding G-stem signifying *ʻto be firm, strong, solid’. The values, attested in Ar and Gz, that come closest to ʻfirmness, strength, solidity’ are those of Ar ↗ḥakamaẗ ʻbit (of a horse’s bridle)’, ↗ḥakama in the old sense of ‘to prevent\restrain\withhold s.o. from acting in an evil\corrupt manner; to pull (a horse) by the bridle and bit to stop it; to curb, restrain’ (cf. Lane ii 1865), and the obsolete ^†ḥakama ‘to practice fencing; to overtake s.o. (rain, mishap)’, ^†ḥakam ‘fencing’ (e.g., Hava1899), as well as Gz taḥakama ʻto restrain, withhold’. An element of force is also present in the Akk ekēmu ʻto take away (by force)’, otherwise with no WSem etymology (Kogan2015). – It may well be that the basic idea in ↗√ḤKM as a whole is the *ʻfirm grip’ with which one keeps hold of s.th. or takes s.th., hence also ʻmastery, control over s.th.’. – Cf. also Orel&Stolbova1994 who suggest the etymology Ar ḥakam‑ ‘to take’ [sic!] < Sem *ḥ˅kum‑ ‘to take’ [sic!], with prefix *ḥ˅‑ from AfrAs *kum‑ ‘to take, get’. – Whether [v3] ʻto do well\expertly, master (a field, work), be proficient’ should be regarded as a development from *ʻto make firm, strong, solid’ or a denom. formation from ↗ḥakīm ʻwise, knowledgeable’ is impossible to decide.
▪ …

▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ …

–

►ʔaḥkama ʔamra-hū, to do s.th. thoroughly, carefully, properly
►ʔaḥkama qafl al-bāb, to lock the door firmly
►ʔaḥkama luġaẗan, to master a language.

►ĭstaḥkama, vb. X, 1 to be strong, sturdy, solid, firm; 2 to become stronger, be strengthened, be consolidated; 3 to take root, be or become deep-rooted, deep-seated, ingrained, inveterate, marked, pronounced (feeling, trait): *Št-stem, self-ref., intr. of vb. IV.

►ḥakamaẗ, pl. ‑āt, n.f., bit (of a horse’s bridle): perh. one of the earliest values.
►ʔiḥkām, n., 1a perfection; b accuracy, exactness, exactitude, precision; c exact performance, precise execution: vn. IV. | bi’l-ʔiḥkām, adv., accurately, exactly, precisely; bāliġ fī ’l¬ʔiḥkām , adj., of highest perfection.
►ĭstiḥkām, n., 1 intensification, increase, strengthening; 2 consolidation, stabilization; 3 fortification; pl. ‑āt, fortifications: vn. X.
►muḥkam, adj., 1a strengthened, reinforced; b firm, solid, sturdy; c tight, taut; 2a perfect, masterly, masterful; b well-aimed (blow, hit); c accurate, precise, exact: PP IV. | muḥkam al-tadbīr, adj., well-planned, well-contrived.
►mustaḥkam, adj., 1a reinforced, fortified; b strengthened, consolidated, strong; 2 inveterate, deep-seated, deep-rooted, ingrained (custom, trait, etc.); 3 mustaḥkamāt, nonhum.pl., defenses, fortifications: PP X.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗maḥkamaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

ḥakam حَكَم , pl. ḥukkām

ID – • Sw – • BP 4081 • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021

√ḤKM

1 arbitrator, arbiter; 2 umpire, referee – WehrCowan1976.

▪ Within the semantic spectrum covered by the root ↗√ḤKM, the closest relatives of ḥakam ʻarbitrator, arbiter’ seem to be ↗ḥikmaẗ ʻwisdom’ and ↗ḥakīm ʻwise; doctor; philosopher’, both prob. borrowed from, or influenced by, secondary developments in WSem (for which Kogan2015 reconstructs *ḤKM ʻto be wise’; cf. also Huehnergard2011 CSem *ḤKM ʻto be wise, judge’). The primary meaning of the root may be preserved in Ar ↗ḥakamaẗ ʻbridle, martingale’, ^†ḥakam ʻfencing’, or ↗ḥakama in the sense of ʻ to bridle, check, curb’ (cf. also the single Gz taḥakama ʻto contain, withhold’), which may perh. be akin to Akk ekēmu ʻto take away (by force)’. If this etymology is correct, the idea of ʻwisdom’ (and hence the capacity to serve as an arbitrator, to make decisions and pass judgement) is based on a person’s strong grip on s.th. and his\her ability to ʻbridle, keep control, check, curb’ (cf. also ↗ʔaḥkama ʻto make firm, strong, solid’).
▪ …

▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ …

–

►ḥakkama, vb. II, 1 to appoint (s.o.) as ruler; 2 to choose (s.o.) as arbitrator, make (s.o.) the judge (fī over or in s.th., bayna between): D-stem; ¹v: denom. from ḥākim; ²v: denom. from ḥakam.
►^BP#3360taḥakkama, vb. V, 1 to have one’s own way (fī in), proceed (fī with) at random, at will, handle (fī s.th.) arbitrarily; 2 to pass arbitrary judgment (fī on); 3a to make o.s. the judge (ʕalà of), pass judgment (ʕalà on); b to decide (bi‑ on); 4a to rule, reign, hold sway (fī over); b to dominate, control (fī s.th.), be in control, be in command (fī of): Dt-stem, self-ref.
►ĭḥtakama, vb. VIII, 1 to have one’s own way (fī in), proceed (fī with, in s.th.) at will, at random, handle (fī s.th.) arbitrarily, judge arbitrarily; 2 to rule, reign, hold sway (ʕalà, fī over); 3 to be in control, be in possession (ʕalà of); 4 to appeal (ʔilà to) for a legal decision, seek a decision (ʔilà from), have s.o. (ʔilà) decide.
►^BP#3186taḥkīm, n., 1 appointment of an arbitrator; 2 arbitration; 3 arbitral decision, award; pl. ‑āt, fortifications: vn. II. | taḥkīm al-ḥāl, expr., starting from the present state of a court’s findings (Isl. Law); hayʔaẗ al¬-taḥkīm, n.f., 1 board of arbitration; 2 jury, committee of judges, committee of umpires (in sports), committee of referees (in mil. maneuvers); laǧnaẗ taḥkīmiyyaẗ, n.f., dto.
►^BP#2191taḥakkum, n., 1 arbitrariness, arbitrary powers or action; 2 despotism; domination, dominion, rule, sway, power; 3 control (fī of, over): vn. V.
►taḥakkumī, adj., 1 arbitrary; 2 despotic: nisba formation from the preceding.
►muḥakkam, pl. ‑ūn, 1 arbitrator, arbiter; 2 umpire, referee (fī in, over): PP II.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗maḥkamaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

ḥikmaẗ حِكْمة , pl. ḥikam

ID 223 • Sw – • BP 1559 • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021

√ḤKM

n.f.

1a wisdom; b sagacity; 2a wise saying, aphorism; b maxim; 3 underlying reason – WehrCowan1976.

▪ Accord. to Jeffery1938, ḥikmaẗ ‘wisdom’ and ↗ḥakīm ‘wise, sage; doctor; philosopher’ »seem undoubtedly to have been formed under Aram influence«. Our own hypothesis is that the NSem *‘wisdom’ is a development from an earlier *‘to govern’ (wisdom as proof of the capacity to make decisions, pass judgement, rule’), which in itself may be based on the idea of ‘retaining, keeping control, fencing, curbing’, still present in ↗ḥakamaẗ ‘bit of a horse’s bridle; martingale’ or the vb. I ↗ḥakama in the sense of ‘to bridle, check, curb’, and reflected also in vb. IV ʔaḥkama ‘to make firm, sturdy, solid; to strengthen, consolidate; to fortify; to do well, do expertly, master, be proficient’.
▪ …

▪ Occurs some nineteen times in the Q, cf. ii, 123, 146; v, 110 ‘wisdom’.
▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ Jeffery1938, 111: »It [sc. ḥikmaẗ] is clearly a technical word in the Qurʔān, being used in its original sense only in ii, 272, but applied to Luqmān (xxxi, 11), to David (ii, 252; xxxviii, 19), to the Prophet’s teaching (xvi, 126; liv, 5), to the Qurʔān (ii, 231; iv, 113; xxxiii, 34; lxii, 2), and used synonymously with ‘revealed book’ (iii, 43, 75, 158; iv, 57; v, 110; xvii, 41; xliii, 63). In connection with it should be noted also ↗ḥakīm with its comparative ʔaḥkamᵘ. – The root ḤKM is of wide use in Sem, but the sense of ‘wisdom’ appears to be a NSem development,⁶ while the SSem use of the word is more in connection with the sense of ‘govern’. Thus in NSem we find Akk ḫakmu ‘to know’; Hbr ḥāḵam; Aram ḥăḵam; Syr ḥăḵam ‘to be wise’,⁷ and ḥkmh ‘wisdom’ in the Zenjirli inscription. Thus [Ar] ḥikmaẗ and ḥakīm⁸ seem undoubtedly to have been formed under Aram influence.⁹ With ḥikmaẗ compare Hbr ḥāḵᵊmāh; Aram ḥāḵᵊmṯā; Syr ḥāḵᵊmṯā, and the Zenjirli ḥkmh; and with ḥakīm compare Aram ḥăḵīm; Syr ḥăḵīmā which as Horowitz, KU, 72, notes, is common in the earliest Aram period. It is possible that the word came into use from SArabia, for we find ḥkm in a Qat inscription published by Derenbourg,¹⁰ and which Nielsen takes to be an epithet of the moon-god.«
▪ …

6. But see Zimmern, Akkad. Fremdw, 29. 7. So ḥkm in the Ras Shamra tablets. 8. We already have ḥkm in Safaite, and the name Ἀχιμ Achim . See Wuthnow, Menschennamen, 31, and Ryckmans, Nom propres, i, 91. 9. Horovitz, KU, 72, rightly adds that ḥukm = ḥikmaẗ is similarly under Aram influence. 10. »Nouveaux textes yéménites inédits«, in Rev.Ass, 1902, p. 117 ff., and see Nielsen in ZDMG, lxvi, 592.

–

►li-ḥikmaẗ … (with foll. genit.), prep., on account of, because of.

►ḥikmī, adj., gnomic, aphoristic, expressing maxims: nisba formation from the preceding. | šiʕr ~, n., gnomic poetry.
►^BP#1948ḥakīm, pl. ḥukamāʔᵘ, adj., 1a wise, judicious; b wise man, sage; 2a philosopher; b physician, doctor: ↗s.v.
►ḥakīmbāšī, n., senior physician, chief surgeon: nisba formation from the preceding.
►ʔaḥkamᵘ, adj., wiser: elative of ḥakīm.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗maḥkamaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

ḥakamaẗ حَكَمة , pl. ‑āt

ID – • Sw – • BP … • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021

√ḤKM

n.f.

bit (of a horse’s bridle) – WehrCowan1976.

▪ ḥakamaẗ ‘bit (of a horse’s bridle), (in ClassAr also:) martingale’ reflects perh. one of the earliest values within the root ↗√ḤKM in which today the two notions of ‘to govern’ and ‘to be wise, judge’ are the most prominent values. Our own hypothesis is a develepment along the line *‘to have a firm grip on s.th. [cf. ↗ʔaḥkama] > (to be able to) retain, withhold, curb, fence [ḥakamaẗ] > to govern, control [↗ḥakama] > to rule, pass judgment, decide, serve as arbiter [↗ḥakam, ↗ḥakama] > to be wise [↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakīm]’.
▪ For more details, cf. the references given in the preceding paragraph as well as, for the whole picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.
▪ …

▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ …

–

►^BP#1694ḥakama , u (ḥukm), 1-8 ↗ḥakama; 9 to bridle, check, curb (s.th., s.o.): perh. one of the earliest meanings of the vb.
►ʔaḥkama, vb. IV, 1 to make (s.th.) firm, strong, sturdy, solid; 2 to fortify (s.th.); 3 to strengthen, consolidate (s.th.); 4 to do well, do expertly, master (a field, work), be proficient (in): *Š-stem, caus. | ~ ʔamra-hū, to do s.th. thoroughly, carefully, properly; ~ qafl al-bāb, to lock the door firmly; ~ luġaẗan, to master a language.
►ĭstaḥkama, vb. X, 1 to be strong, sturdy, solid, firm; 2 to become stronger, be strengthened, be consolidated; 3 to take root, be or become deep-rooted, deep-seated, ingrained, inveterate, marked, pronounced (feeling, trait): *Št-stem, self-ref., intr. of vb. IV.

►^BP#3186taḥkīm, n., 1-2 ↗ḥakam; 3 pl. taḥkīmāt, fortifications: vn. II.
►ʔiḥkām, n., 1a perfection; b accuracy, exactness, exactitude, precision; c exact performance, precise execution: vn. IV. | bi’l-ʔiḥkām, adv., accurately, exactly, precisely; bāliġ fī ’l¬ʔiḥkām , adj., of highest perfection.
►ĭstiḥkām, n., 1 intensification, increase, strengthening; 2 consolidation, stabilization; 3 fortification; pl. ‑āt, fortifications: vn. X.
►muḥkam, adj., 1a strengthened, reinforced; b firm, solid, sturdy; c tight, taut; 2a perfect, masterly, masterful; b well-aimed (blow, hit); c accurate, precise, exact: PP IV. | muḥkam al-tadbīr, adj., well-planned, well-contrived.
►mustaḥkam, adj., 1a reinforced, fortified; b strengthened, consolidated, strong; 2 inveterate, deep-seated, deep-rooted, ingrained (custom, trait, etc.); 3 mustaḥkamāt, nonhum.pl., defenses, fortifications: PP X.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗maḥkamaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

ḥakīm حَكيم , pl. ḥukamāʔᵘ

√ḤKM

adj.; n.

1a wise, judicious; b wise man, sage; 2 philosopher; 3 physician, doctor – WehrCowan1976.

▪ Accord. to Jeffery1938, both ḥakīm ‘wise, sage; doctor; philosopher’ and ↗ḥikmaẗ ‘wisdom’ »seem undoubtedly to have been formed under Aram influence«. Our own hypothesis is that the NSem *‘wisdom’ is a development from an earlier *‘to govern’ (wisdom as proof of the capacity to make decisions, pass judgement, rule’), which in itself may be based on the idea of ‘retaining, keeping tight control, fencing, curbing’, still present in ↗ḥakamaẗ ‘bit of a horse’s bridle; martingale’ or the vb. I, ↗ḥakama, in the sense of ‘to bridle, check, curb’; it is reflected also in vb. IV, ʔaḥkama ‘to make firm, sturdy, solid; to strengthen, consolidate; to fortify; to do well, do expertly, master, be proficient’.
▪ In the early Abbasid period, when many words were loaned or calqued from Grk, the native Ar term ḥakīm came to replace the initial direct loan ↗faylasūf. The foreign word was however not completely discarded. In the meaning ‘philosopher’, ḥakīm is among the plentitude of concepts that testify to the extensive reception of the Hellenistic heritage between 750 and c1000 CE when learned »translators and scientists […] made the legacy of Grk philosophy, medicine, mathematics, and other sciences accessible to the Muslim world« and thus enriched the language »considerably by innumerable technical terms.«²
▪ …

2. J. Fück, »ʕArabiyya: Early Middle Arabic«, in EI².

▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ See also ↗ḥikmaẗ for the full quote of Jeffery’s argument.
▪ …

▪ Huehnergard 2011: Engl ¹hakim, from Ar ḥakīm ‘wise (man), sage, doctor’, from ↗ḥakama ‘to judge, decide, govern’. Cf. also ²hakim, from Ar ḥākim ‘ruling; ruler, governor’, PA of ↗ḥakama.
▪ …

►ḥakīmbāšī, n., senior physician, chief surgeon: nisba formation from the preceding.
►ʔaḥkamᵘ, adj., wiser: elative of ḥakīm.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗maḥkamaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

ḥukūmaẗ حُكومة , pl. ‑āt

√ḤKM

n.f.

government – WehrCowan1979.

▪ ḥukūmaẗ is formed from ↗ḥakama ʻto govern’, which in itself seems to be based on the notion of ‘retaining, keeping tight control of s.th., fencing, curbing’, still present in ↗ḥakamaẗ ‘bit of a horse’s bridle; martingale’ or the meaning ‘to bridle, check, curb’, nowadays rather marginal, of ḥakama; the prob. earlier value is reflected also in ʔaḥkama, vb. IV, ‘to make firm, sturdy, solid; to strengthen, consolidate; to fortify; to do well, do expertly, master, be proficient’. – For further details cf. the entries just mentioned as well as root entry ↗√ḤKM.
▪ …

▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ …

–

►^BP#884ḥukūmī, adj., 1 of government, governmental; 2 official; 3 state-owned, statecontrolled, of the state, state- (in compounds): nisba formation.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗maḥkamaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

ḥukūmī حُكوميّ

√ḤKM 

adj.

▪ nsb-formation

maḥkamaẗ مَحْكَمة , pl. maḥākimᵘ

√ḤKM

n.f.

court, tribunal – WehrCowan1979.

▪ maḥkamaẗ is a n.loc. coined from ↗ḥakama, vb. I, in the sense of ʻto pass judgment, judge s.th., pass a verdict\sentence, impose a penalty on s.o.’, with which the vb. is akin to ↗ḥakam ʻarbiter’, ↗ḥikmaẗ ʻwisdom’, and ↗ḥakīm ʻwise; doctor; philosopher’. – For further background, cf. the entries just mentioned as well as root entry ↗ḤKM.
▪ …

▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ …

–

►maḥkamaẗ al-ĭstiʔnāf and maḥkamaẗ ĭstiʔnāfiyyaẗ, n.f., court of appeal, appellate court;
►maḥkamaẗ ʔahliyyaẗ, n.f., indigenous court (Eg.; jurisdiction limited to Egyptian nationals);
►maḥkamaẗ ĭbtidāʔiyyaẗ, n.f., court of first instance;
►maḥkamaẗ ĭbtidāʔiyyaẗ kulliyaẗ, n.f., civil court with jurisdiction in cases of major importance, at the same time appellate instance of maḥākim ǧuzʔiyyaẗ (Eg.);
►maḥkamaẗ ǧuzʔiyyaẗ, n.f., 1 in Eg., lowest court of both maḥkamaẗ ʔahliyyaẗ (approx.: district courts) and of maḥkamaẗ šarʕiyyaẗ, canonical courts (with jurisdiction in marital and family matters); 2 summary court;
►maḥkamaẗ al-ǧināyāt, n.f.,criminal court;
►maḥkamaẗ al-ʔaḥwāl al-šaḫṣiyyaẗ, n.f., courts dealing with vital statistics;
►maḥkamaẗ muḫtaliṭaẗ, n.f., mixed court (with jurisdiction over residents of foreign nationality);
►maḥkamaẗ šarʕiyyaẗ, n.f., canonical court (administering justice on the basis of the Sharia), court dealing with family matters of Muslims;
►maḥkamaẗ markaziyyaẗ, n.f., county court, dealing with minor offenses, esp. misdemeanors (Eg.);
►maḥkamaẗ al-qaḍāʔ al-ʔidārī, n.f., administrative court;
►maḥkamaẗ al-naqḍ wa’l-ʔibrām, n.f., Court of Cassation, the highest court of appeal in Egypt;
►maḥkamaẗ al-tamyīz, n.f., Court of Cassation (Syr., Leb. = maḥkamaẗ al-naqḍ wa’l-ʔibrām in Eg.);
►sāḥāt al-maḥākim, n. pl., tribunals.

►^BP#2302muḥākamaẗ, n.f., 1 judicial proceeding; 2 trial, hearing (in court); 3 legal prosecution: vn. III.
►^BP#828ḥākim, I adj. 1 ruling, governing; 2 decisive; – II n. (pl. ‑ūn, ḥukkām) 3a ruler, sovereign; b governor; 4 judge: PA I. | ḥākim bi-ʔamri-h, adj., n., 1 autocratic; 2 autocrat, dictator; ḥākim ʕāmm, n., governor general; ḥākim mubārāẗ, n., umpire, referee (athlet.); ḥākim al-ṣulḥ, n. (SyrAr) justice of the peace; ḥākim al-nāḥiyaẗ, n. (Tun.), district magistrate.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗taḥakkum, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

taḥakkum تَحَكُّم

√ḤKM

1 arbitrariness, arbitrary powers or action; 2 despotism; domination, dominion, rule, sway, power; 3 control (fī of, over) – WehrCowan1976.

▪ vn. V, formed from ^BP#3360taḥakkama, vb. V, ʻto have one’s own way, proceed at random, handle, pass arbitrary judgment on); to rule, reign, hold sway over, dominate, control’, a Dt-stem with the typical, self-referential meaning, lit. *ʻto make o.s. the arbiter (ḥakam), judge or ruler (ḥākim, see ↗ḥakama)’. Vb. VIII, ĭḥtakama (Gt-stem), shows a very similar meaning (see ↗ḥakama, section DERIV). Both taḥakkama and taḥakkum are mostly used in the negative sense of abusing one’s power.
▪ …

▪ …

▪ ↗ḥakama.

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ …

–

►taḥakkumī, adj., 1 arbitrary; 2 despotic: nisba formation.

See also ↗ḥakama, ↗ʔaḥkama, ↗ḥakam, ↗ḥikmaẗ, ↗ḥakamaẗ, ↗ḥakīm, ↗ḥukūmaẗ, ↗maḥkamaẗ, and, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ḤKM.

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