ʔaḥkam‑ أَحْكَمَ (ʔiḥkām)
ID – • Sw – • BP … • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021
√ḤKM
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.
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▪ See above, section CONC.
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►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.
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