ID … • Sw – • BP 1701 • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021
√LFT
to turn, bend, tilt, incline, direct, focus; to turn away, avert (s.th. ʕan from) – WehrCowan1979.
▪ eC7 lafata Q 10:78 qālū ʔa-ǧiʔta-nā li-talfita-nā ʕammā waǧadnā ʕalayhi ʔābāʔa-nā ‘they said, “Have you come to turn us away from that [the faith] which we found our fathers upholding?”’ – ĭltafata Q 11:81 fa-ʔasri bi-ʔahli-ka bi-qiṭʕin min-a ’l-layli wa-lā yaltafit min-kum ʔaḥad ‘so, travel with your household in the dead of night, and let none of you look behind’
Akk lapātu ‘to touch lightly, grasp, affect, attack,…’; (caus.) šulputu ‘to make touch, overthrow, defeat, destroy,…’ (CAD), Hbr lāpat ‘to twist, clasp, turn, grasp with twisting motion’ (Klein1987); Aram lappēt ‘to twine around, cling to, clasp’ (Zammit2002); ClassAr †ʔalfatᵘ ‘strong-handed’, †lafata (vn. laft) ‘to turn, roll about in the mouth; to fold; to turn from’, lafata 'l-māšiyaẗ ‘he beat the camel or sheep or goats, not caring which of them he truck’ (lufataẗ ‘s.o. who beats his camels etc., in this way’), lafata 'l-kalām ‘he sent forth, or uttered, words, without caring what might be the meaning1
’ (Lane), †lift ‘half; side, edge; inclination towards’; ? †lafata (vn. laft) ‘to stir s.th. about and over’, ? †lafata (vn. laft, lift) ‘to bark a tree, remove the peel/rind’
It is difficult to decide whether ‘to touch, grasp, affect’, as in Akk, or ‘to twist, turn’, as appearing in Ar, should be regarded as the older value. I tend to regard ‘to touch, grasp, affect’ as primary, perhaps with the notion of ‘turning, twisting and overthrowing’ already included (as in Hbr). From there, the meanings (a) ‘to distract (attention), attract (the view)’ etc., prominent in MSA, as well as (b) ‘to twist’ and (c) ‘to overthrow, destroy’ can be derived. From (a) is ‘side; half’ (*attention turned away to one side, focus on the other half). From (a), (b) or (c) is ‘left-handed’, etc. (↗ʔalfatᵘ). For Ar, Gabal2012 suggests the basic value of √LFT as ‘to twist s.th., turn s.th. from one condition into another, or from one side to the other, or around it so that it sticks to it’ (layy al-šayʔ ʔaw taḥwīluh ʕan ḥāl ʔaw waǧh ʔilà ʔāḫar, ʔaw ḥawla šayʔ fa-yamtasik).
► lafata naẓarahū ʔilà, vb. I, to turn one’s eyes or one’s attention to; to direct s.o.’s eyes to, call s.o.’s attention to.
► lafata 'l-naẓar, vb. I, to catch the eye, attract attention; to be impressive, stately, imposing. ► ʔalfata, vb. IV, = I.
► talaffata, vb. V, to turn, turn around, turn one’s face (ʔilà to); to look around, glance around; to peer around: intr.
► BP#2366ĭltafata, vb. VIII, to turn, turn around, turn one’s face (ʔilà to); to wheel around, turn around; to address o.s. (ʔilà to); to pay attention, attend (to), heed, observe, bear in mind, consider, take into account, take into consideration (ʔilà s.th.); to take care (of), care (for): T-stem of I.
► ĭstalfata, vb. X, to attract (the eyes, attention); to claim, arouse, awaken (interest, attention, min of s.o.): ST-stem of I, autobenefactive (*‘to make s.o. turn his attention to o.s.’). ► laftaẗ, n.f., turnabout, aboutface; (pl. lafatāt) turn, turning; gesture; sideglance, glance, a furtive, casual, or quick, look: n.un. of vn. I.
► lafāt and lafūt, adj., ill-tempered, surly, sullen: lit., *‘turning around, looking around very much, be unquiet’? Or closer to the complex of *‘anomalous, distorted’ treated under ↗ʔalfatᵘ ?
► ĭltifāt, n., turn, inclination, turning; attention, notice, heed; regard; consideration; care, solicitude; sudden transition (styl.): vn. VIII | bi-dūni 'l-~, adv., inattentive(ly); inconsiderate of, without consideration for; ʕadam al-~, n., inattention; naẓara ʔilayhi bi-ʕayni 'l-~, vb. I, to give s.th. sympathetic consideration.
► ĭltifātaẗ, n.f., a turning; turn of the face or eyes; sideglance, glance: n.vic. of vn. VIII.
► ĭstilfāt, n., stimulation of attention: vn. X.
► BP#2418lāfit, adj., getting attention; interesting: PA I.
► BP#3385lāfitaẗ, n.f., sign (bearing an inscription): originally a PA f., lit. *‘the turner, the thing that makes the eyes/attention turn to it’.
► mulfit: ~ al-naẓar, adj., attracting attention, striking, conspicuous: PA IV.
► multafit, adj., turning around, looking; regardful; attentive; heedful, careful; considerate: PA VIII.
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