Bibliotheca Polyglotta

noble nature; high-mindedness, noble-mindedness, noble-heartedness, generosity, magnanimity; kindness, friendliness, amicability; liberality, munificence –WehrCowan1979.

conc

▪ Grammatically, the word is a vn. I of the vb. karuma, which however probably is denominative (from karam or karīm).
▪ On account of the Eth evidence where the main value of KRM is ‘rain season’, but also because of the meaning ‘(to give) plenty of water’ that the vb. karuma can take in ClassAr, there is a theory that derives the notion of ‘generosity’ from the "generosity" of a sky/clouds giving plenty of rain. But it may also be the other way round, ‘generosity’ being the primary meaning from which ‘(to give) plenty of water/rain’ is a metaphorical extension.
▪ A key concept of Arab culture and civilisation that comprises a number of virtues such as “generosity, forgiveness, patience, reliability, caring for the neighbours, protection of honour, prevention of injustice, courage/braveness”.¹ Related concepts: ↗saḫāʔ, ↗ǧūd; counter-concepts: ↗buḫl, ↗luʔm.

1. Approximative translation of what Nanah1987:24 lists as “Freigebigkeit, Verzeihung, Geduld, Verläßlichkeit, die Sorge um die Nachbarn, Schutz der Ehre, Verhindern von Ungerechtigkeit und Tapferkeit”.

hist

ʕAmr b. Q. 5,9 ʕalà karamin wa-ʕalà naǧdatin, Huḏ. 108,6 ḏawū karamin wa-ṣidqin ¹

1. WKAS.

cogn

▪ DRS 10 (2012)#KRM –4 nPun ʔkrmʔ ‘rivaliser de générosité’, Ar karuma ‘être noble, généreux; donner beaucoup d’eau (ciel, nuages)’; MġrAr krāma ‘banquet offert par un groupe pour remercier et honorer un de ses membres ayant accompli un acte louable’; Mhr kōrem, Śḥ kurum, Ḥrs. kërem ‘être généreux envers’, Te käramät ‘aumônes’. –5 Gz kərämt, Tña krämti, Te käräm, Amh Arg kərämt, Gaf krämtä, Har kirmi, Gur kärm, ḫərəm, hənəw ‘saison des pluies’. – This value seems to have cognates in Cush, perhaps also Berb: Sa karma, Bedja kerinti, Som keran, Qabenna kärmi ‘saison pluvieuse’; Cohen1969#185 ajoute le Berb du Sous kᵘrəm ‘être froid’.

disc

▪ According to Leslau1987, Gz karama, karma (yəkrəm, yəkram) ‘spend the rainy season, spend the winter, be of the preceeding year (wine)’ is akin to Ar karuma ‘be generous > yield rain’. Note that Dillmann’s statement »Ar karuma ‘pluviam profundit (nubes)’; deinde ‘beneficus, generosus fuit’« should read »‘beneficus, generosus fuit’; deinde ‘pluviam profundit (nubes)’«. Leslau thus holds that ‘yield rain’, ‘rainy season’ etc. are figurative use and, thus, secondary.
▪ The value ‘season of rain’, realised as such only in Eth (but perhaps connected to, or dependent on, ‘be generous’), seems to have cognates in Cush, perhaps also Berb. So this is either an East African regional development from an AfrAs value *‘be generous’, or we are dealing, against the above assumption of metaphorical use, with a value in its own right.
▪ Nanah1987: 24, fn.28, claims that the root KRM is attested in other Sem langs but signifies ‘to keep away, keep off’, etc. there. The corresponding notion in Akk is krb (with R3 = b from < *m, as often) ‘to pay respect, venerate’. karābu ‘to pronounce formulas of blessing, praise, adoration, homage, greeting’ (CAD).

west

–

deriv

► k. al-ʔaḫlāq, n., noble-mindedness, noble character

► karuma, u (karam, karamaẗ, karāmaẗ), vb. I, to be noble, high-minded, noblehearted, magnanimous, generous, liberal, munificent; to be precious: probably denominative (either from karam or karīm).
► karrama, vb. II, to call noble and high-minded; to honor, revere, venerate, treat with deference; to exalt, bestow honour upon:.
► kārama, vb. III, to vie in generosity; to meet reverentially, with deference, politely:.
► ^BP#3917ʔakrama, vb. IV, to call noble and high-minded; to honour; to treat reverentially, with deference, politely, hospitably, bestow honours upon; to prove o.s. to be high-minded and generous; to honour, present (s.o. with):.
► takarrama, vb. V, to feign generosity; to show one’s generous side; to be noble; to be friendly, kind, kindly; to be so kind, have the kindness (bi‑ to do s.th.); to present, graciously bestow:.

► kurmatan laka, kurmānan laka, adv., for your sake, as a favour to you, in your favour: mafʕūl min ʔaǧlih of obsolete vn.s kurmaẗ and kurmān.
► C ^BP#1822karāmaẗ, n.f., dignity, honour; generosity ↗s.v.
► ^BP#556karīm, pl. kuramāʔᵘ, kirām, adj., noble; generous; precious: adj. formation.
► karīmaẗ, pl. karāʔimᵘ, n., precious thing, object of value, valuable; vital part (of the body; esp. eye); daughter: f. of nominalized adj. karīm.
► ʔakramᵘ, pl. ʔakārimᵘ, adj., nobler, more distinguished; more precious, more valuable; most honorable; very high-minded, very noblehearted, most generous: elat.
► makram and makramaẗ, pl. makārimᵘ, n., noble trait, excellent quality | makārim al-ʔaḫlāq noble characteristics, noble traits of character.
► makrumaẗ, pl. makārimᵘ, n., noble deed:.
► ^BP#2670takrīm and takrimaẗ, n.f., honoring, respecting, tribute, honour (bestowed on s.o.): vn. II.
► ʔikrām, n., honour, respect, deference, tribute; hospitable reception, hospitality; kindness; honorarium: vn. IV.
► ʔikrāmiyyaẗ, pl. ‑āt, n., honorarium; bonus: nsb-adj from ʔikrām.
► ^BP#3125 mukarram, adj., honoured, revered, venerated; venerable: PP II; Makkaẗ al-mukarramaẗ Holy Mecca.

For derivatives of the etymon ‘vine, grapes, vineyard’ see ↗karm.

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