This form is a reflexive of form I.
The affix
-t-appears in other forms as well,
so this form is called the Gt-stem.
The -t-
means basically "himself."
In this form, it is infixed after the first root letter, probably due to
an ancient phonological evolution.
Like
form VII, this form has two sub-meanings for the reflexive, the simple reflexive and the reflexive
causative. However, contrary to form VII, this form will mostly have the
second meaning, the reflexive causative, and
unlike form VII, this meaning here won't be related only to intransitive
form I verbs.
Form VII
(N-Stem)
Form VIII
(Gt-Stem)
Reflexive
(He) did himself
Nearly always
Reflexive
(He) did himself
Less
frequent
Reflexive
Causative
(He) made himself do
Very rare, with intransitive form I verbs
Reflexive
Causative
(He) made himself do
Common, with both transitive & intransitive form I verbs
-t-
vs. -n-
Unlike the -n-
affix,
the
-t-
affix in formal Arabic indicates a powerful reflexive action and cannot be reduced to
a passive meaning "(he)
was/became done." Although both share
a similar meaning that indicates an action directed towards the subject of
the verb, the
-t-
affix
indicates a stronger role of the subject as a performer of the action, or it
indicates more effort performed by the agent.
Form
VII
'infa"al(a)
(he) did himself
→
(he) was/became done
Form
VIII
'ifta"al(a)
(he) did himself
This strong role of the subject further
extends
itself and turns into a
reflexive
causative meaning in many form VIII verbs. This happens especially
with verbs that also have form VII versions.
'ifta"al(a)
(He) made himself do
Example, the verb:
كَشَفَ
kashaf(a)
(he)
uncovered
Form
VII
(N-Stem)
Form
VIII
(Gt-Stem)
اِنْكَشَفَ
اِكْتَشَفَ
'inkashaf(a)
'iktashaf(a)
(he) uncovered himself
→ (he) was/became uncovered
(he) madehimself uncover
→ (he) discovered
Both verbs originally had reflexive meanings,
but one of them was too weak so it was reduced to a passive meaning,
whereas the other was too strong so it evolved into a reflexive causative
meaning.
Note that in classical south Arabian dialects
the
-t-
affix apparently did not have such a strong meaning so its meaning evolved
into a passive one as well. This shows today mostly in Egyptian Arabic
which have strong Yemeni roots.
Another example:
فَعَلَ
fa"al(a)
(he) did
Form VII
(N-Stem)
Form VIII
(Gt-Stem)
اِنْفَعَلَ
اِفْتَعَلَ
'infa"al(a)
'ifta"al(a)
(he)
did himself
→ (he)
worked himself up
→ (he)
was/became worked up
(he)
made himself do
→ (he)
incited (something)
(he)
provoked (something)
*Note: it is true that the root
f "
l
= "do" is used for modeling the different structures, but this root has its
own life too.
Meanings of Form VIII
1)
Reflexive
The two meanings of form VIII
are equally important. The first meaning, the simple reflexive, is
generally similar to that of form VII. Form VII is usually used for roots
denoting simple or basic actions like opening, closing, lowering,
raising, cutting, breaking, writing, reading, understanding, knowing, etc.
Whereas form VIII is used for basic actions as well as complicated
ones.
Reflexive
(He)
did
himself
When a
reflexive form VIII is denoting a simple action like the ones denoted by
form VII, it will have a meaning similar to form VII with very little
role indicated for the subject. In this case, it will be possible to translate
it to "(he) was/became done."
On the other hand, when a
reflexive form VIII is denoting a complex action that cannot be expressed
by form VII, it will not mean "(he) was/became done" but rather it will carry
a meaning that indicates a strong rule of the subject as a performer, or a
meaning that indicates more effort of the subject.
Such reflexive verbs are usually intransitive, and of course they have to be made
from transitive form I verbs.
Note: any reflexive structure in Arabic can have a connotative "mutual"
meaning if followed by the preposition "with." The meaning will be as
follows:
Mutual
(He)
did
himself (with)
→
(he)
initiated/engaged in mutual doing (with)
I am not going to talk about this meaning here nor with any structure
(other than forms III & VI) because this meaning is too general and it is
not common except with forms III & VI.
Rarely form VIII verbs will have a connotative meaning of "(he) sought
to do himself." This is a "factitious reflexive" meaning that I am
going to call the "reflexive conative" meaning.
Reflexive Conative
(He)
did
himself
→
(he)
sought to do
himself
Examples:
Form VIII
Form I
'i"tathar(a)
اِعْتَذَرَ
"athar(a)
عَذَرَ
(he) excused himself
{(he)
sought to
excuse himself}
→ (he) apologized
(he)
excused
'ikhtadam(a)
اِحْتَمَىْ
hamaa
حَمَىْ
(he) protected
himself
{(he) sought to protect
himself}
=
(he) protected himself
→ (he) sought protection
(he) protected
'ikhtadam(a)
اِخْتَدَمَ
khadam(a)
خَدَمَ
(he) served himself
{(he)
sought to serve
himself}
→ (he) appointed a servant
(he) served
2)
Reflexive Causative
This meaning is common. These verbs are equally made out of
transitive and intransitive form I verbs, and they can be both transitive
and intransitive.
Many of the
reflexive causative form VIII verbs will have the same or similar meanings of their
form I counterparts. Such verbs often carry an
emphatic meaning that stresses the part of the subject in achieving the
action.
Reflexive Causative
(He)
made himself do
→ (HE) made
himself do
emphatic of the subject's role in initiating & maintaining the action
emphatic of the subject's role in initiating & maintaining the action
Connotative Meaning of Form VIII
Reflexive Conative
(he) sought to do himself
factitious reflexive
Emphatic
(he), himself, did
Mutual
(he) engaged in mutual
doing
SpecialIssues
1.
Wو,
Y
ي
If the
first root letter of form VIII (the letter substituting for the
f)
is one of the weak letters
w
or
y,
it will be changed to a letter
t.
The Arabic roots that begin with a
y
are quite uncommon, so this rule mainly regards roots beginning with a
w
.
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِيْتَعَلَ
←
اِتْتَعَلَ
/
اِتَّعَلَ
'ifta"al(a):'iyta"al(a) →
'itta"al(a)
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِوْتَعَلَ
←
اِتْتَعَلَ
/
اِتَّعَلَ
'ifta"al(a): 'iwta"al(a) →
'itta"al(a)
Examples:
Form VIII
Form I
'ittasar(a)
اِتَّسَرَ
yasar(a)
يَسَرَ
(he) made easy
→ (he) was/became easy
yasur(a)
يَسُرَ
(he) was/became easy
'ittasa"(a)
اِتَّسَعَ
wasa"(a)
وَسَعَ
(he) made spacious
(he) made himself spacious
→ (he) had room
(he) was/became roomy(er)
wasi"(a)
وَسِعَ
(he) was/became
spacious
'ittasal(a)
اِتَّصَلَ
wasal(a)
وَصَلَ
→ (he) was/became connected
→ (he) telephoned
(he) connected
(he) arrived
'ittafaq(a)
اِتّفَقَ
wafiq(a)
وَفِقَ
(he) was/became consistent
→ (he) agreed, was consistent
→ (he) made agreement
(he) was/became consistent
'ittaham(a)
اِتَّهَمَ
waham(a)
وَهَمَ
(he) made himself fancy
→ (he) accused
(he) fancied, supposed
'ittakal(a)
اِتَّكَلَ
wakal(a)
وَكَلَ
(he) entrusted
himself
→ (he) relied
(he) entrusted (something)
(he) deputized (someone)
'ittazan(a)
اِتَّزَنَ
wazan(a)
وَزَنَ
(he) made himself
weigh
→ (he) stabilized (intr.)
(he) weighed
'ittasaf(a)
اِتَّصَفَ
wasaf(a)
وَصَفَ
(he) was/became described
→ (he) was/became known (by some quality)
→ (he) had the quality (of something)
(he) described
'ittasam(a)
اِتَّسَمَ
wasam(a)
وَسَمَ
→ (he) was/became marked
(he) branded, marked
'ittaqaa
اِتَّقَىْ
waqaa
وَقَىْ
(he) protected himself
{(he) sought to
protect himself}
(he) sought protection (tr.)
(he) protected
'ittasaq(a)
اِتَّسَقَ
wasaq(a)
وَسَقَ
(he) pulled himself together
→ (he) was/became stable, organized
(he) pulled together (tr.)
(he) fastened up (his belongings before traveling)
classical verb
2.
'ittakhath(a)اِتَّخَذَ
This is a common verb in Arabic. It is derived from the root
' kh th
أ خ ذ
= "take." The first letter of this root is a
hamza(t)
or a consonant
'alif.
أَخَذَ
'akhath(a)
(He) took
When rendered in form VIII, it is supposed to look like that:
اِئْتَخَذَ
'i'<takhath(a)
(he) made
himself take
→ (he) took as (e.g.
he took the woman wife)
(he) made (e.g. his house a
workplace)
However, it appears because this verb was so
commonly used, it evolved and became eventually a form that is easier to pronounce by
turning the first root letter into a
t.
اِتَّخَذَ
'ittakhath(a)
(he) made
himself take
→ (he) took as, made
N.B. if you want how exactly this verb evolved, look at the rule in the
bottom of this page.
This transformation is specific to this verb and maybe few other obsolete
verbs, but it is not a general rule for roots beginning with a
hamza(t).
The general rule is that the
hamza(t)
will be kept intact.
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِئْتَعَلَ
'ifta"al(a): 'i'<ta"al(a)
3.
Dentals
"T" is
a dental consonant, because it is produced from the teeth
(by placing the tongue against the back of the teeth).
For merely phonological reasons,
the
-t-
infix of form VIII can change to other letters when the first root
letter is a letter produced from the teeth in a similar manner to T (that
is, a plosive or fricative dental, inter-dental, or alveolar consonant). This is
necessary because clusters of dental letters can be too
hard to pronounce even for Arabs who otherwise like to articulate
difficult twisted sounds.
The -t-
will be changed with roots beginning with the
following letters:
The
-t-
Infix
First Root Letter
ث
-th-
th
ث
د
-d-
d
د
th
ذ
z
ز
ط
-t-
s
ص
d
ض
t
ط
z
ظ
I.
-t-
→
-th-
The -t-
infix will be changed to
-th-
when the first root letter is
th.
Such verbs are very rare, and they are all obsolete as far as I can tell.
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِثْتَعَلَ
←
اِثْثَعَلَ
/
اِثَّعَلَ
'ifta"al(a)
: 'ithta"al(a) →
'iththa"al(a)
Some excavated examples:
Form VIII
Form I
'iththa'ar(a)
اِثَّأَرَ
tha'ar(a)
ثَأَرَ
(he) made himself avenge
→ (he) avenged
(he) avenged
'iththarad(a)
اِثَّغَرَ
tharar(a)
ثَغَرَ
(he) made himself toothless
→ (he) shed
his teeth (a child)
(he) notched, slashed
(he) made a hole
→ (he) made toothless
'iththarad(a)
اِثَّرَدَ
tharad(a)
ثَرَدَ
(he) made himself make that food
→ (he) made that food
(he) crushed (bread) into flakes and dipped them in meat broth
Some of these verbs
could be transformed in other ways as well, examples:
Form VIII
Form I
اِدَّغَرَ
اِتَّغَرَ
اِثَّغَرَ
ثَغَرَ
اِدَّرَدَ
اِتَّرَدَ
اِثَّرَدَ
ثَرَدَ
II.
-t-
→
-d-
The -t-
will become
-d-
when the first root letter is
d,
th,
or
z.
d
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِدْتَعَلَ
←
اِدْدَعَلَ
/
اِدَّعَلَ
'ifta"al(a): 'idta"al(a) →
'idda"al(a)
Form VIII
Form I
'idda"aa
اِدَّعَىْ
da"aa
دَعَاْ
(he) made himself call
→ (he) claimed
(intr.)
→ (he) prosecuted (intr.)
(he) called
'iddathar(a)
اِدَّثَرَ
dathar(a)
دَثَرَ
(he) made himself become covered
→ (he) covered up (intr.)
(he) faded away
(he) accumulated
(he) became covered
'iddarak(a)
اِدَّرَكَ
darak(a)
دَرَكَ
(he) made himself catch up
→ (he)
caught up, followed and reached
(he) caughtup, followed and reached
th
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِذْتَعَلَ
←
اِدْدَعَلَ
/
اِدَّعَلَ
'ifta"al(a): 'ithta"al(a) →
'idda"al(a)
Examples:
Form VIII
Form I
'iddakhar(a)
اِدَّخَرَ
thakhar(a)
ذَخَرَ
(he) made himself become covered
→ (he) covered up (intr.)
(he) stored
'iddakar(a)
اِدَّكَرَ
thakar(a)
ذَكَرَ
(he) made himself remember
→ (he) remembered
(he) remembered
(he) mentioned
'iddabah(a)
اِدَّبَحَ
thabah(a)
ذَبَحَ
(he) made himself slaughter
→ (he) slaughtered
(he) slaughtered
Other
forms:
Form VIII
Form I
اِذْدَخَرَ
اِذَّخَرَ
اِدَّخَرَ
ذَخَرَ
اِذْدَكَرَ
اِذَّكَرَ
اِدَّكَرَ
ذَكَرَ
z
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِزْتَعَلَ
←
اِزْدَعَلَ
'ifta"al(a): 'izta"al(a) →
'izda"al(a)
Form VIII
Form I
'izdaad(a)
اِزْدَاْدَ
zaad(a)
زَاْدَ
(he) increased himself
→ (he) increased (intr.)
(he) increased (tr./intr.)
'izdaham(a)
اِزْدَحَمَ
zaham(a)
زَحَمَ
(he) was/became crowded
(he) crowded
'izdahar(a)
اِزْدهَرَ
zahar(a)
زَهَرَ
(he) made himself
bloom, gleam
→ (he)
bloomed, gleamed, flourished
(he)
bloomed, gleamed
'izdaraa
اِزْدَرَىْ
zaraa
زَرَىْ
(he) made himself censure
→ (he) disdained
(he) censured
'izdarad(a)
اِزْدَرَدَ
zarad(a)
زَرَدَ
(he) made himself swallow
→ (he) sipped, swallowed
(he) sewed
(he) swallowed
'izdahaa
اِزْدَهَىْ
zahaa
زَهَىْ
(he) made himself blossom, shine
→ (he) blossomed, shined
(he) blossomed, grew
(he) shined
'izdaan(a)
اِزْدَاْنَ
zaan(a)
زَاْنَ
(he) became adorned
(he) adorned
'izdalaf(a)
اِزْدَلَفَ
zalaf(a)
زَلَفَ
(he) made himself approach
→ (he) approached (God) (intr.)
(he) approached (intr.)
'izdawaj(a)
اِزْدَوَجَ
zawj(un)
زَوْجٌ
(he) was/became a pair
a pair (noun, masc.)
refers to one of two matched articles
III.
-t-
→
-t-
The -t-
will become
-t-
when the first root letter is
s,
d,
t,
or
z.
s
اِفْتَعَلَ
:
اِصْتَعَلَ
←
اِصْطَعَلَ
'ifta"al(a): 'ista"al(a) →
'ista"al(a)
Form VIII
Form I
'istahab(a)
اِصْطَحَبَ
sahib(a)
صَحِبَ
(he) made himself
accompany
→ (he) accompanied
(he) accompanied
'istadam(a)
اِصْطَدَمَ
sadam(a)
صَدَمَ
(he) hit, banged himself
→ (he) hit, banged (intr.)
(he) hit, banged
'istabar(a)
اِصْطَبَغَ
sabar(a)
صَبَغَ
(he) dyed himself
→ (he) became dyed
(he) dyed
'istaad(a)
اِصْطَاْدَ
saad(a)
صَاْدَ
(he) made himself hunt
→ (he) hunted
(he) hunted
'istana"(a)
اِصْطَنَعَ
sana"(a)
صَنَعَ
(he) made himselfmake
→ (he) faked, pretended
(he) made, created
'istaff(a)
اِصْطَفَّ
saff(a)
صَفَّ
(he) lined himself up
→ (he) lined up (intr.)
(he) lined up
'istalah(a)
اِصْطَلَحَ
salah(a)
صَلَحَ
(he) became good
[used with plural: (they) became good = (they) agreed]
