قسطاس

Arabic

Alternative forms
  • قِسْطَار (qisṭār), قُسْطَار (qusṭār), قَسْطَرِيّ (qasṭariyy), *سِقِسْطَار (*siqisṭār), سِقِنْطَار (siqinṭār), سِنِقْطَار (siniqṭār), سِقْطِرِيّ (siqṭiriyy)

Etymology

Via an Aramaic term retained in Classical Syriac ܣܓܘܣܛܪܐ (səgosṭārā) and other Syriac spellings from Ancient Greek ζυγοστάτης (zugostátēs, “weigher”), which also passed into Latin zygostatēs. For the stem ending in ـس (-s), maybe also denoting the occupation after ζυγοστασία (zugostasía), ζυγοστάτησις (zugostátēsis, “weighing”). Influenced by قِسْط (qisṭ, “share”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /qis.tˤaːs/, IPA(key): /qus.tˤaːs/

Noun

قُسْطَاس or قِسْطَاس • (qusṭās or qisṭās) m (plural قَسَاطِيس (qasāṭīs))

  1. (obsolete) weigher, moneychanger
    Synonyms: وَزَّان (wazzān), صَرَّاف (ṣarrāf)

Usage notes

After antiquity, when the word was no more understood, occurrences such as in the Qurʾān were frequently interpreted as “balance, scales”, and reused as such in few book titles and technical texts – e.g. the 1121 work كِتَاب مِيزَان الْحِكْمَة (kitāb mīzān al-ḥikma) of Al-Ḵāzinīy, surely not abiding by living language – including the particular phrasing الْقِسْطَاس الْمُسْتَقِيم (al-qisṭās al-mustaqīm) from Q 26:182.

Declension
Declension of noun قُسْطَاس (qusṭās)‎; قِسْطَاس (qisṭās)
Singular basic singular triptote
Indefinite Definite Construct
Informal قُسْطَاس‎; قِسْطَاس
qusṭās‎; qisṭās		 الْقُسْطَاس‎; الْقِسْطَاس
al-qusṭās‎; al-qisṭās		 قُسْطَاس‎; قِسْطَاس
qusṭās‎; qisṭās
Nominative قُسْطَاسٌ‎; قِسْطَاسٌ
qusṭāsun‎; qisṭāsun		 الْقُسْطَاسُ‎; الْقِسْطَاسُ
al-qusṭāsu‎; al-qisṭāsu		 قُسْطَاسُ‎; قِسْطَاسُ
qusṭāsu‎; qisṭāsu
Accusative قُسْطَاسًا‎; قِسْطَاسًا
qusṭāsan‎; qisṭāsan		 الْقُسْطَاسَ‎; الْقِسْطَاسَ
al-qusṭāsa‎; al-qisṭāsa		 قُسْطَاسَ‎; قِسْطَاسَ
qusṭāsa‎; qisṭāsa
Genitive قُسْطَاسٍ‎; قِسْطَاسٍ
qusṭāsin‎; qisṭāsin		 الْقُسْطَاسِ‎; الْقِسْطَاسِ
al-qusṭāsi‎; al-qisṭāsi		 قُسْطَاسِ‎; قِسْطَاسِ
qusṭāsi‎; qisṭāsi
Dual Indefinite Definite Construct
Informal قُسْطَاسَيْن‎; قِسْطَاسَيْن
qusṭāsayn‎; qisṭāsayn		 الْقُسْطَاسَيْن‎; الْقِسْطَاسَيْن
al-qusṭāsayn‎; al-qisṭāsayn		 قُسْطَاسَيْ‎; قِسْطَاسَيْ
qusṭāsay‎; qisṭāsay
Nominative قُسْطَاسَانِ‎; قِسْطَاسَانِ
qusṭāsāni‎; qisṭāsāni		 الْقُسْطَاسَانِ‎; الْقِسْطَاسَانِ
al-qusṭāsāni‎; al-qisṭāsāni		 قُسْطَاسَا‎; قِسْطَاسَا
qusṭāsā‎; qisṭāsā
Accusative قُسْطَاسَيْنِ‎; قِسْطَاسَيْنِ
qusṭāsayni‎; qisṭāsayni		 الْقُسْطَاسَيْنِ‎; الْقِسْطَاسَيْنِ
al-qusṭāsayni‎; al-qisṭāsayni		 قُسْطَاسَيْ‎; قِسْطَاسَيْ
qusṭāsay‎; qisṭāsay
Genitive قُسْطَاسَيْنِ‎; قِسْطَاسَيْنِ
qusṭāsayni‎; qisṭāsayni		 الْقُسْطَاسَيْنِ‎; الْقِسْطَاسَيْنِ
al-qusṭāsayni‎; al-qisṭāsayni		 قُسْطَاسَيْ‎; قِسْطَاسَيْ
qusṭāsay‎; qisṭāsay
Plural basic broken plural diptote
Indefinite Definite Construct
Informal قَسَاطِيس
qasāṭīs		 الْقَسَاطِيس
al-qasāṭīs		 قَسَاطِيس
qasāṭīs
Nominative قَسَاطِيسُ
qasāṭīsu		 الْقَسَاطِيسُ
al-qasāṭīsu		 قَسَاطِيسُ
qasāṭīsu
Accusative قَسَاطِيسَ
qasāṭīsa		 الْقَسَاطِيسَ
al-qasāṭīsa		 قَسَاطِيسَ
qasāṭīsa
Genitive قَسَاطِيسَ
qasāṭīsa		 الْقَسَاطِيسِ
al-qasāṭīsi		 قَسَاطِيسِ
qasāṭīsi

References
  • Shahîd, Irfan (2008) “Latin Loanwords”, in Versteegh, Kees, editor, Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 7 relates the derivation from Latin cōnstāns as “surrounded by questions”
  • Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 198 about قسطاس rejects Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer’s derivation from Latin cōnstāns as semantically implausible and not supported by any Aramaic form
  • Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, pages 279–280 about سقنطار, then connecting to Latin sēcrētārius
  • Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 187 about قسطار, then connecting to Latin quaestor
  • Fraenkel, Siegmund (1892) “قسطاس”, in Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes‎ (in German), volume 6, number 3, pages 258–262 finally connecting all; but in lack of an Aramaic form for ـس (-s) makes a dubious Coptic origin insinuation, the kind of which we nowadays distance ourselves from, as for أُسْقُف (ʔusquf) and س ج ن (s-j-n).
  • Freytag, Georg (1833) “سِنِقْطَار”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎ (in Latin), volume 2, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 366b
  • Růžička, Rudolf (1909) “Konsonantische Dissimilation in den semitischen Sprachen”, in Beiträge zur Assyriologie und semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎ (in German), volume VI, number 4, Leipzig · Baltimore: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung · The Johns Hopkins Press, page 6 connects سِقْطِرِيّ (siqṭiriyy) to Latin sēcrētārius, and Růžička, Rudolf (1909) “Konsonantische Dissimilation in den semitischen Sprachen”, in Beiträge zur Assyriologie und semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎ (in German), volume VI, number 4, Leipzig · Baltimore: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung · The Johns Hopkins Press, page 24 سِقِنْطَار (siqinṭār) and سِنِقْطَار (siniqṭār) to Latin sēcrētārius after Fraenkel which Fraenkel had already dismissed.
  • Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “سنقطار”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎, Vienna, column 2687
  • Wiedemann, Eilhard (1906) Beiträge zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften. VI. Zur Mechanik und Technik bei den Arabern (Sitzungsberichte der Physikalisch-medizinischen Sozietät; 38)‎ (in German), Erlangen: Junge & Sohn, published 1907, page 8
  • “skwsṭr”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
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