'A Dictionary, Persian, Arabic, and English; with a Dissertation on the Languages, Literature, and Manners of Eastern Nations' [‎7v] (19/1826)

rhetoric, and Muhammadan law. The late Doctor William Hunter’s valuable Hindustani
Dictionary has furnished the local meanings of Arabic and Persian words in their current
acceptations throughout our widely extended Eastern empire.
It is well known to Oriental scholars that the Arabic language has not received the
attention in this country which was due to so important a branch ot literature: particularly
when its indispensable necessity for the complete understanding of Persian authors is
considered. The want of a dictionary, Arabic and English, may have contributed to this
neglect; it has therefore been the object of the Editor to remedy in some measure the
deficiency. He hopes that this consideration will be accepted as a sufficient reason for
having introduced so many additional words of Arabic origin. Die present work contains
such Arabic roots (marked with an asterisk * ) as are of frequent recurrence, with their
most obvious acceptations. The conjugations to which infinitives or verbal nouns belong,
have been introduced, and the order observed by European lexicographers has been ad
hered to, although varying from the arrangement followed in India by scholars of high and
merited reputation. Where Arabic plurals occur, their singular form has almost invariably
been inserted with them. In order to make the sense of each Arabic infinitive as definite as
possible, it had been originally proposed to explain verbal nouns, according as they were
active or neuter, by the words “ the act,” or “ state of,” in such phrases as 44 the act
of killing,” 44 the state of sleeping.” But it was soon felt that these expressions would
add much to the bulk of a volume, already too likely to swell into an inconvenient size.
The student, however, will carefully bear in mind that, though they are generally explained
by a word ending in ing, such as cJl*\ ihlak, ruining, ghark, drowning, katr,
dropping, these words are never to be considered as present participles, but always as nouns.
It may be proper to observe, wherever the Persian infinitives occur, that, in addition to their
ordinary signification, they have also, inherently, the power of a gerund or verbal noun.
This remark had been previously made by the learned editor of the second edition; and the
student will find, in the course of his reading, numerous examples of its accuracy. The
first line of the Gulistan will furnish an instance in point; ^
jmdshaht rd shamdam kih ba kushtan-i astri ishdrut hard, I heard of a certain king who gave
the signal for the putting to death of a captive.—Among the improvements in the Persian
part of this edition, is the introduction of many pure Persian words Some of these have
been extracted from that useful Persian Dictionary the Burhdn-i kdti^, which,
although in great measure incorporated by Doctor W ilkins in the quarto edition, has still
furnished a considerable number of words of purely Persian origin.