عَبَابِ

[a quasi-verbal noun, of the class of فَجَارِ and حَمَادِ, indecl.]. لَا عَبَابِ [apparently as used in the prov. here following] means لَا تَعُبُّ فِى المَاءِ. (S. [Thus in one of my copies of the S: in the other copy the explanation is written لَا تَعُبُّ فى الماء, as though عَبَابِ were an imperative verbal noun: and so in the O, in which the phrase is written لَا عَبَابَ: but بَعُبَّ I think a mistranscription.]) The saying إِذَا أَصَابَتِ الظِّبَاءُ المَاءَ فَلَا عَبَابِ وَإِنْ لَمْ تُصِبْهُ فَلَا أَبَابِ means When the gazelles find water, they do not drink in the manner termed عَبٌّ; and when they do not find it, they do not prepare to seek it and to drink it: (K, TA; and thus (عَبَابِ and أَبَابِ) according to the Mz, 40th نوع: but in the CK عَبابَ and اَبابَ:) it is a prov., frequently used by the Arabs in an abridged manner, لا عباب ولا اباب, as in the works of Meyd and others; (TA;) and is applied to a man who turns from a thing, not needing it. (Meyd.)