فِيءَةٌ

A [party, portion, division, or distinct body, of men, such as is termed] طَايءِفَة: (S, O, K, TA:) or a company (Msb, TA) of soldiers who fight in the rear of an army, and to whom the latter has recourse in the case of fear or defeat: (TA:) or a company of men who [in war] have recourse, for aid, one to another: (Er-Rághib, TA:) a word having no proper singular: (Msb, TA:) originally فِىْءٌ; (S, O, K;) the ة being substituted for the medial ى, which is dropped: (S, O:) or its original form is فِيءْوٌ [or فِيءْىٌ or فِيءْوَةٌ or فِيءْيِةٌ (see article فأو and فأى)]; the final [radical] letter being that which is elided; for it is from فَأَوْتُ [or فَأَيْتُ] “ I divided; ” and فِيءَةٌ is synonym with فِرْقَةٌ: (IB, L, TA:) plural فِيءَاتٌ and فِيءُونَ, (S, O, Msb, K,) in which latter the و and ن are for the making good what is deficient [in the singular]. (Msb.)