اقتات

signifies He was, or became, fed, nourished, or sustained; being quasi-pass. of قَاتَ signifying as explained in the beginning of this article (S, A, Mgh, O, K, TA.)

And it is transitive by means of بِ, and by itself: see 5, in four places. One says, هُمْ يَقْتَاتُونَ الحَبَّ [They feed upon, or eat, grain]. (A.)

The saying, of Tufeyl,

يَقْتَاتُ فَضْلَ سَنَامِهَا الرَّحْلُ

is held by ISd to mean, (assumed tropical:) The saddle [as it were] eats the remainder of her hump, [as though] making it to be food for itself: according to IAar, he says, the meaning is, takes it away thing after thing [or piecemeal]; but I have not heard this [meaning] in any other instance: hence, says IAar, the oath sworn one day by El-'Okeylee, [said in the A to be an oath of the Arabs of the desert,] نَفْسِى البَصِيرِ مَا فَعَلْتُ ↓ لَا وَقَايءِتِ, for, he says, الاِقْتِيَاتُ [the verbal noun of اقتات] and القَوْتُ [verbal noun of ↓ قَاتَ] are one [in signification]; and AM says that the meaning of this is, [No, by] Him who takes my spirit, breath after breath, until He has taken it wholly, [the All-seeing, I did not that thing:] and the saying of Tufeyl means the saddle, while I am riding upon it, takes by little and little the fat of her hump until there remains not of it aught. (TA.)

One says also, الحَرْبُ تَقْتَاتُ الإِبِلَ (tropical:) [War makes the camels to be food]; meaning that [in consequence of war] the camels are given in payment of bloodwits. (A.)

And فُلَانٌ يَقْتَاتُ الكَلَامَ (tropical:) Such a one retrenches, or curtails, speech, or talk; [said of one who speaks, or talks, little;] synonym يُقِلُّهُ. (A.)

-A2- See also 1, latter half. [Hence,] one says, ↓ اِقْتَتْ لِنَارِكَ قِيتَةً (assumed tropical:) [Supply to thy fire ali- ment;] feed thy fire with fuel. (S, O, K.) And ↓ اِقْتَتْ لِلنَّارِ نَفْخَكَ قِيتَةً, and اُنْفُخْ فِى النَّارِ نَفْخًا ↓ قُوتًا, (assumed tropical:) Blow thou the fire with thy blowing, and with a blowing, gently and little [as an aliment]. (L.)