ثَمَانِيَةٌ

a noun of number, well known; [meaning Eight;] as also ↓ ثَمَانٍ, (M, TA,) which is like يَمَانٍ, (M, K,) in form: (M:) the former is the masculine form: the latter, the feminine: (Msb:) this is not a rel. n. [though likened above to يَمَانٍ]: (M, K:) or it is originally a rel. n. from الثُّمُنُ, because it is the part, or portion, that makes seven to be eight, so that it is its eighth: they make the first letter to be pronounced with fet-h, because they make changes [in some other cases] in the rel. n., (S, K,) as when they say سُهْلِىٌّ and دُهْرِىٌّ, [which are rel. ns. of سَهْلٌ and دَهْرٌ,] (S,) and they suppress one of the two ى which are characteristic of the rel. n., and compensate it by the insertion of ا, as they do in the rel. n. of اليَمَنُ [when they say يَمَانٍ, originally يَمَانِىٌ, for يَمَنِىٌّ]: (S, K: [and the like is said in the Mgh:]) El-Fárisee says that the ا of ثَمَانٍ is the characteristic of the rel. n., because this word is not a broken plural like صَحَارٍ; and IF assents to this, and says that were it not so, the ة would be inseparable, as it is in عَبَاقِيَةٌ &c. (M.) You say ثَمَانِيَةُ رِجَالٍ [Eight men], (T, S, Mgh,) and ثَمَانِيَةُ أَيَّامٍ [eight days]. (Msb.) And when ثمان is prefixed to another noun, its ى is retained, like the ى in القَاضِى: (S, Msb, K:) and it is decl. in the same manner as words of the class to which this last belongs: (Msb:) you say ثَمَانِى نِسْوَةٍ [Eight women], (T, S, Mgh, Msb, K,) and ثَمَانِى مِايءَةٍ [eight hundred], (S, Msb, K,) [in the nom. and gen. cases;] and رَأَيْتُ ثَمَانِىَ نِسْوَةٍ [I saw eight women], pronouncing the fet-hah [at the end, in this case]. (Msb.) When it is with tenween, the ى is dropped in the nom. and gen. cases, but it is retained in the accusative case: (S, K:) [i. e.,] when the feminine form is not prefixed to another noun, you say, عِنْدِى مِنَ النِّسَاءِ ثَمَانٍ [I have with me, of women, eight], and مَرَرْتُ مِنْهُنَّ بِثَمَانٍ [I passed by, of them, eight], and رَأَيْتُ ثَمَانِيًا [I saw eight]. (Msb.) It sometimes occurs, in poetry, indecl.: (S, M:) this is because it is fancied to be a plural; (S;) or because it is likened, as to the letter, but not as to the meaning, to جَوَارِىَ. (M.) The people of El-Hijáz pronounce the masculine and the feminine with nasb in every case, in phrases like أَتَوْنِى ثَلَاثَتَهُمْ and أَتَيْنَنِى ثَلَاثَهُنَّ; and so on to ten [inclusive]. (S voce ثَلَاثَةٌ, q. v.) Th mentions ↓ ثَمَانٌ; (TA;) and some instances of its occurrence are cited; but As disallows it. (T, Mgh, TA.) كِسَاءٌ ذُو ثَمَانٍ means A [garment of the kind called] كساء made of eight fleeces. (T.) تُقْبِلُ بِأَرْبَعٍ وَتُدْبِرُ بِثَمَانٍ [She advances with four and goes back with eight] is a saying of one of the مُخَنَّثُون of El-Medeeneh; meaning, with four creases (عُكَن) of the belly, and with eight extremities thereof; each crease having two extremities, towards the two sides of the woman spoken of. (Mgh in article هيت.) The saying الثَّوْبُ سَبْعٌ فِى ثَمَانٍ should properly be فِى ثَمَانِيَةٍ, (S,) which means, The garment, or piece of cloth, is seven cubits in length by eight spans in breadth; (Msb;) because the length is measured by the ذِرَاع, which is feminine, and the breadth by the شِبْر, which is masculine; but they use the feminine when they do not mention things; as when they say, صُمْنَا مِنَ الشَّهْرِ خَمْسًا [We fasted, of the month, five], though meaning days: (S:) or because ذراع is feminine in most instances, and شبر is masculine (Msb.) [But it is said that when ثمانية means the things numbered, not the amount of the number, it is imperfectly decl., being regarded as a proper name: thus] you say, تِسْعَةُ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ ثَمَانِيَةَ [Nine things are more than eight things]. (TA voce تِسْعَةٌ, q. v.) [See also سِتَّةٌ.]

When you make it a compound [with the number ten], you say, عِنْدَى ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَرَ رَجُلًا [I have with me eighteen men]: and in the case of the feminine, you may either make the ى to be with fet-h or make it quiescent, saying, عِنْدِى مِنَ النِّسَاءِ ثَمَانِىَ عَشْرَةَ امْرَأَةً or ثَمَانِىْعَشْرَةَ [I have with me, of women, eighteen women]; but the former is the more chaste; and in one dialect, the ى is elided, on the condition of [saying ثَمَانَ عَشْرَةَ,] making the ن to be with fet-h; (Msb;) or in this case you say ثَمَانِ عَشْرَةَ, with kesr. (T.) A poet says, (T, S,) namely, El-Aashà, (K,)

فَلَأَشْرَبَنَّ ثَمَانِيًا وَثَمَانِيًا

وَثَمَانِ عَشْرَةَ وَاثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَرْبَعَا

[And I will assuredly drink eight cups of wine, (a plural of كَأْس, which is feminine, being understood,) and eight more, and eighteen, and two, and four]: (T, S, K: but in the S and K, وَلَقَدْ شَرِبْتُ; and in the K, and in one copy of the S, وَثَمَانَ:) he should properly have said ثَمَانِىَ عَشْرَةَ or ثَمَانِىْ عَشْرَةَ, (according to different copies of the T and S and K,) but he elides the ى after the dialect of him who says طِوَالُ الأَيْدِ [for الأَيْدِى], (S, K,) and he makes the ن to be with kesr in order to indicate the ى. (T.)

The diminutive of ثَمَانِيَةٌ may be formed either by suppressing the ا, which is the preferable way, so that you say ↓ ثُمَيْنِيَةٌ, or by suppressing the ى, saying ↓ ثُمَيِّنَةٌ, changing the ا into ى and incorporating into it the ى that is the characteristic of the diminutive; and you may compensate for both [of these suppressed letters by saying ↓ ثُمَيْنِيَّةٌ and ↓ ثُمَيِّينَةٌ]. (S.)

الثَّمَانِى is also the name of A certain plant. (As, T, K.)