لَّيْسَ

1 layosa * a word denoting negation: (S, A, K:) it is a verb in the pret. tense, (S, A, K, Mughnee,) having no other tense, (Sb, S, M, Msb, Mughnee,) nor a part. n. nor an inf. n.; (Sb, M, Msb; *) of the measure faEila ; (Mughnee;) originally layisa , from which it is contracted by the suppression of a vowel, (Sb, * S, M, * K, Mughnee, *) being found difficult of pronunciation, (S,) [i. e.,] to render it easy to pronounce, (K,) like Ealoma for Ealima , (Sb, M,) the Y not being changed into A (Sb, S, M) because it is imperfectly inflected, being used in the pret. form for the present, (S,) [i. e.,] because it has no future, nor part. n., nor inf. n., nor derivation, wherefore, not being perfectly inflected like its coordinates, it is made like that which is not a verb, as layota : (Sb, M:) what shows it to be a verb, (S, Mughnee,) not a particle occupying the place of maA , as Ibn-Es-Sarráj and some others after him have asserted, (Mughnee,) though not perfectly inflected like [other] verbs, (S,) is their saying lasota and lasotumaA (S, Mughnee) and lasotumo (S) and layosaA and layosuwA and layosato [&c.], (Mughnee,) like as they say Darabota and DarabotumaA and Darabotumo [&c.]: (S:) we have not determined its measure to be faEala , because this is not contracted; nor faEula , because there is no verb of this measure with Y for its medial radical letter, except hayuw^a ; but lusota has been heard; so, accord. to this form, it may be like hayuw^a : (Mughnee:) the Benoo-Dabbeh say lusotu and lusonaA in the sense of lasotu and lasonaA ; and some of them say lisotu : (TA, art. lws :) but Sb says, that the Arabs did not say lisota , like as they said xifota , because lys is not perfectly inflected like [other] verbs. (M.) [There is also another opinion respecting its origin, which will be mentioned in the course of this article.] It [is generally a particular (not a universal) negative, and] denotes the negation of a thing at the present time; (M, Mughnee;) [i. e.] it denotes [thus] the negation of its predicate: (Msb:) and has the same government as the verb kaAna and its coordinates; (S;) governing the subject in the nom., and the predicate in the accus.: (S, Mughnee:) as when you say, layosa zayodN qaAy^imFA [ Zeyd is not a person standing ]: (Msb:) and by means of the context, it denotes the negation of a thing at a time not the present; as in the saying of El-Aashà [respecting Mohammad], lahu naAfilaAtN maA yugib~u nawaAluhaA walayosa EaTaA='u Alyawomi maAniEahu gadaA [ He has bounties the bestowing of which is not on alternate days; and the giving of to-day will not be a preventer of it to-morrow ]; and [sometimes when it is followed by a verb, as] in the saying, layosa xalaqa A@ll~`hu mivolahu [ God has not created the like of him, or it. ] (Mughnee.) But it differs from its coordinates in that the prep. bi may be prefixed to its predicate: as in the saying, layosa zayodN bimunoTaliqK [ Zeyd is not going away ]; the b being a means of the verb's being trans., and also corroborative of the negation: and one may optionally not introduce it, because one may do without the corroborative, and because some verbs are trans. sometimes by means of a prep. and sometimes without a prep., as Ai$otaqotuka and Ai$otaqotu A_ilayoka . (S.) It also differs from its coordinates in that its predicate may not be put before it: for you may say muHosinFA kaAna zayodN , but not muHosinFA layosa zayodN : (S:) or some allow this latter; but others disallow it. (Ibn- 'Akeel on the Alfeeyeh, section on kAn and its coordinates.) It is also used as an exceptive particle, (S, M, Mughnee,) in the place of A_il~aA ; (S, Mughnee;) in which case [also] its subject [which is understood] is in the nom. case, and its predicate in the accus.: (S:) you say, jaA='aniY Alqawomu layosa zayodFA [ The company of men came to me, except Zeyd ]; as though you said, layosa AljaAy^iY zayodFA . (S, M: but in the latter, instead of jA'nY , we find A^ataY ; and instead of Alj