Al-Muhkam wa-al-muhit al-a zam, 7 volumes (11th century Arabic dictionary)
Cairo: Maktabat wa-matba at Mustafa al-Babi al-H alabi, 1958-1973. Hardcover. 7 volumes, complete. Small quarto, 11 x 8 inches, leather backed cloth boards, very good, minor wear, previous owner's information on its purchase written on the inner margin of the title page of the first volume, no other marks. With typed 1986 letter to its previous owner, a linguist in Cleveland, from A.R. Bullock, an Oxford dealer in Islamic books, discussing the price and availability of this set. Greppin eventually paid 75 Pounds for this in 1988 (about $140 back then). Edited by Mustafa Saqqa (or al-Sakka) and Hussein Nassar. We assume this is complete in 7 volumes, but did notice on Worldcat a listing from this publisher for an edition in 12 volumes. The Bullock letter seems to indicate completeness in 7 volumes, but perhaps that was all that had been published at the time of his note. Ibn Sidah (1007-1066) was a linguist, philologist and lexicographer of Classical Arabic from Andalusia. He compiled the encyclopedia al-Kit b al-Mukha a (Book of Customs) and the Arabic-language dictionary Al-Muhkam wa-al-muhit al-a zam ("the great and comprehensive arbiter"). His contributions to language, literature, and logic were considerable. Very good. Item #H41785
Price: $250.00