طابع

From Aramaic טַבְעָא / ܛܲܒܼܥܵܐ (ṭaḇəʿā, “stamp, seal, die, thing made sink”), as well as Hebrew טַבַּעַת (ṭaḇáʕaṯ, “ring, seal”) from Akkadian 𒋰 (ṭepûm, “to attach, to append”, to imprint or impress said of seals), from Akkadian 𒁾 (ṭuppum, “tablet, impressed markings in clay or other materials”), ultimately from Sumerian 𒁾 (dub).

Alternatively, from Egyptian ḏbꜥwt (“signet, seal”), presumably via Hebrew טבעת (ṭaḇáʕaṯ, “ring, seal”), then the above Aramaic טַבְעָא (ṭaḇəʿā), ultimately from Egyptian ḏbꜥ (“finger, digit”), cognate to Hebrew אֶצְבַּע (ʔeṣbáʕ) and Arabic إِصْبَع (ʔiṣbaʕ, “finger”), presumably indicating “putting one's finger” to sign or seal a royal document.

The root ط ب ع (ṭ-b-ʕ) “related to imprinting” in Arabic is merely derived from the borrowing. Aramaic טְבַע / ܛܒܲܥ (ṭbaʕ), Hebrew טָבַע (ṭaḇáʕ), Akkadian 𒋤 (SUD /⁠ṭebû⁠/), all meaning “to sink, to be dipped or drown” etc., are rather variants of צְבַע / ܨܒܱܥ (ṣḇaʿ), צָבַע (ṣaḇáʕ, “to dip, to moisten; to paint, to dye”), see them; other meanings of the Aramaic and Hebrew roots related to “coining” and “shaping” and “specifying” are derived from the seal borrowing.

Compare Arabic خَاتَم (ḵātam) representing a potential Egyptian equivalent. For more on the foreign pattern فَاعَل (fāʕal) see عَالَم (ʕālam).

طَابَع or طَابِع • (ṭābaʕ or ṭābiʕ) m (plural طَوَابِع (ṭawābiʕ))

1. postage stamp
2. stamp (for printing, etc.)
3. die for branding
4. impression, imprint, sealing, what a stamp or seal leaves

Derived from the active participle of طَبَعَ (ṭabaʕa, “to print”).

طَابِع • (ṭābiʕ) m

1. printer (person who prints)
2. person who seals
3. stamp, mark

• “ṭbˁ”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Fischer, Wolfdietrich (2006) Grammatik des Klassischen Arabisch (in German), 4^th edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, § 62 Anm. 5, page 36
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 193
• Garosi, Eugenio (2022 December 1) “Regional Diversity in the Use of Administrative Loanwords in Early Islamic Arabic Documentary Sources (632–800 CE): A Preliminary Survey”, in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean World. From Constantinople to Baghdad, 500-1000 CE, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 414
• Jeffery, Arthur (1938) The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qurʾān (Gaekwad’s Oriental Series; 79), Baroda: Oriental Institute, pages 208–209
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1875) Mandäische Grammatik‎ (in German), Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, page 112