w-t-a

Description

The Arabic root وطأ (w-t-a) carries the core meaning of treading, stepping upon, or pressing down with force, which extends metaphorically to concepts of subduing, overwhelming, and establishing control or contact. In the Quranic context, this root appears in various forms describing physical acts of stepping or treading on ground during military expeditions, the act of subduing enemies or making them less potent through defeat, and the metaphorical sense of trampling or overwhelming opposition. The root also relates to sexual intercourse in the phrase about adjusting waiting periods, where the concept of physical contact and consummation derives from this same semantic foundation of pressing or treading upon.