تَنْمِيطٌ signifies The directing, or guiding, to a thing. (Ḳ.) You say, مَنْ نَمَّطَكَ عَلَى هٰذَا الشَّىْءِ Who directed thee, or guided thee, to this thing? syn. دَلَّكَ عَلَيْهِ. (Ibn-ʼAbbád.)

نَمَطٌ The facing, or outer covering, (ظِهَارَة,) of a bed (T, Mgh, Ḳ) upon which one sleeps, (Mgh,) or of a thing that is spread upon the ground to sit or lie upon, (T, Ḳ,) whatever it be: (Ḳ:) or a sort of carpet or other thing that is spread upon the ground: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) and a woollen cloth (Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ) which is thrown over the [kind of vehicle called] هَوْدَج, (Mgh, Ḳ,) having a fine nap, or pile, (TA,) of some colour; what is white being seldom or never so called: (Mṣb:) or a sort of dyed cloth, like زَوْجٌ, these names being seldom or never applied but to what is coloured red or green or yellow; what is white not being called نَمَطٌ: (Az, L:) and a cloth that is spread beneath a horse's saddle: (Meyd, as cited by Golius:) some say, that it is a receptacle like the سَفَط: (Ḥar, p. 273 [but this I think doubtful:]) pl. أَنْمَاطٌ [properly a pl. of pauc. but used also as one of mult.] (Ṣ, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ) and نِمَاطٌ. (IB, Ḳ.)

A body of men (Ṣ, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ) whose case is one; i. e. a class of men. (Ṣ, Ḳ.) It is said in a trad., (Ṣ, Mgh,) of ʼAlee, (Mgh,) خَيْرُ هٰذِهِ الأُمَّةِ النَّمَطُ الأَوْسَطُ The best of this people is the middle body thereof (Ṣ, Mgh) whose case is one; i. e. the middle class thereof: (Ṣ, in which is added, يُلْحَقُ بِهِمُ التَّالِى وَيُرْجَعُ إِلَيْهِمُ الغَالِى [he who falls short shall be made to reach them, and he who exceeds the due bounds shall be brought back to them:]) AʼObeyd says, (Mgh, TA,) the meaning of this saying of ʼAlee is, (TA,) that he disliked the exceeding of the due bounds and the falling short (Mgh, TA) in religion. (TA.)

A way: (Mṣb, TA:) a way, course, mode, or manner, of acting, conduct, or the like; (Mgh, Ḳ;) as alsoانمط↓: (TA [so there written, without any syll. points:]) a tenet, or body of tenets, belief, creed, opinion, or persuasion, which one takes to, or holds: (Mgh, TA:) a kind, or way, of speech. (TA.) You say, إِلْزَمْ هٰذَا النّمَطَ keep thou to this way. (TA.) And تَكَلَّمُوا عَلَى نَمَطٍ وَاحِدٍ They spoke according to one way, course, mode, or manner,, &c. (Mgh.)

‡ A sort, or species, (Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ,) of a thing, (Ḳ,) of goods or commodities, of learning or. science, &c. (TA.) You say, عِنْدِى مَتَاعٌ مِنْ هٰذَا النَّمَطِ ‡ I have goods of this sort, or species. (Mgh.) And هٰذَا مِنْ نَمَطِ هٰذَا ‡ This is of the sort, or species, of this. (Mṣb.)

أَنْمَاطِىٌّ [A maker, or seller, of أَنْمَاط, pl. of نَمَطٌ:] a rel. n. from نَمَطٌ; as alsoنَمَطِىٌّ↓: (Ḳ, TA:) the former [from the pl.,] like أَنْصَارِىٌّ: the latter from the sing., agreeably with analogy. (TA.)