فَمٌ The mouth: (MA, KL, &c.:) it is originally فَوَهٌ, (Ṣ, Ḳ, and Mṣb in art. فوه,) with two fet-ḥahs, (Mṣb in that art.,) or فَوْهٌ; (so in some copies of the Ṣ;) the ه being cut off from it, the و is not susceptible of declension, because it is quiescent, therefore م is substituted for it; but when you form the dim. or the pl., you restore it to its original state, saying [in the former case] فُوَيْهٌ and [in the latter case] أَفْوَاهٌ, and not أَفْمَآءٌ [in some of the copies of the Ṣ not أَفْمَامٌ]: but when you form the rel. n., you say فَمِىٌّ↓; and, if you will, فَمَوِىٌّ↓, combining the substitute and the letter for which it is substituted, like as they say in the dual فَمَوَانِ; this being held to be allowable because of there being therein another letter rejected, i. e. the ه, as though they made the م in this case to be a substitute for the ه, not for the و: (Ṣ, TA:) and one says also فَمَيَانِ, which, like فَمَوَانِ, is anomalous; (IAạr, Ḳ in art. فوه;) but one says فَمَانِ also, as well as فَمَوَانِ: (Mṣb in art. فوه:) it has three forms, فَمٌ and فُمٌ and فِمٌ: (Ṣ, Ḳ, TA:) and some decline it doubly; saying in the nom. case فُمٌ, accus. فَمًا, and gen. فِمٍ; (Ṣ, TA;) like اِمْرُؤٌ and اِبْنُمٌ, which have been said to be the only other instances of the kind: (TA:) when it is prefixed to the [pronominal] ى, one says فِىَّ and فَمِى: but when to [a pronoun] other than the ى, it is declined with the letters و and ا and ى, so that one says فُوُهُ and فَاهُ and فِيهِ; but one also says فَمُهُ: (Mṣb. in art. فوه:) and sometimes the م is musheddedeh, (Ṣ, Ḳ,) in poetry, as in the saying, (Ṣ, TA,) of Moḥammad Ibn-Dhu-eyb El-'Ománee El-Fukeymee, the rájiz, (TA in this art. and in art. طسم,) addressing Er-Rasheed, or, accord. to IKh, said in relation to Suleymán Ibn-ʼAbd-El-Melik and ʼAbd-El-'Azeez. (TA in art. طسم,)

* يَا لَيْتَهَا قَدْ خَرَجَتْ مِنْ فُمِّهِ *

* حَتَّى يَعُودَ المُلْكُ فِى أُسْطُمِّهِ *

(Ṣ, TA) or أُطْسُمِّهِ i. e. [O, would that it had gone forth from his mouth, so that the dominion might return] to its rightful owner; (Ṣ in art. سطم, and TA in art. طسم;) and it would have been allowable, (Ṣ, TA,) accord. to ISk, (Ṣ,) or accord. to Fr, (TA,) if he had saidمن فَمِّهِ↓, with fet-ḥ to the ف: (Ṣ, TA:) the pl. of فم, with teshdeed, is أَفْمَامٌ; and its dim. isفُمَيْمٌ↓, mentioned by Lḥ. (TA.) MF says that many of the expositors of the Tes-heel have collected the dial. vars. of this word, compounded and uncompounded, and they have exceeded twenty; that with fet-ḥ, they say, being the most common and the most chaste. (TA.) [See more in art. فوه.]

[Hence,] الفم is metonymically applied to ‡ The teeth. (Ḥam p. 242.)

[Hence also,] فَمُ الحُوتِ † The star [a] in the mouth of Piscis Australis. (Ḳzw, &c.: see art. حوت.) And فَمُ الفَرَسِ † The star [e] upon the lip of Pegasus. (Ḳzw.)

[And فَمُالرَّحِمِ † The mouth of the womb.]

And فَمُ النَّهْرِ † The mouth of the river. (MA.)

And [hence likewise,] فَمٌ is also used as meaning † Branch; opposed to اِسْتٌ meaning “root.” (TA in art. سته; in which see اِسْتٌ, last quarter.)

فَمٌ مِنَ الدِّبَاغِ means The quantity that is used at one time, of tan; (Fr, Ḳ,* TA;) like نَفْسٌ مِنْهُ. (Fr, TA.)

فُمَّ a dial. var. of the conjunction تُمَّ [q. v.]: (Ḳ:) or the ف in the former is a substitute for the ث in the latter: one says, رَأَيْتُ عَمْرًا فُمَّ زَيْدًا and ثُمَّ زَيْدًا, both meaning the same [i. e. I saw ʼAmr: then Zeyd]: (TA:) and in like manner one says فُمَّتَ and فُمَّتْ, meaning تُمَّتَ and تُمَّتْ. (M and TA voce ثُمَّ.)