بعوضة

From the root ب ع ض (b ʕ ḍ) meaning "a small part", "one of a group or swarm".

بَعُوضَة • (baʕūḍa) f (singulative, collective بَعُوض m (baʕūḍ))

1. a mosquito, gnat
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:26:

     إِنَّ اللَّٰهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا

     ʔinna llāha lā yastaḥyī ʔan yaḍriba maṯalan mā baʕūḍatan famā fawqahā

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (figuratively) a pest, someone who is bothersome
3. (figuratively) an annoying, frustrating, impossible task
4. (figuratively) an insignificant person, easily crushed

• Lane, Edward William (1863-1893) “بعوضة”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate. , page 227