קָמַץ (b. h.) 1) to compress, close the hand, grasp. Pes. VII, 2 יִקְמוֹץ את מקומו he must grab (take a handful of the flour from) its place (where the juice has dripped on it).—Esp. to take a fistful (קוֹמֶץ) of the meal-offering (by bending three fingers over to the wrist and striking the flour off with the thumb on top and with the little finger below). Sifra Vayikra, N’dab., ch. X, Par. 9 יכול יקמוץ וכ׳ you may think he may grab with the tips of his fingers. Ib. יכול מצוה שיִקְמְצֶנָּה … קְמָצָהּ וכ׳ you may think the proper thing is for the priest to take off the fistful, but if a layman did it, it is legal. Men. II, 1 הקוֹמֵץ את וכ׳ if the priest takes a grab of the meal-offering with the intention of eating &c.; a. fr.—Part. pass. קָמוּץ closed. Cant. R. to VIII, 14 צבי … ועינו אחת קְמוּצָה the deer when sleeping has one eye open and one closed. —2) to leap. Yalk. Ps. 685 קומץ כאיל, v. קָפַץ.
Hif. - הִקְמִיץ to perform the קְמִיצָה. Lev. R. s. 3 ה׳ ואכל וכ׳ he took the handful for the altar, and ate the rest.
Nif. - נִקְמָץ to be grabbed from. Men. III, 3 שתי … שלא נִקְמְצוּ וכ׳ two meal-offerings which were mixed up before the altar’s share had been taken off. Ib. 18ᵇ בנִקְמָצוֹת concerning such offerings as are subject to קְמִיצָה; a. fr.
Pi. - קִימֵּץ 1) to scrape off (with bent fingers). Ḥull. 50ᵃ מְקַמְּצִין you must take off a little from the surface.—Trnsf. to take off a share. B. Bath. 106ᵇ שני אחין שחלקו … מקמצין if two brothers divide an estate, and then a third brother comes from abroad …, they have to give him each a share from their portion, opp. בטלה מחלוקת the division is null and void (and a new division by lot has to be made); ib. 107ᵃ; a. e. —2) to scrape together, collect. Pesik. R. s. 20 מְקַמֵּץ (not מקמיץ), v. סַרְֹטָן. Keth. VII, 10 אלו … והמקמץ the following are those whom the court forces to release their wives, … and the scraper; expl. ib. 77ᵃ המקבץ צואת כלבים he that collects excrements of dogs; (another interpret.) המק׳ זה בורסי ‘the scraper’ (of excrements) means the tanner; Tosef. ib. VII, 11 המקמץ את הצואה (not הצועה) who collects excrements; Y. ib. VII, end, 31ᵈ. Ḥag. 4ᵃ; 7ᵇ —3) to be parsimonious. Ḥull. 46ᵃ וסימניך עשירין מקמצין and as a mnemonical sign (to remember which of the two it was that threw the liver away, and which used it) it may serve thee: ‘the rich are parsimonious’ (R. Simon who was rich used it); Men. 86ᵃ