ع ص وʿ-ṣ-w
(ن) عَصَا يَعْصُو عَصْوًاʿaṣā yaʿṣū ʿaṣwan: to strike with a staff; also to gather and to join.
عَصًاʿaṣan (noun ending in alif maqṣūrah, feminine) pl. عِصِيّ وَأَعْصٍʿiṣiyy wa-ʾaʿṣ: a staff, a rod. "شَقَّ الْعَصَاshaqqa al-ʿaṣā" is an Arabic idiom for causing a split in a community, because the staff is a symbol of unity. 12 times in the Quran, mostly in the account of the staff of Mūsā (peace be upon him): ﴿وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِيْنِكَ يَامُوْسٰى قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ﴾ (Ṭā Hā 20:17–18) and ﴿فَإِذَا حِبَالُهُمْ وَعِصِيُّهُمْ يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ﴾ (Ṭā Hā 20:66).